Right then and there I decided to sell my recently bought custom made fender, save a bit extra money, and buy a Kent! I was converted!
A big “Thanks” to Daniel and Ben Kent for making my awesome Kent fender, a custom made, “Equalizer Southern Drafter Slimline Saddle”, with Cable Rigging, with matching Y shaped breast plate. It’s amazing to ride in, and I’ve never been happier! I just love it! And a big “thank you” for the rest of the team at Kent Saddlery for doing an amazing job all round!
I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to ride my mare in a swinging fender, as she is hard to fit, which I soon discovered after I bought a pretty decent second hand swinging fender, that fit a young QH gelding I had, and I loved riding him in it…. I loved the freedom of movement of the fenders, rather than having limited movement, like you have in a western, which I was used to riding in.
But when I put the swinging fender on my mare, well, it was a different story! It was like she was having a bucking fit whenever I went to canter! It just didn’t fit her right, and I felt like a beginner, as no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t sit in the saddle, and was bouncing everywhere, even though I’ve been riding my whole life!
So I sold that saddle and ordered a custom made saddle with another saddle maker, with a wider tree, thinking that would solve the problem… Well I waited patiently for 11 weeks for my new saddle, and what do you know??? It didn’t fit her either! I was devastated! This one was even worse! I only had 3 rides in it, but no, it was no better, and so I gave up, and had decided that I sadly just wouldn’t be able to ride my mare in a fender…
Anyway, a few weeks later I went to a Horsemanship Clinic with Shane Cooper, who rides in a Kent fender. He could see the trouble I was having with my western saddle, in that I couldn’t put my legs forward enough, due to the limited movement, and so he urged me to try his spare Kent saddle on my mare in the lunch break…
Well in short, he couldn’t get me out of it, and I rode in it for the rest of the afternoon! It was amazing, I was in love!! I had finally found a swinging fender I could ride my mare in, and it felt like we were one together at the canter! Right then and there I decided to sell my recently bought custom made fender, save a bit extra money, and buy a Kent! I was converted! And as they say, the rest is history! I haven’t looked back since!
I also have a young QH gelding who is going down to be broken in the next few weeks, and I love that this saddle will also fit him, as Kent’s say, “have the saddle made to fit your widest horse”, and being that he has no wither, and is going to be extremely solid, I had this saddle made so it will also fit him! Thank you once again Lyle, Helen, Daniel, Ben, Janelle, and everyone else at Kent Saddlery, for making me a VERY HAPPY CUSTOMER!! 🙂