A McCall saddle custom-made for endurance (Road to Tevis #109)

Finding the right saddle to ride 50+ miles in is really difficult. My first endurance saddle was an Abetta Serenity. It was relatively comfortable for me, and relatively cheap. It did not fit my mare Lady well, so I ordered my “serious” first endurance from Zaldi, a Spanish company. The Zaldi Endur-Light has fit all my horses “all right.” That is, it didn’t make them sore, but it also has tended to slide back. I like it because it’s close contact and very light.

Zaldi endurance saddles are customizable to a certain extent. One could choose color and material (leather vs. synthetic). But not until now have I ever had tack made specifically for me and my horses: a McCall saddle custom-made for endurance.

My new McCall saddle is a thing of beauty. It’s been a long time since I was so excited to get something new (that wasn’t a horse). Only time will tell if it meets my expectations as an endurance saddle, but it’s generated so much interest that I want to blog about it now.

Why a western saddle?

I’ve wanted a good western saddle for a long time, just to use. My focus on endurance riding, however, had encouraged me to look for lighter saddles. Because Fantazia is very hard to fit, I have tried many. (You can read my posts about the Reactor Panel, the Orthoflex, and the old Stonewall that fits her perfectly.) Still, I wanted a western saddle for training. I have been using my mom’s old Circle Y off and on. In fact, it actually fits River well, and she completed her first 50 in it (River’s first endurance ride). Even with a very loose girth, the saddle never budges on her, no matter how steep the hill.

However, it does not fit me well, and it doesn’t fit Fantazia at all. It wasn’t great for Jazz either, and when I decided to order the McCall, I planned to use it on him in Tevis this year. If I wanted to be able to ride 100 miles in a western saddle, and to train all my horses in one, I would have to buy a new one.

A good western saddle is excellent for training

At first, I mainly wanted a Western saddle to train in. Western saddles are much more stable. I especially notice this when mounting. At the time, I was riding Jazz in the Zaldi, which is particularly unstable for mounting. (One of the merits of the Stonewall is that it never slips to the side, despite its light weight and tiny panels.)

Western saddles also have horns, and horns are useful for many reasons. You can loop a lead rope or mecate around it. Similarly, you can use it as an anchor for dragging things by looping around it. (I did this with River when she refused to pony at first.) You can hang things from it. You can hold on to it!

(I admit to having mixed feelings about horns for starting horses. I always envision a horse flipping over backwards and impaling me. So I probably won’t be using a western saddle for starting any time soon. But once a horse is safe….)

Finally, the extra weight of a western saddle helps build muscle. This is specially relevant for me, because most of my conditioning consists of walking up very steep hills. Even if I never used it in a race, a western saddle would contribute to better performance.

The right western saddle can be perfect for competition, even in endurance

I started to get serious about getting a new western saddle after riding with Scott Lucas last year at Laurel Mountain (you can read about it here: Two Surprise Wins). Scott rides in a beautiful custom-made Western saddle, complete with breast collar. He planned to do Tevis with it. And he’s a big guy. I thought… if he can do it, so can I!

Generally, less weight is better. Yes, rider balance matters just as much if not more than weight. Yes, endurance- (and Tevis) specific research on rider weight and horse condition suggests that horse condition and weight matters more than rider weight. (Read this blog that addresses the issue: Tevis research changes thinking on how much weight a horse can safely carry. Note that Garlinghouse and colleagues (1998) conclude that the significant effect of the rider weight to horse weight ratio on metabolic pulls was most likely due to low horse body condition index.) But there is no denying that it takes more energy to carry more weight.

However… I don’t weigh that much to start with. And there are pros as well as cons to weight in competition.

The advantage of more weight

The day after I rode with Scott, Jazz was first place, and (I thought) Best Condition. It wasn’t until over a month later that I realized that my plaque had been made in error. When I contact Dave, I learned that although Jazz had had the high vet score, Richard’s weight had earned his horse BC. He beat Jazz by 5 points. (Read about it in my erratum: Jazz received Top Vet Score but not BC.) That does it, I thought. Jazz had been carrying my Zaldi; my weight at the end was 138 pounds. (This includes saddle, breast collar, helmet, hydration pack, etc.) Richard’s was 218 lbs. Had I ridden with a Western saddle, Jazz would easily have been BC.

