Ebony and I came together by an amazing chance set of circumstances during the Covid pandemic. I am a novice rider in my fifties and I have never owned a horse before. I made friends with the owner of a horse in the field adjacent to my house and, within a year, Ebony had been rehomed to us! She is nineteen years old, about 15hh and a Friesian/cob cross. She is very green, so we have spent a lot of time building up her confidence on the ground and hacking out.
I was borrowing my friend’s saddle but I really felt I needed something more secure so that I was confident going out, which is the best way to get Ebony working with a rider at present. I had a visit from a fantastic SMART™ Advisor who really put in a lot of time and effort to keep in contact and meet our needs, especially when the fitting was delayed for many weeks due to the Scottish weather!
I now have a SMART™ PRO VSD saddle and the fit is great both for Ebony and for me, especially with the adjustable knee and thigh blocks; she is really ready and keen to work now. The next step is to decide on her bridle and get her out of the halter.
I am hoping to buy another horse and we will keep Ebony as a companion, so the SMART™ saddle is intended to fit the new horse as well. It also fits my friend’s horse, by simply changing the shims, which means I can have lessons on him in the arena.
In the meantime I am enjoying working with Ebony and learning so much every day!
Kathy Dale
