Saddle Update - Almost There!

One of the parcels that I picked up on Monday had the headplate and Flair kit for the Wow saddle I am building for Cisco.

Last night I put the headplate onto the seat.

It's a 5U headplate. This is how wide it is in place.

I also have the wide panel configuration. (dxwg = extra wide gullet) This might give you a better idea of the width.

That's a 2L pop bottle that doesn't touch the sides almost until the cantle.

I ordered the Flair kit so that I can make the adjustments myself. It's a bit daunting, but I'm generally pretty good with this type of stuff. If I get myself into trouble I can try a somewhat local fitter who I think used to be a Wow dealer, and is certified to fit Flair panels, or hit up the Schleese fitter when they come out to this area.

Lots of tubes and little pieces. Thankfully it comes with an instruction manual!

I'm just awaiting the flaps, for which I received notice today that they are shipping from the UK. At least a month earlier than I expected them! I didn't think I would have this saddle going until the end of April, but with all luck I might have it ready in a couple of weeks. Of course, that means I have to pay more money towards it earlier than I expected!

I also have received the Lemieux saddle cover and saddle pad that I ordered a few weeks ago. I ordered them from Horse Health in the UK, who appears to be the main distributor for Lemieux products. It arrived super fast - I ordered them on a Wednesday, and they were received on either the Monday or Tuesday the following week. Yes, shipping wasn't cheap - I think it came to about $40, but considering that it would cost at least half that to ship within Canada I don't think that's too bad. (It actually would probably cost close to $40 to ship these within Canada. Shipping is very expensive here.)

 It has a nylon outer and a fleece inner layer and drawstrings to tighten it up.

The girth pockets can accommodate both long and short girths - the bottom is not closed so a long girth would slip through and hang down.

The bottom of the flap part has a reinforced opening that you can slide your long billets through so that they don't have to be tucked up underneath.

It's currently covering my flapless saddle, but I'm pretty sure that I am going to be more than happy with it.

And lastly - the Lemieux saddle pad.

It's definitely purple! Blackcurrant, to be precise.

I really like it, and not just because of the colour. But it helps. It's got a suede finish on the top side. The billet/leg patch is more of a cordura material. The girth strap is split on the inside so that if you have long billets you can put them through a specific slot if you so desire.

I bought the small/medium size and I'm just hoping that the front of the pad isn't going to be too forward for my small jump flap.

2/3's of a saddle and the saddle pad.

Here's hoping that it all works out and I can start flying over itty bitty jumps with Cisco this spring!