Photo © Alison Green Photography
“I still do a lot with Pony Club, and I can recommend this saddle for children. It can change as the child grows, and can be adjusted for a different horse.” Bates saddles also feature the EASY-CHANGE Fit Solution, coupled with the CAIR Cushion System, to ensure a comfortable fit for the horse. While the EASY-CHANGE Fit Solution is simple enough to be done by the rider, Bates always recommends the advice of a good saddle fitter. FOR THE COMFORT OF THE HORSE Unlike other saddles, which are stuffed with flocking that can shift, the CAIR system in
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Bates saddles, introduced in 2001, is unique, in that it fills the pockets with air, resulting in a saddle that provides fluid cushioning that moves with the horse’s working muscles. “I have a variety of shapes and sizes of horses in the barn and we can make my saddle fit any of them,” Allie tells us. “I have also noticed that with the CAIR Cushion System, none of my horses suffer from sore backs or discomfort.” All Bates saddles are designed for ultraclose contact, with luxurious doublelined leather renowned for its super-soft, natural, and grippy characteristics. The innovative mono-flap design ensures
unrivaled close contact, and for that reason, Bates recommends only a thin saddle pad to keep the rider as close to the horse as possible. WORKING TOGETHER Allie’s husband Sam travels with her to competitions; he’s her calming aura, she says. No stranger to pre-competition nerves, he is an Olympic Pentathlete, now a veterinarian doing his internship. Together, they run Von Sacksen Eventing in Landenberg, Pennsylvania, 15 minutes from Fair Hill, where she does all of her fitness work on the beautiful rolling hills. The family now travels as a threesome,