DECEMBER 2025 THE RIDER /27


to avoid any discomfort for the horse. If the saddle is too narrow, this is the fit that will give dis- comfort or pain to the horse, and the saddle is always sliding back on the horse when in motion.


Palm Partnership Training™ Building A Partnership With Your Horse


Thoughts on Trends in Today’s Western Dressage Arena Let’s get ready to show & grow!


By Lynn Palm In this series, I would like


to address some of the current trends seen in the Western Dres- sage arena from the judge’s point of view. Some may be controver- sial; some may be clear but need further explanation to continue to spread the good message of the methodical training progression for riders and horses known as Western Dressage. Follow along for more. The first question that I


would like to share my thoughts on is “What saddles are correct to use in competition?”


According to the current


rule with USEF and found in the Western Dressage section of the rulebook, the following apply:


Saddle: A standard American West-


ern stock saddle with swells, a seat, cantle, skirt, fenders, West- ern stirrups, and fastened girth or cinch is required. A working Western side saddle is also ac- ceptable.


a. Optional and permitted fea- tures may include: 1. Horn 2. Padding or pads on the seat of saddle 3. Bucking rolls 4. Tapaderos, except in Western Dressage Equitation


b. The following features and style of saddles are not permit- ted: 1. Thigh & knee rolls 2. Saddles: Australian, Baroque, English, McClellan and Spanish


Over the 15 years of West-


ern Dressage there have been so many different types of western saddles going on the market for the discipline. Unfortunately,


some of these so-called Western Dressage saddles are not de- signed to put the rider in a bal- anced position to be effective. Often there is more of a sales gimmick and less of a tried-and- true quality.


With that, I subscribe to the


American western traditions. When using a saddle myself, as- sessing for a student or viewing in the show ring, I look for the following.


1. Leather saddle, seat, skirts, fenders of leather and stirrups made of leather or wood, leather ties on both sides and Western Horn, which is most USA West- ern traditional.


2. Saddle is made to be used with a western pad, which should be square to follow square skirted saddles, or rounded to follow a rounded skirted saddle.


3. Girth can be wool woven, or of solid leather


4. Back Cinch is optional, how- ever; with cattle, pulling any-


thing, and other ranch work re- quired a back cinch to keep the saddle from moving when in use for tasks on the working ranch with horses I wonder, is it necessary to


stray from these traditional points? Why is it that manufac- tures put nontraditional appoint- ments and designs that are not necessary? Knee rolls on the fenders, skirts that stop at the bot- tom of the cantle, and horns that have no purpose or different de- signs are nontraditional and I don’t support these and the like. Those who are new to the sport and want to ride correctly with willingness and harmony with the horse, should be able to find a traditional western saddle that fits the horse and has a balanced seat for the rider. This is what is hard to find in Western Saddles!


Here are my tips for upgrading your western saddle and/or to im- prove the fit to your horse and to you.


Be aware and avoid: 1. Western Saddles that have two


narrow trees for your horse, es- pecially the stock horse breeds.


2. Western Saddles with a seat balance that encourages you to sit most of your seat on the cantle of the saddle instead of the middle of the seat of the saddle


3. Western Saddles with fenders that are stiff thick leather, fenders are locked encouraging your legs to be forward allowing no free- dom of the fender to swing back and forth very easily


4. Saddle skirts that are thin leather and will tend to curl up


5. Thick, stiff, squeaky, cracked leather


6. Tooling that is rough or too deep that collects dirt and grime. They can be abrasive on the rider’s legs on upper skirts and/or fenders


7. Heavy western saddles! In my 70s I still can handle a 28 to 30 pounds saddle. Most western saddles are too heavy from trees and lots of leather and girthing. This is most important and what I must request on any saddle that is custom made.


What to look for:


1. Saddle that is wide in the tree,which you can assess stand- ing 3/4 front to a horse and facing the shoulder where the tacks are at the bottom of the swells of the saddle should be wide enough that you can see in the shoulder area that is looks uniform and saddle is not too narrow for the area just under the middle of the withers. If saddle is too wide, the pommel of the saddle, under the horse will touch the wither, this you do not want. However, you can pad a wider saddle with a pad


thigh touching the pommel. 4. When seeing the rider in the saddle, the cantle should com- plement the rider’s rump (same size or slightly larger) not the rider’s rump larger than the can- tle. If that happens, the seat is not balanced, pushing the rider to sit on the cantle or the seat size is too small.


5. How do we tell if the seat size is correct? I have two measure- ments; one the thigh of the rider should have a two finger width from touching the pommel or swells of the saddle and touching the inner thigh of the rider. Someone on the ground should measure this. If one finger on the thigh touches the pommel/swells, then the saddle seat is too small. If there are 3 fingers or more the seat size of the saddle is too big. Second, the rider’s buttocks to the size of the cantle. If the but- tocks are larger the canter, the seat is too small. If the buttocks are hidden from the cantle, the seat of the saddle is too big. Or if the cantle size does not look uni- form with the rider’s buttocks,


must allow you to have this posi- tion with comfort at all times! I always recommend to rid-


ers to invest in the best quality tack that they can. Most custom- made saddles give the best op- portunity for fit and balance of both horse and rider. With factory made saddles, you have to do more homework on what you need to play your sport the best! Best of luck when evaluat-


ing your current saddle or through the purchasing process. Remember to use the above men- tioned tips to find the fit and bal- ance to achieve harmony with your horse. Stay tuned for more trends demystified in the Western Dressage arena.


Palm Equestrian Academy throughout


generalinfo@lynnpalm.com 352- 362-7847 Cyril and Lynn offer clinics the country and


abroad as well as online coach- ing. Join them on their teaching tours or their Palm Equestrian Academy European Journeys.


Equi Cup Oktoberfest Champions


Cup Jumper Show and Cham- pionship was held on October 3-5, 2025 at the Ancaster Fair- grounds.


1.0 M Jr/Adult Division Horse/Rider


CH: Leggs/Craig Jackson RES:Adaline/Regan Cachia Third: Thunderstruck/Bray- den Baskott


1.0 M Training Jumper Divi- sion CH: Nightingale Van De Zulu/Robyn Miller RES: Ducati Ghost/Kim McAlister Third: Kraemer/Marie Denau


The Oktoberfest Equi


EquiCup Jumper Division CH: Balourina/Teha LaPointe RES: Legendary Lance SWF Third: Domani KG/Dieter Werner


5 Year Old Jumper Develop- ment (Pictured at Right) CH: Amazon Forester/Teha LaPointe


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6 Yr Old Jumper Develop- ment (Pictured at Far Right) CH: Roheryn KVF/Kim McAlister RES: Giant Sunrise/Teha La- pointe Third: Rossano/ Bozena Calic For information visit


2. Saddle of quality leather. This means it is soft, pliable, medium to thin in leather thick- ness, tooling is defined yet easy to keep clean and always looks just tooled.


3. Balance of saddle: A: saddle seat must be level to a point that it does not have a downhill ten- dency from the twist to the can- tle. The bottom of your seat and most of the buttocks should be sitting in the seat without your


then seat size is too big. 6. Using the correct type of sad- dle for western discipline. For example, Western and Ranch Riding events go together. Rawhides, minimal silver, orien- tation without attention is ac- cepted. The balance of the saddles will allow you to have a vertical position in the saddle; ear, shoulder, middle of the hip, back of the heel, to the ground is where the seat of the saddle allow and encourages you to sit correctly and evenly on your seat bones. Western Saddles have slightly different designs for their disciplines. The bottom line is you have to know correct balance for all that is involved with your western discipline. Your saddle


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