Western riding comes from the Cowboys’ ranch work. These galloping down steep mountain slopes and sat in the saddle all day, which were completely different requirements than today in sport. Riding is almost always on straight riding grounds. Today it is much more about the movements of the horse.
Toni Mayerhofer is head of CR-Saddles in Lichtenberg, Austria. He has been developing Western saddles for years. “Horses must be able to move freely under the saddle. When we collect a horse, the back bulges upwards and that too has to work well,” he says.