Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Tina Hoover adjusted my saddle a few weeks ago. The saddle fits Speedy a bit better as he is wider than Sydney. In order to accommodate both horses, Tina suggested that I ride Speedy in just a square pad without the accompanying fleece half pad and that I try to find a riser pad for Sydney to help lift the saddle a little in the front. I had to spend some time investigating, but I finally found a riser pad that I thought would do the trick. I bought Roma's Wither Relief Lift Front Half Pad from Dover Saddlery. When I took it out of the box, I was a little skeptical as it is super light weight. Even Hubby cast it a disparaging look. Not one to judge a book by it's cover, I decided to give it a try. What I like about the pad is how contoured it is. I ride Sydney in the Steffen Peters Dressage Show Pad which also has a lovely contoured shape. (Mine is black.) The Roma half pad fits very nicely under my saddle, which I like. It also did a fabulous job of lifting the front of the saddle, maybe a hair too much. I need to play around with it just a bit to get my saddle a little more level.
As soon as I got on, I could feel the difference; the saddle was definitely higher in the front which felt MUCH better. When I next ride, I need to place the half pad a bit farther back on the dressage pad. Overall? This was a good purchase. The pad sells for $29.95 ($28.45 for USEF Members) at Smartpak and for $34.99 at Dover Saddlery. I had a $20 Visa Reward from Dover so with my discounted shipping, I ended up paying only $19.94. Not a bad deal! Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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