FnE in the USA

Welcome to US visitors

Start finding out about FnE saddles by clicking here

Live in the US? It's a great time to buy from the UK!

Information, fitting advice and sales:

Crockett Dumas

otdumas@color-country.net
www.outlawtrail.com

As of March 2009, Crockett has completed 32,575 career endurance miles, 78 wins, 124 Best Condition awards and has been in the top ten finishers 396 times.

"The Search For The Perfect Saddle."

by Emily Matthews

I have been competing in endurance for five years and I have been looking constantly for the perfect saddle: one that is absolutely comfortable for the horse and me after 100 miles. In the course of riding other people's horses and experimenting with saddles on trial, I've tried more than a dozen saddles of all kinds.

My two mares Spice and Savanaa have good, straight, well-muscled backs, nice withers, and no major fitting issues. It shouldn't have been so difficult!

For Savanaa, I first settled on an English dressage saddle with wide, soft, wool-flocked panels, that was a dream for me and appeared to fit her perfectly. However, after every ride she was sore-backed. I had the saddle reflocked three times; every time I was told that it was "a perfect fit" but clearly it was anything but. I had a custom endurance saddle made for Spice, which fit her very well until she changed shape and white hairs began to appear.

I finally heard about FnE saddles, and listened to some rave reviews from US endurance riders who use them. I tried a Trekker from Moss Rock Endurance and, though it was not the right model for me, I loved the way it fit the horse and I took the plunge, ordering a brand-new Endurance Pro from England.

The Endurance Pro really seems to be the end of my search for the perfect saddle. It is comfortable, secure, light and very strong. The quality of manufacture is high and the design is simply ingenious. The FnE adjustment system is easy to learn and I love the ability to make fitting adjustments myself in a matter of minutes. I have tested the fit to my horses using the Port Lewis Impression Pad and I have never seen such a perfect impression. My two mares are moving with new energy and freedom. On their first rides of the 2009 season both horses did 50 miles at nearly 11 mph and both of them took first place. Savanaa, for the first time ever, had virtually no soreness in her back. And, after riding two consecutive 50-milers over a weekend, I had no soreness either.

The customer service backing FnE saddles is outstanding. I am a demanding customer, and I asked numerous questions via e-mail about fit and adjustment. Les Spark never seemed to tire of answering me, often including annotated photos and diagrams to explain exactly what I needed to do. I cannot recommend these saddles or the company too highly.

UPDATE 3rd May 2009 - Emily's first 160km ride with the FnE saddle on Savana:

Emily says:

Real Success!

I just wanted to let you know that Savanaa completed the Biltmore 100 this weekend, with As for back all the way through to the end. Our time and placing were undistinguished this time but that complete absence of soreness meant more to me than a win. It's an amazing change in her. The course was nothing but uphill and down again, very hard on the horses, and there were a ton of pulls for lameness and soreness. I passed one woman leading her horse for the entire last loop because her horse was so sore-backed.

Keep up your good work.

Information and advice in the US

Lisa Douglas
www.mossrockendurance.com

Marlene Moss

www.KineticEquineAnalysis.com - Saddle Fitting
www.LosPinos-CO.com - Boarding, Sales and More
719-351-5037 (cell)

Lari Shea

Lari keeps getting Best Condition Awards and this is what she had to say in a recent e-mail

Les, Agnetta, and Lisa,

Once again, I write to thank you for designing such a wonderful saddle! My horse Indiana Jones won 1st place and Best Conditioned Horse award at the Redwood Empire 50 mile endurance race last month (helping me celebrate my birthday in style!). And last weekend, he came 2nd place and B.C. on the Arabian Nights 50 in Idaho. Needless to say, he received all "A's" on his back! This is the same old saddle I purchased from you about five years ago. I'm ashamed to say that I've never re-adjusted the panels, but use it on a multitude of different horses, four of whom have won one or more Best Conditioned Horse awards while racing in it. One was a purebred 15.2 h.h. Arabian, one a grade 14.3 h.h. Arabian, and two were Russian Orlov/Arabian/American Saddlebred crosses, ranging in size from 15.1 hh to 16.1 hh........and I didn't need to adjust the saddle at all for any of them.

As you know, I own Ricochet Ridge Ranch, producing horse back riding vacations on the Mendocino Coast in Northern California. We ride in the ocean, coating the saddles with salty foam and sand. We also gallop to the tops of the coastal mountains in the redwood forests, soaking the saddles with horse sweat. My saddle is ridden 6-8 hours per day, many times six days per week. It has probably accumulated more hours of hard use in the past five years than most saddles do in twenty five years.... and it's still in fine shape.

My husband owns two Free and Easy saddles for his very dissimilarly shaped horses. My wranglers fight over who gets to ride in my second Free and Easy... although we usually give it to a paying customer for their comfort. So, over the past few years, five of my wranglers have purchased their own Free and Easy saddles from you, because even on their limited budgets, they recognize the value of owning equipment which will give them and their horses every advantage.

On the endurance trail, I see many fellow Free and Easy saddle riders. We recognize each other by the happy looks on our horse's faces!

Cheers,

Lari

"What unites us all is a love of the out-of-doors, a spirit of adventure, and a passion for horses!"

Lari Shea
Ricochet Ridge Ranch 707-964-7669 ranch phone
24201 North Highway One 707-964-9669 home office ph/fax
Fort Bragg, CA 95437

www.horse-vacation.com (riding holidays in the US and around the world)
larishea@horse-vacation.com
Tel. (707) 964 7669 (ranch)

Free 'n' Easy Saddles