Trainer and Clinician Ellie Coletti and Opo

Black Country Saddles

Black Country Saddles of Walsall, England, is a small, elite firm of saddle makers. Black Country's master saddlers have resisted the lure of assembly-line production and thrive by staying true to the tradition of British bench-made saddles.

Each saddle is made by hand from top grade English materials on British-made wood spring trees, which are in turn produced to the highest possible standard of construction, and are certified to conform to the extremely stringent BETA standard of symmetry in saddle trees.

We have, over the years, identified trees outside the Black Country's standard range that work especially well for particular types of horses, and have developed panel patterns and features that address many of the deficiencies we find in standard panels.

Our range of saddles made by Black Country incorporates the features we think horses need most: forgiving, versatile-to-fit trees and large panels to increase the weight-bearing surface. Because each saddle is made by hand to our specifications, we often request special features in the saddle to meet the horse's individual needs.

Advanced Saddle Fit Exclusives: Minuet, Galway

We are proud to introduce the Minuet and the Galway, which are the result of research we conducted with help and guidance from Kay Hastilow, Senior Lecturer and executive member of the Society of Master Saddlers, a British Master Saddler and widely regarded throughout the world as a foremost expert in saddle fitting.

Several years ago, we asked Kay to come to the United States to look at some of our hard-to-fit cases, and help us better understand the issues with saddle fit that we often encountered with certain types of horses. Kay was immensely helpful in analyzing the specific fit considerations for different body shapes, and helping us identify the types of trees and features that would best suit the Baroque breeds, Quarter Horses, Arabs, Morgans, Friesians -- the hard-to-fit sport horses that had challenged and sometimes un-nerved us in the past.

The end result was the Minuet and the Galway, which are made for us in England by Black Country. These saddles have surpassed our expectations for excellence in fitting the wide-bodied, well-sprung breeds. We have since moved beyond the original tree to produce these saddles on a larger range of wide tree shapes for different configurations of "wide."

These saddles are as comfortable for the rider as they are for the horse, they are built to last and provide years of comfortable use, and they are an excellent value for the price.

Minuet Dressage Saddle Price: $2,750

Black Country Minuet Dressage Saddle

The Minuet is built on an open-arched tree to accommodate the shape of a wide-bodied horse. The seat is both soft and supportive, with a gorgeous, grippy reverse-doe hide. Serge panels and balance straps are standard.

Galway General Purpose Saddle Reverse doe seat and pads Price: $2,550

Black Country Galway General Purpose Saddle

This is a General Purpose saddle with similar fit considerations for the wide-bodied horse. There are a number of choices available in leather color and type. Like the Minuet, the Galway has serge panels for stability and comfort and a balance strap for additional stability.

Also shown is the Black Country Galway with Caramel calf leather (add $500).