I’ve been meaning to write this post about the old Stonewall endurance saddle that fits Fantazia perfectly for over a year. I’m finally getting around to it because I’ve got a new saddle! (Read about the new one: A McCall saddle custom-made for endurance) So I’d better cover this one first.
Jump to:
Where did the saddle come from?
Trying out the Stonewall saddle
What’s the Stonewall saddle like?
Bottom line
See my previous posts about endurance saddles: Zaldi, Reactor Panel, and Orthoflex.
Where did I get an original old Stonewall endurance saddle?
The saddle came from my Uncle Malcolm’s tack room. It had been given to him, along with an old WWI McClellan, by a friend described by my cousin as a crazy old coot who did endurance. Yes, there was a name, but I’ve forgotten. Crazy or not, I am lucky he gave the saddles to my uncle. Luckier yet that my cousin Andy offered them to me.
My uncle Malcolm did not ride endurance. He loved to pack into the backcountry, and for that he used Western saddles… and mules, mainly! But, judging by the apparent use of the Stonewall, his friend had. I don’t know the full history, but Malcolm’s father Clair Hill bred Arabians, so perhaps the connection is there. Clair imported Cedr, a Polish stallion by Equifor out of a Witraz mare, Cosmosa. (My aunt Bonnie had a wonderful gelding by Cedr.) Talk about potentially excellent endurance lines!
When Andy sent me pictures of the saddles in summer 2022, I asked about them on the AERC Facebook page. (You can read the responses to my post about the Stonewall by clicking here.) We knew what the McClellan was already. Andy described the other as a very light saddle for a ridge-backed here/ Many people were quick to identify it as a Stonewall.
Above: The two saddles my cousin Andy offered to me from his father’s collection. I will write about the McClellan on the right later. On the left you can see the Stonewall. Notice how closely the Stonewall tree mirrors the older McClellan one. The Stonewall is narrower and shorter.
Below, you can two more pictures Andy sent of the old Stonewall endurance saddle. Based on feedback from the endurance community, I decided I should at least try it. I told Andy I wanted both the saddles. If they didn’t work out, I’d sell them for him.
It took a long time before I actually had the saddles though. They were both in Palo Cedro, which is over six hours of driving from Springville, near Redding. I was very busy, and my cousin isn’t given to travelling. Finally, on January 7th, I stopped in Palo Cedro to visit my aunt and cousins (Andy and his sister Holly). The saddles came home with me.
Trying out the Stonewall saddle
The next week was the last one before spring semester started, so I had endless professional development meetings Monday through Wednesday. What with that and the rain, no riding happened. On Thursday I loaded the horses and left for the Fire Mountain ride in Ridgecrest. Before I loaded the horses, I set the Stonewall on both Jazz and Fantazia. It definitely wasn’t going to work for Jazz, but it sat on Fantazia as if it had been made for her. I popped it in the trailer.
(The McClellan was missing part of the rigging. In any case, it would clearly not fit either horse well, so I put it in the barn.)
Our first ride
My first ride with the old Stonewall endurance saddle was Fantazia’s pre-ride for Fire Mountain. I rode her and ponied Jazz about three miles, then switched horses. The Stonewall seemed to fit Fantazia perfectly. It wasn’t 100% comfortable for me. It puts my legs futher back than I like. But I was convinced that I could use it at least for the first loop the next day.
Above: The old Stonewall endurance saddle before my first ride in it. It would be Fantazia’s pre-ride for Fire Mountain 2023.
Testing the old Stonewall endurance saddle in competition
My second ride in the saddle was the Day 1 Fire Mountain 50-mile ride. (You can read about the ride here: Fantazia’s return to endurance and Fire Mt.) I planned to change saddles after the first loop, but as it turned out, the old Stonewall was perfect. True, I had to get off and tighten the cinch many times. I t took me a while to figure out how it worked. Also true, my quads were tired because of where it put my legs. I had to shorten the stirrups a bit to be comfortable.
But Fantazia’s topline was perfect. No soreness. She finished 5th easily, with an excellent vet card. I had found her saddle!
What’s the Stonewall saddle like?
Normally I would call this a review… but these saddles aren’t made anymore. So I’ll just describe it for the curious, or for those who stumble upon one as I did.
The saddle is very lightweight. I’d say around 10 pounds, 15 with girth and pads. The tree is aluminum. It’s short (that’s why it fits Fantazia so well). It is indeed very narrow. To some extent, it will adapt to the back of the horse, because it’s got memory foam under the aluminum tree. But it’s narrow enough that it would not work with a broadbacked or mutton withered horse. For horses with high withers, it can be great. That said, it did not fit Jazz, and he has very high withers. It still bridged a bit on him.
Rigging
One of the best things about it is the adjustable center-fire rigging. You can adjust the length both in front and behind. This allows you to change where the center falls and consequently where the girth lies. It also allows you to determine the heighth of the girth hardware. Very flexible. I should really get a shorter girth and lower the rigging for Fantazia.
The billets are a bit weird, with two layers. It took me a while to figure out that you pulled n the top strap to get the buckle in the bottom one. I’ll have to make a video demonstrating that for clueless people like myself. It takes a Western-style cinch with a buckle.
Stirrups
The stirrups do hang a bit further back than I like. Their placement makes it harder on my quads and knees than I like. Stirrup length is easily adjusted from the bottom, and the fenders are short enough for short people like me. You can see a lot more in the videos below.
The stirrups themselves aer Western-style. I believe they are wood, but lightweight. Fine for me, but I am not at all picky about stirrups.
Seat
The pommel is high and the cantle average. Twist is about perfect for me (it’s narrow). Just enough padding. I actually really like it.
Pads
The saddle fits Fantazia so well, almost any thin pad works. I ended up making a felted wool pad to fit it. You can read about the process here: How to make felted wool saddle pads.
Bottom line
It’s a great saddle. If the stirrup attachment could be adjusted so taht the stirrups hang more forward, it would be perfect. As it is, it’s not ideal for my knees. (But my hips love it.)
The best thing is that it is very short and fits a high-withered horse well. It’s not going to fit a wide horse with low withers. But it fits the very-hard-to-fit Fantazia perfectly. We’ve completed 255 endurance miles in it, plus many more training miles.
I’m not going to sell it, that’s for sure. It’s probably not worth much… but they aren’t making any more.
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I bought my first Stonewall, with a 14″ tree in the 70s. As I matured physically I bought another with a 15″ seat. As my children grew we ended up buying more Stonewalls. All were used extensively in the mountains. Eventually the light weight leather was worn through on the first two saddles – so I had them rebuilt by local saddle makers. Both of those saddles had rawhide covered wooden trees. I have found that these old Stonewall will fit 80% of Tennessee Walkers. I found myself another Stonewall at the AERC tack sale that has a wider tree that fit the rest. Love them Stonewalls.
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