The More Things Change ...

The shop at the Pullman Family Farm, summer 2012

This year has brought some pretty dramatic changes to my life. This summer, we had to put our dear old Tanka dog down due to the infirmities of old age.  Then, Edie passed away on Sept. 20, and my brother-in-law Chris passed away 15 days later - oddly, from  the very same cancer Edie had.  And on Oct. 26th, I learned that as of November 30, my time with the shop will be over.

The owners have decided to move the physical location of the shop closer to their home - understandable, since their commute is about 60 miles one-way.  However, the new location they've chosen puts the shop 60 miles away from me. That would mean that my 40 mile round-trip commute would morph into a 120 mile round-trip commute ... and that ain't gonna happen.  Not for me, and sadly, not for my co-worker Nancy Okun, either - her commute would actually be 12 miles longer than mine.  So as of 5 pm on Nov. 30, after roughly 14 years with the shop, it's officially good-bye.

Change is unsettling, no question - but after the first terrifying, stomach-dropping shock, it often turns out the be just the kick in the ass that was needed.  Since Edie sold the shop in 2009, things have changed significantly; I've become increasingly restless, and have spent more and more time contemplating the possibility of "going independent" and running my own business ... and if this isn't the universe telling me that now's the time to do just that, I miss my guess.

In the years I worked with Edie, I learned about saddle fitting, repair and design ... and I also learned her particular business philosophies, practices and ideals, those specific ingredients that made a little tack shop up over the indoor arena 3 miles off the main road in a town of less than 4,000 people the go-to place for saddles and fitting.  So I'd say that I have a very successful business model to use.  I've also met some outstanding folks in the saddle business who've helped and taught me: Nikki Newcombe, Ann Forrest, Nancy Temple, Patty Barnett, Rob Cullen, John, Gemma and Cassie Hartley, Frank Baines, Victoria Coleman, Mike Scott,  Brita Rizzi and Louise Palmer, to name just a very few, and since they've heard the news, they've been even more kind and supportive.  And since the change has become public knowledge in the saddle world, Nancy and I have had three people very kindly approach us with offers to rep saddles, and we're going to take them all on.  I'll still be taking saddles to barns and traveling to do adjustments; I'll also be working long-distance with templates and photos, and I'll still be writing this blog, same as ever.  I'll also be setting up my own web site, which will have fitting info and - new feature - videos.  In deference to the fact that I need a regular income, I will have to find a "real" job, at least for a while, but my focus will be on getting back into saddles full-time as soon as possible.  I truly love doing this, and don't see any reason I should quit.

Bliss of (and In) London!

Just got a heads-up from Nikki Newcombe at Bliss of London. If you're interested in going to the London premier of the movie War Horse, Bliss has some free tickets available.  And not just any free tickets - VIP tickets that will get you into the movie AND the pre-screening party.  Here are the details:

Would you like to join us on January 13th 2012 for the opening night of the film War Horse?  We are giving away 10 pairs of VIP tickets for you and a guest for this very special evening.  If you would like to attend, all we askk is for you to e-mail us at contact@bliss-of-london.com with the subject title "War Horse" and include your name and address and the name of your guest.  The first 10 emails received will be notified within the next 3 days and your tickets will be sent out by special delivery.

Hosted by Bliss of London at Odeon Cinema, Swiss Cottage, London, NW3 5EL. 

 Reception party starts at 7:30 pm.  Presentation at 8:30 pm.

So if you or someone you know is lucky enough to be in or around London, contact Bliss and get tickets.  I wish I could be there, but I WILL be seeing the movie here in the US that same day.  I'm arming myself with a full box of tissues (I can't make it through the trailer without tearing up!) and going with a bunch of fellow horsewomen.  I'm sure we'll all be bawling like babies by the end of the movie.

And if you'd like to get a preview of the truly stunning saddles that Bliss of London is creating, visit them on their FaceBook page and give them a "like".

Black Country Rocks Customer Service

Customer service is lying in the gutter with multiple stab wounds.  It's going the way of the dodo, the bustle and the rotary-dial phone; finding a company that stands behind its products and goes above and beyond to keep the customer happy is more unusual than finding an ethical politician.  So when you run into it, you have to tell everyone.  So here's a little story about one of those rare gems:  Black Country Saddlery.

