The first time I met Debbie was nearly 10 years ago when she was a (the) representative for Albion saddles. She came to my mother’s farm, Freedom Hill, to help reflock several saddles for myself and clients. At the time, I had one particular young Holsteiner that was a very athletic, insecure, sensitive mare. In her younger years asking her to do anything required me to submit ‘written requests’ that would be returned to me frequently for editing. She taught me the finer points of training a hot mare and just how far ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ goes with our four legged divas. We had some very exciting experiences with various saddles that she did not like……she made her dislike of a particular saddle and fit known to all by doing incredible acrobats without a single leg even near the ground for what seemed like an eternity. My all time favorite experience was trying a new saddle that I later realized was pinching her….I made this discovery when she would buck every time I would try to get off. Every time I shifted my weight to swing my leg over her back the saddle would pinch her and away we could go. This particular adventure lasted nearly an hour before I could ‘safely’ make a flying dismount……...then…….. I called Debbie.

By the end of our first fitting, Debbie had acquired the nickname “my guardian angel”. It was imperative with this particular young mare that I not only had a saddle that fit her correctly, but a fitter that made the experience of finding the right saddle and fit a positive one. Over the next few years Debbie helped me achieve what seemed impossible- that mare happily and successfully competed through FEI. She now had the freedom through her shoulder with stability and comfort over her back to do what she never realized she really wanted to do: a ‘9’ extended trot.
She learned how to fly.

As Debbie was developing the new line of Trilogy saddles we spoke often about the style and fit. I could not wait to get my Verago. When I rode in it the first time it was everything I had hoped it would be. It is a saddle that puts the rider in one position-the correct position. More important, my sensitive, big moving horses are fitted with ease due to the wider, thicker panels which gives you more stability. I love my Verago so much that when I lived in Germany working for the Holsteiner Verband as an auction rider I shipped my saddle over with me. It was $500 one way and it was worth every penny! I am alive and well today in part because of that saddle. I was not about to ride and train those athletic three and four year olds in an old, hard, slick extra saddle that the Verband had laying around that would have probably been too big for me anyway (let alone present my horses in the auction without my ‘seatbelt’ saddle)!

Debbie continues to help me today with all my horses. She has trained an excellent fitter that I have come to know so well, Terry Zambrana. Between Debbie and Terry my sensitive mare Solei, is developing correctly. We examine her back muscles and the muscles over her gaskins every time she visits to see if they are devolving symmetrically and each time, she is more even than the last…..progress; that’s all I can hope for.

My only wish is that I had met Debbie before I started working my first Grand Prix horse, Caviar. He had a high wither and a bit of deep back, on top of that, he was a very sensitive horse that worried about everything. Our journey together from a four year old that no one else would ride because of his ‘athletic antics’ to a mature eighteen year old makes me wonder….he would have been a happier horse because of her.

As riders and trainers, I believe we all take a strong vested interested in keeping our horses sound and healthy. We pay close attention to the daily impact we have on our partners. However, we mustn’t overlook that a proper fitting saddle is a crucial piece of the intricate puzzle of achieving their happiness and our success by giving them the chance to be the best they can possibly be.