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Carol Potter
Carol Potter
Over-coming injury to go on to ride long distance!
Sometimes we get the most amazing stories from our saddle owners.
Here is a story worth a read....
written by Carol Potter herself. Pictures show Carol and her beautiful horse.
We wish them continued happy hours in the saddle.
Thank you Carol for this:
I can without a shadow of doubt say I believe I'd no longer be in the saddle without Sue and her team. I stumbled across her knowing absolutely nothing about who she was or what she did but at a time when my horsey dreams were literally falling apart at the seams.
After multiple spinal fusions and a degenerative disc disease my pelvis was no longer suited to the twist of my current saddle. This along with a change in horse from an honest, but characterful Clydesdale cross to a cheeky Welsh D that could spin on a sixpence was slowly eroding my confidence and if truth be told, my health. I tried out 3 specialised endurance saddles as my GP was now too wide for me although it fit my horse fine. I'd seen Sue's beautiful saddles online and that Sue was a saddle fitter described to me as making made to measure saddles. This could be my last chance to continue riding.
I'm a happy hacker but dabble in the lowest level of endurance rides which are usually just shy of 30km. When Sue phoned I felt really stupid; I couldn't even answer her questions about what saddle I needed and how I rode! Years of no lessons and just enjoying horses made me feel wholly inadequate. I still cringe at her stunning customers at PSG level where I can't even achieve a nice 20m circle.
I'm relieved to say the fitting procedure was relaxed, informative and interesting. I was put at ease that I didn't need to be a dressage ace to be worthy of Sue's time. My mum was there too having just flown up to Scotland to visit and knows nothing about horses so actually gave quite a good insight into the time and skill Sue puts into the fitting of a saddle to both horse and rider. I accidentally wore a striped polo shirt and mum later described my riding as looking as if I was slipping to one side. Mum said Sue watched us both like hawks and explained to her in the most basic terms what was going on. With the FLAIR saddle being instantly adjustable Sue managed to get the saddle to straighten me taking physical pressure off my joints and the muscles that were trying to keep me straight. Even mum could see the straightness. We ended up choosing the Grand Prix dressage saddle which I would never have considered but actually, endurance saddles are cut quite long and straight. The blocks were adjusted to suit me and all I had to do now was wait.
The initial fitting of the made to measure saddle was incredible, now the blocks weren't just Velcro I could feel the support they gave and started riding more confidently. I think Ollie knew I was riding better too, the spins that used to unseat me stopped. I've no feeling in large areas of left hand side and extremely poor proprioception. The stats speak for themselves, my diary shows 8 falls in 2015 (before getting Sue's saddle!) and just 1 in 2016 and that one was because an endurance marker got underneath him making him jump and I was faffing with my map & bib so not looking.
So, my endurance riding with Ollie was genuinely only made possible with a Grand Prix saddle!!! It still sounds crazy to me but it works. 2016 was my most successful year ever. Compared to others my achievements are nothing but to me it's massive. We managed to get to heaps of rides in some stunning scenery even picking up my first ever trophy at the Scottish Championships. At the end of year AGM we got 150, 250 & 500km awards, the Grampian mileage award for the under 30km category. Biggest surprise though was the Scottish AGM award for native mileage in under 60km category.
At my first refit after a year Sue adjusted the saddle quite a bit and I no longer have a different amount of air in each side or have the girth on different straps. So both Ollie & I are physically straighter.
As well as quite literally making riding possible again the saddle is a work of art. It is so comfy and with lots of extra D-rings added for me I managed to complete a 3 day camp ride around the trail of the 7 lochs on the southern side of Loch Ness.
Here is a story worth a read....
written by Carol Potter herself. Pictures show Carol and her beautiful horse.
We wish them continued happy hours in the saddle.
Thank you Carol for this:
I can without a shadow of doubt say I believe I'd no longer be in the saddle without Sue and her team. I stumbled across her knowing absolutely nothing about who she was or what she did but at a time when my horsey dreams were literally falling apart at the seams.
After multiple spinal fusions and a degenerative disc disease my pelvis was no longer suited to the twist of my current saddle. This along with a change in horse from an honest, but characterful Clydesdale cross to a cheeky Welsh D that could spin on a sixpence was slowly eroding my confidence and if truth be told, my health. I tried out 3 specialised endurance saddles as my GP was now too wide for me although it fit my horse fine. I'd seen Sue's beautiful saddles online and that Sue was a saddle fitter described to me as making made to measure saddles. This could be my last chance to continue riding.
I'm a happy hacker but dabble in the lowest level of endurance rides which are usually just shy of 30km. When Sue phoned I felt really stupid; I couldn't even answer her questions about what saddle I needed and how I rode! Years of no lessons and just enjoying horses made me feel wholly inadequate. I still cringe at her stunning customers at PSG level where I can't even achieve a nice 20m circle.
I'm relieved to say the fitting procedure was relaxed, informative and interesting. I was put at ease that I didn't need to be a dressage ace to be worthy of Sue's time. My mum was there too having just flown up to Scotland to visit and knows nothing about horses so actually gave quite a good insight into the time and skill Sue puts into the fitting of a saddle to both horse and rider. I accidentally wore a striped polo shirt and mum later described my riding as looking as if I was slipping to one side. Mum said Sue watched us both like hawks and explained to her in the most basic terms what was going on. With the FLAIR saddle being instantly adjustable Sue managed to get the saddle to straighten me taking physical pressure off my joints and the muscles that were trying to keep me straight. Even mum could see the straightness. We ended up choosing the Grand Prix dressage saddle which I would never have considered but actually, endurance saddles are cut quite long and straight. The blocks were adjusted to suit me and all I had to do now was wait.
The initial fitting of the made to measure saddle was incredible, now the blocks weren't just Velcro I could feel the support they gave and started riding more confidently. I think Ollie knew I was riding better too, the spins that used to unseat me stopped. I've no feeling in large areas of left hand side and extremely poor proprioception. The stats speak for themselves, my diary shows 8 falls in 2015 (before getting Sue's saddle!) and just 1 in 2016 and that one was because an endurance marker got underneath him making him jump and I was faffing with my map & bib so not looking.
So, my endurance riding with Ollie was genuinely only made possible with a Grand Prix saddle!!! It still sounds crazy to me but it works. 2016 was my most successful year ever. Compared to others my achievements are nothing but to me it's massive. We managed to get to heaps of rides in some stunning scenery even picking up my first ever trophy at the Scottish Championships. At the end of year AGM we got 150, 250 & 500km awards, the Grampian mileage award for the under 30km category. Biggest surprise though was the Scottish AGM award for native mileage in under 60km category.
At my first refit after a year Sue adjusted the saddle quite a bit and I no longer have a different amount of air in each side or have the girth on different straps. So both Ollie & I are physically straighter.
As well as quite literally making riding possible again the saddle is a work of art. It is so comfy and with lots of extra D-rings added for me I managed to complete a 3 day camp ride around the trail of the 7 lochs on the southern side of Loch Ness.
