Equestrians participating in the sports of jumping, dressage, eventing, saddleseat and polo ride on English saddles. Built to provide the rider's seat and legs close contact with the back and sides of the horse, English saddles weigh less and are smaller than saddles ridden in the Western traditions. The English equestrian must be able to push herself out of the saddle going over jumps, and sit straight and tall while on the flat. How the saddle is made, with all of its various parts, determines the ability of the rider to perform these tasks.
Parts of the Seat
Saddle makers build the seats of English saddles to fit particular equestrian sports. The pommel, the rounded front, of close-contact, jumping saddles is flatter and smaller than those of dressage and all-purpose saddles to allow the rider an easier ability to rise out of the seat. The back of the saddle, called the cantle, on jumping saddles is flatter than on other English saddles; it also is typically built straight across instead of rounded. The lowest point of the saddle, called the seat pocket, where the rider places most of her body weight, varies according to discipline, although good equestrians tend to sit in the middle of the saddle regardless of their sport, write veterinarians Patricia Evans and Clinton DePew of the Utah State University Cooperative Extension. The deepest pockets come on dressage saddles that allow riders to use their seat and core muscles to control the horse. The seat's skirt fits just outside the area of the seat and covers the stirrup bars and stirrup leather buckles.
Under the Saddle
The inner skeleton of any English saddle, the tree, comes constructed of high-quality wood, polyurethane or fiberglass reinforced with spring steel along its length to allow the saddle to give with the horse's movement. Steel also strengthens the tree under the saddle's pommel and cantle. A 1- to 2-inch channel called a gullet runs under the saddle from the pommel to the cantle, allowing the saddle to sit clear of the horse's spinous process. Leather pillows filled with flocking, called panels, protect the horse's back and withers on either side of the gullet from just under the pommel to the cantle.
Between the Rider's Leg and the Horse
The saddle flaps hang down both sides of the saddle between the rider's leg and the horse, and the equestrian sport dictates the style of the flaps. On jumper and all-purpose English saddles, flaps fit the rider's leg and short stirrup length by being rounder and shorter than those on dressage saddles, where the rider's leg hangs down almost straight from hip to heel. Knee rolls, extra padding on the front of the saddle flap, help keep the equestrian's leg in the proper position. A billet cover, a small piece of leather covering the saddle's girth buckles under the flaps, protects the leather of the saddle from being rubbed by the metal of the buckles. A small leather strip on top of the saddle flaps, called the leather keeper, holds the end of the stirrup leathers in place when riding.
Straps and Attachments
The girth, the belt that holds the saddle in place on the horse's back, buckles on either side of the saddle using billets, three separate straps of leathers sewn under the saddle flaps. Stirrup leathers -- two long, detachable strips of buckled leather -- run through the stirrup irons where the rider places his feet. The leathers attach to a metal stirrup bar that is built into the saddle's tree and holds them firmly in place. D-rings, d-shaped metal rings on either side of the saddle's pommel and sometimes on either side of the cantle panels, are used to fasten side reins or lunge lines during training.
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