THELADY SADDLER

ByClairRivers-Boyden

After forging acareer inthe corporate industryforalmost20years,from Office Junior to Office Manager,I decided Iwanted to change career sothat Icould workmore flexiblyaround my young family.

Ihadriddenorbeeninvolvedwithhorsesonand offsincechildhood,andthoughtthis wouldbea greatindustry to gointo. However,I felt Iwas too old tostartworkingas agroom.So,whenafriend atthe stablessuggestedIlookintobecominga saddler,I googledit;and cameacrossthe Societyof MasterSaddlers(SMS) website. The rest,asthey say, ishistory.

InApril2015, Ibooked myselfontoaBeginners Leatherwork coursewithChris Taylor,a Master SaddlerbasedinSouthport, to seeif Iwould likeit. Ifellinlove withthecraft,anddecided to self-fundthroughCity&Guilds SaddleryMaking qualificationswithMark RomainatThe Saddlery Training Centre in Salisbury.

Iwas35 yearsoldwhen Istarted to retrainasa Saddler.I had afull-time corporatejob,two children under7yrs, ahusband, ahorseandseveraldogsand cats to juggle.Itwashardwork.It was financiallydifficult,but we gotthroughit.

Throughout my Saddlertraining Ifound Ihad aparticularpassion forbridle makingandsoinSeptember2016,TheLady Saddler wasborn,and Istarted to offer a1:1 made-to-measureservicetohorse ownerswho were havinga hardtimebuyinga bridlethat fits their horse.

I finally completedall my Saddlertrainingin2019and received my official certificate in2020,asanSMS Qualified Saddler.

In February2020,I wonaclassatthe National Saddlery Competitionin London,withthe Level 3Saddle Imade.

Laterthat year Iapplied,and won, aQueenElizabethScholarship Trust (QEST)Scholarship to undertakeadvancedBridlemakingtrainingwith Frances Roche,a MasterSaddler (then) withthe RoyalMews,as wellas achancetostudyandsitthe newCity&GuildsBridle Fitting qualification,the firstofits kind intheUK.

This year,Iamcompleting my QEST Scholarshiptraining andinApril, IpassedtheBridle Fittingqualification,and Iamnow recognisedasanSMSQualified SaddlerandQualifiedBridle Fitter.

Icontinue to specialiseinmadeto-measurebridlesandpromote correctbridle fitting,whichis alignedwiththeSMS’campaignof Fitfor Welfare(ofthehorse).

Mygoals forthefutureare to continuelearning my tradeand eventuallygain my MasterSaddler title.Then Iwouldliketoteach and inspirethenextgenerationof Saddlers to makeand fitbridlesfor thebenefitofthehorse’swelfare.

Formoreinformationvisit www.Ladysaddler.co.ukor call 07717393932.