A fiona Cork Creation!

​​At the VH Saddlery WA Pony Club State Dressage Championships last year I met many absolutely gorgeous young riders, one of whom was Hannah who along with her family attended many of the talks I presented over the weekend.

I came to learn that Hannah was struggling to find a saddle that suited both her and her pony, due to the length of her leg and his saddle platform area. When they finished competing for the weekend I sat quite a few saddles on her pony to see which trees would work best for him and which saddles would give Hannah enough room without extending too far back on her pony's back. In the end we decided the Fiona Cork saddles would be the way to go and the next step was to organise their saddlefitter, Brad Travers to measure her pony. 

This photo shows Brad taking some measurements of Hannah's pony. He uses a special flexi-ruler which he molds to the pony's back and then carefully lifts it off and traces the shape onto specially marked paper. At the time the photo was taken Brad was taking the profile of the pony's spine. This helps the saddle makers know how flat or curvey to make the tree. Brad also templates across the back at each of the points marked on the flexirule. These measurements indicate how wide to make the tree and the angle and length of the rails of the tree. The measurements are taken several times, often reminding the horse to engage its core if it is one of those horses that stands in a totally different posture to when it is ridden. 

Several specific photos are also taken of the pony as well as the rider and sometimes even some video footage. The more information we can gather the better so that everyone involved in designing and making the saddle knows as much as possible about the horse and rider combination. I work with the rider to ensure the saddle is perfect for them in the way of their position. There are so many options available that riders would not even have thought about to ensure their legs hang correctly, in the right angles and without tension. Some options are obvious such as knee roll height, length, position and angle, seat width, depth and length and changes to flap lengths. Other options such as changes to stirrup bar placement and twist width are required less often but are so profound when made for the right reasons. 

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Once all the measuring is finished, the fun part begins! Riders get to choose the leather types and colours for all the different parts of the saddle as well as any bling they may wish to add. 

Fiona Cork is great and sends through photos at each stage, including samples of the leather when they are cutting out fancy prints and embossed leather. She is so particular about absolutely everything that it is an absolute delight working with her. 

Some riders go crazy at this point and sometimes I have to remind them what is and isn't allowed in their particular discipline! Hannah wasn't like that at all and chose a particularly classy floral print for the infill on the cantle on her new saddle. I think we went through five different prints with Fiona's help before deciding on this one and it was absolutely worth the effort! 

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Most Fiona Cork Saddles "fit like a glove" from the day they arrive but like with any wool flocked saddles they need to be checked by your saddle fitter after 20 hours of riding, or earlier if they need to be balanced. After 20 hours the wool packs down and the fitters can tweak it to ensure the perfect fit.  

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Hannah says "I am extremely satisfied with our custom-made Fiona Cork saddle which we ordered through VH Saddlery and was fitted by BT saddlefit. It is a surprisingly low cost for a high-quality custom-made saddle fitted to both horse and rider. It allows my horse to move more freely, is very comfortable and looks exquisite.  I have had many comments about the beautiful inlay patterns.
I highly recommend VH Saddlery if you are looking for a custom-made saddle for comfort, fit, quality and value for money."

We absolutely loved working with Hannah and her family and wish them all the very best with their equestrian pursuits in the future!