Saddle Review: Erreplus Freestyle

SADDLE REVIEW

Erreplus Freestyle

With excellent rider comfort and grip, the Erreplus Freestyle has an extra deep seat and a narrower twist to allow for closer contact.

Not one but two Erreplus Freestyle saddles recently arrived at a hobby lavender farm in Molong. Their new owner is delighted with her purchase. “One is for my 14-year-old Friesian Warmblood mare, the other for my daughter’s Welsh cross Australian Riding Pony,” explains Sandra Strudwicke, who lives on the 13 acre farm in NSW’s Central West with her family and horses. “We also have a friend’s retired Shetland, an Arabian I bred, and another Friesian cross,” she adds.

Sandra occasionally rode bareback as a child but didn’t have a horse of her own until she was 27, when she acquired an 18-month-old Arabian. “Green rider/ green horse is never a good idea but somehow we survived!” she recalls.

Many of her early riding lessons were from Tracee Males, once daughter-inlaw of Ron and Val who founded the legendary Ralvon Stud in the mid ‘50s. “Tracee was inspirational and grew my love for horses. I had the privilege of owning Ralvon Memory for over 12 years. My heart was broken when she died.”

After spending time in W.A., the Strudwickes returned to the east coast in 2016. “I haven’t been competing but I’ve been learning classical dressage,” Sandra explains, “and I’m also leaning online with real time lessons from German classicist Nicole Weinauge. Nicole has an incredible eye and she’s also an expert on equine musculature.” Interestingly, Nicole has obtained trainer licenses in Classical French as well as Classical German methods, and says her training methodology brings lightness back into dressage, an alternative to the heavier German training method.

During the day, Sandra works online as a technical business analyst, and she’s very complimentary about the way The Saddle Hub operates. “Its business model is fabulous – low risk for the buyer, low risk for the seller, because you have an intermediary doing all that. I also used them in the past to buy a Bliss of London,” she says. “Ava, my 10-yearold daughter and I wanted an Erreplus Freestyle this time. She had a ride in a friend’s and I was blown away by how good her position was. I didn’t have to keep telling her to put her heels down or stop tilting forward.”

The Strudwickes are looking forward to Ava doing some dressage at the local Pony Club on her pony Tessa. “At the moment she’s riding at home, learning the basics and trying her hand at horse archery. She’s super capable and helps around the stables and yards. My incredible husband Craig also makes time to help each day so I have time to enjoy my Freestyle and my mare,” Sandra smiles. “And many thanks Saddle Hub – you really looked after me.”

The Saddle Hub has a wide variety of top quality second hand saddles, so why wait? All saddles come with a two-week trial, finance options, and a courier right to your door. Terms and conditions apply.