By Flora of the treelesssaddle list:
I have finally gotten the chance to use my Sensation Dressage Trail
on the endurance trail this weekend -- on a very technical, very
difficult, very mountainous 55 mile ride (No Frills) -- and all I can
say is... WOW! I have never felt so good, never been in such lovely
balance (when I compared this ride photo to the official photographs
from other rides), and never been so comfortable! Even my Welsh/Arab
pony did fantastic -- for the first time EVER in (now) 1,370 miles -
he walked into every vet check well below parameters!!! Well below!
Even though by afternoon the temps were almost 80 degrees!!! In the
past I have always had to strip off tack to get him down, even when
the temps were freezing and it was sleeting. Not anymore!! The
Cloud Nine pad and the Sensation kept his back nice and cool. While I
watched the other riders stripping off tack and sponging like mad to
get pulses down, he and I just strolled into the pulse area, saddle on
and girth still tight -- at 56!
I swear that never, ever in my whole endurance career have I ever
been able to do this!
I can't express how so very elated I am -- I'm just about dancing
around the room for joy!!!
He even ate at all the checks which he has also NEVER done before --
probably because his back had always hurt, which caused him ulcers
which further worsened the back issue - a vicious cycle that I could
never get a handle on. My poor guy! Now that he was feeling better
both physically and mentally with a saddle he liked, we got to watch
other riders (a fair number!) coming back, upset, without their vet
cards because they were being held by the vets for gut sounds
recheck... and we weren't among them. He was busy chewing and
eating... and I was standing there in disbelief with a smile getting
bigger and bigger by the second.
He and I finished 13th out of 36 or so (think that was the number of
starters) -- even though we weren't trying to place, just out to ride
the miles to get to our goal of 3,000. Because he's turned 18 (as of
yesterday) we took our time, enjoyed the trail, I got sunburned
(rather than sleeted or rained upon like prior years), he got to stop
a lot and eat fresh spring grass, I got to run down mountains, and get
on and off from the ground without the saddle shifting even the
slightest, and we trotted across the finish line 7 hours 17 minutes
later happy and pain-free - both of us. Checked his back later that
day and the next -- not even a hint of soreness, where before he would
dip his back at a touch like a limbo dancer.
So... not only do I give the Sensation an A++ and two very
enthusiastic "thumbs up" for hard endurance riding, but it exceeded
expectations on nearly every level -- comfort, stability, correct
rider positioning, no heat build-up underneath. I have decided that
this saddle will now be a partner in my 3,000 mile goal.
Judy
http://iceryder.net