I decided to order a western saddle as soon as I could sell my Reactor Panel.

My McCall saddle custom-made for endurance

Above: To the left or above, the saddle on Fantazia. To the right or bottom, the saddle on River. I took the back cinch off that first time, but she’s wearing it now without protest.

Why a McCall saddle?

Scott had told me Frecker’s Saddlery made his saddle. I could ask them to reference his saddle when he made mine. Their saddles are beautiful! But their wait time was 24 months when I spoke with them in April 2023—and that was just until the saddle went into production.

I also looked into Bader saddles. My boyfriend had several Baders he used with his cutting horses. They are all too big for me, but I love them. Sadly, Gene Bader is no longer making saddles. (And he may not have been willing to customize a saddle as much as I needed.)

I asked an old friend, Debbie Beth-Halachmy, what she recommended. She and her husband Eitan have had many gorgeous western saddles. I’d ridden in a few of Debbie’s and loved them. Debbie suggested a Wade tree made by McCall Saddle Company. Her recommendation was backed up by several other people whose opinion I respect. I decided to seriously consider McCall.

McCall’s saddle makers are flexible

The first thing I did was look at McCall’s website. They offer a number of models with customizations. I went through their “build your saddle” form. There were some options I was sure of (minimal tooling, rough-out, pencil roll on cantle) but they were mainly aesthetic. I was going to have to talk with the saddle maker.

Brad and Cal McClellan make saddles for McCall. I’ve talked to both many times, but Brad took my first call. We started off talking about my goals–endurance broadly, and Tevis 2024 specifically. I outlined the basics of what I wanted: a saddle that weighed between 25 and 30 pounds, narrow twist, lots of attachments… I wanted a McCall saddle custom-made for endurance! I described my horses (short-backed, high withers). We touched on aesthetics. I expressed my doubts about which horn, stirrups, and other things. And I said, you’re the saddle maker, so I’ll leave the details to you. But I need it soon.

Brad said they could possibly have it for me in fall. I agreed to think about the details I wasn’t sure about and call back soon.

Above: Close-ups of the McCall saddle. It has ence oak tooling. I have the cinches hooked to the wrong place. They should be in back, where there is a piece of leather for this purpose. I was confused by the for the latigo where the cinches usually hang!

The process of ordering a saddle

The way it was supposed to work

You complete the online form on McCall’ Saddle Company’s website. At the end you can select “Please Contact Me With Pricing Information” or “Contact Me & Start Building My Saddle.” I guess that is meant to demonstrate your seriousness. There is also a place for comments. Then they contact you. You provide a down payment of $1000. Your saddle is put in line. Their wait time when I first contacted them in April 2023 was 12+ months.

How it worked for me

I completed the form in April, right after I sold my Reactor Panel. I received an email response quickly, and called Brad right away. As we talked, I completed another form and submitted it, along with photos of Jazz and Fantazia. I later also made videos and uploaded to YouTube (but they didn’t view them). We talked again, and I played phone tag for a while. In late May I made the down payment and agreed to call regularly to remind them of the fall completion goal.

Then I dropped the ball…

Both Brad and Cal told me I should call frequently to check on their progress and remind them that progress needed to be happening. It was my part of getting the saddle made before winter. But I was busy. And in August I lost Jazz, the horse I was primarily getting the saddle for… It took me a while to reorient myself. I still wanted the saddle, but I probably wouldn’t be doing Tevis in 2024. No reason to hurry the McClellans too much.

Finally, in mid-September, when I had River and was starting to take conditioning seriously again, I called McCall to check on my saddle. Cal said they could move it up, and reminded me to call again soon. I did… and in November they sent me the tree.

Above: River’s first ride in the saddle. My son Rodrigo (riding Fantazia) took these pictures for me.

Waiting for the saddle to be made

I was going to call this section “The process of making the saddle,” but that wouldn’t be appropriate. After all, I know nothing about making a saddle. I do know about the waiting… and the final fitting.