There's a Rumor ...

Did you ever play the game "Rumor" when you were a kid?  You'd sit around in a circle and one person would whisper something into the first person's ear - say it was something like, "Donna's going to the movies with her best friend next Friday night."  The first person would whisper it to the next person, who'd whisper it to the next; it was passed on in that fashion until it reached the last person, who would announce it to the group at large.  Almost invariably, the message would have become something like, "Donna's going out with her best friend's boyfriend next Saturday."  And the more people it filtered through, the more distorted it was likely to become.

Now, we just heard a couple of rather nasty rumors here at the shop, and I'd like to do what I can to put them to rest before they spread and morph into something even uglier than they already are.  According to the first rumor, Black Country Saddlery has gone out of business.  Totally, absolutely, completely untrue.  What IS true is that Nikki Newcombe, BC's sales manager, has been stuck in the UK, unable to get to Rolex Kentucky because of the no-fly situation caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland.  (If you're going to Rolex, however, do stop by the BC booth because it will be open!)  The company itself is still hale and hearty - in fact, they've recently hired a new saddler - and they're turning out our best-selling saddles with the usual attention to quality and fit.  So, to paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated.

The second rumor is that there is only one Society of Master Saddlers Qualified Saddle Fitter here in the US.  While I may not put a huge store on a fitter's certification or lack thereof, I am an incorrigible nit-picker and MUST set facts straight by saying that this rumor is also completely false.  There are well over a dozen SMS QSFs here in the States.  The SMS site has a list on their website, but - strangely - their site is down  as I'm writing this post; so Nikki is sending me a list of the US QSFs, which I will post here when I receive it. 

Well, I feel much better, having done my bit to set the record straight.  And to those who spread this sort of misinformation, I'd remind you to be wary of the Teeth of Karma, which are, in my experience, very long, very sharp, and unerringly aimed to take a large chunk out of the offender's butt.

Congratulations to Nikki Newcombe, QSF

Just wanted to take a moment and give a shout out to Nikki Newcombe, sales manager at Black Country Saddlery in Walsall, UK. She has completed and passed the Society of Master Saddler's qualification course, and is now a Qualified Saddle Fitter. This is no small feat - the SMS has very high standards, and the training is very exacting; becoming qualified requires dedication and a long period of hands-on training, as well as passing a nerve-wracking practical exam.

From my point of view, it's also extremely helpful for the sales manager of our best-selling saddle line to be knowledgeable about the fitting issues we're seeing, and understand the modifications that can be made to a saddle to address these issues.

So, Nikki, congratulations - it's a pleasure to work with you!

Fitting Options

I had a request a couple of entries ago for photos of some of the fitting options I'd mentioned. Here you go, with examples of how each is meant to work.

First is a trapezius or dropped panel:

This panel is useful for horses with a good wither and dips below it, like so:


The dropped part of the panel will snug into that dip and keep the saddle from nose-diving into the withers.
Next option is the K panel (named for Kay Hastilow, Master Saddler, QSF, who originated this design):
This configuration is good for a roof-backed horse with "shark" withers:

The extra panel depth works the same as a dropped panel, but is better for a more extreme conformation.
This is a wither gusset:
It's often used in conjunction with a dropped or K panel - again, to help keep the front of the saddle off the withers.

Here's a photo of an upswept panel:

The rear edge of the panel is curved upward rather than being squared off. This is a great help in fitting short backed horses (particularly if the rider requires a large seat size) and horses who are built rump-high.

Another helpful fitting option is an extra-deep rear gusset (don't have a photo of that - sorry; just imagine adding extra depth to the gusset). Works well for a horse with a big back-to-wither difference, and is sometimes used with the K or dropped panel.

While these fitting options (and others) are available from most of the better UK-made saddle makers, these photos are all of Black Country saddles. I'm going to make a shameless plug for Black Country Saddlery here and say that I absolutely love dealing with them. They deliver saddles to us in 4 weeks or less, and they FIT. If there's ever a problem, they make it right immediately (or as immediately as the Atlantic Ocean and 4 time zones allow - I've had Nikki Newcombe, their sales manager, reply to my e-mails on weekends and at odd times of the day and night). Can't say enough about the quality of their saddles or their customer service!