Fitting the tree

It’s really hard–at least for me–to know what the finished saddle is going to look like based on the tree. Obviously, the added leather will change the contours. Still, I thought it was too long, at least for Fantazia. I thought it might not be narrow enough, but that could be different with everything on it. I made two videos, one with River and one with Fantazia and shared them with the McClellans. (They did view these videos!) I then sent the tree back.

Finishing the saddle

After I sent the tree back, I spoke with Cal about the final details. I hadn’t really decided on the horn, and I was still debating whether to get a breast collar and saddle bags. (I decided against them for now, but as soon as I have recovered financially from paying for the saddle plus several truck and trailer repairs in the same month, I will order them!)

That was mid-November. A certain amount of phone tag happened between then and when they called me to verify my shipping address and run the final payment for the balance of the saddle. That was a few weeks ago. The saddle was delivered to my home in Springville last Tuesday. I had to wait until Thursday to see it, because I work in Bakersfield.

My beautiful new McCall custom-made for endurance saddle

Even though I got home late Thursday afternoon, I immediately opened the box. It smelled beautifully of leather, and it looked beautiful. I carried it in to show my parents, then set it on a saddle rack and brought Fantazia in.

I love the look of the saddle. The McCall team did a fantastic job, especially considering I didn’t give them a lot to go on and ended up saying, “Use your best judgment.” The result is a unique saddle that doesn’t really fit any particular model. I originally asked for a Lady Wade tree, but then I changed the horn to metal (Wades have wood horns). This meant the stock (width back to front of fork) could be narrower than a traditional Wade. It’s very similar to an A-fork (or slick fork). This works perfectly for me, because wider forks get in the way of posting.

The skirt is shorter (back to front) and narrower that usual, which really lightens the saddle. The cantle is high. Its seat is partially padded. It’s got lots of brass to attach things to. They even included straps that could be used to hold saddle bags. It’s got just the right amount of tooling.

First time in the saddle

It was getting dark, and I could only find an old blanket to use as pad, but I put the saddle on. On preliminary viewing, it looks like it will fit Fantazia well. I need to try it with a good pad, and adjust it properly.

I also need to buy a new cinch. It came with one (apparently all western saddles come with a cinch, which was news to me), but it’s slightly too long. If I had known they were going to send one, I would have specified length. I’d also have said, green, not pink, accents! Of course I have old cinches. But I want a new one that will stay with this saddle, as it must be connected to the back cinch.

What is certain is that the saddle fits me perfectly. It has a narrow twist and is the perfect size. Brad had asked me my height and weight and had suggested one size; I said go half a size up in case I get fat. He laughed and I don’t know what the final size actually is, but it fits well. I even have a bit of room for fattening! The stirrups might have to be shorted a bit, just for long-distance posting. It is very comfortable.

Trying the saddle on River

The next day I tried the saddle on River. She is longer than Fantazia, and has less prominent withers, but she’s a smaller horse. The saddle seemed to fit her well. I took the back cinch off, because I wasn’t sure how River would react and didn’t have time for rodeos. We’ll do that next time.

This time I sat in the saddle for over an hour. My son rode Fantazia, and we went out on the trail, up and down hills, for about five miles. Despite the loose girth, the saddle didn’t budge on River. It should be fine.

Above: The furst time I put the saddle on River.

Longer rides in the McCall saddle

This weekend I finally had time to really try the saddle. I have shortened the stirrups one hole, and might shorten them another. I love the way the keeper runs beneath the excess leather. I have also tried various pads. I’ve got some that will do for now, but I will have to find one that fits both the saddle and Fantazia better.

River did fine with the back cinch. The saddle fits her fine. River is not hard to fit…. So did my old Western saddle, but it didn’t fit me. It also doesn’t have a back cinch. I’m loving the increased stability on the new saddle.

Even on the steepest hills, the saddle stayed in place on both mares. And I did not tighten the cinch much. It’s very stable for mounting. And so very comfortable for me.

Update: On March 16th, I used the saddle for the first time in competition. It was really comfortable over 50-miles in the desert. Read about the ride here; River’s second endurance ride.