I´m yet another person whose first word was some form of "horse." I´ve been riding, mostly bareback, anything that resembled an equine since age three. In my late 20s, I got my first horse, and I learned a lifetime´s worth of lessons from him. One of those lessons was, "Saddles don't work very well on horses." We went through five together. The last worked well on him, but it was hard on me. After that, I became somewhat obsessed with saddles and potential improvements that could work for both the horse and rider.

For my next horse, I bought a saddle that was perfect for him and okay for me. Technology and engineering were finally starting to be applied to saddles! A third horse came along at the same time that I heard about ReactorPanel saddles. I went for the free trial offer: Carmi Weininger came out and fit some saddles for me. For the first time I understood what it felt like to have an excellent fit for both the horse and rider, and how much less work we'd both have to do as a result!

I not only ride in and fit ReactorPanel saddles, I left my job as a Speech Pathologist/Clinical Coordinator at a Medical Center to work full-time for the company!

My riding consists of basic "dressage" both in the ring and on the trail solely to increase flexibility, balance, and mental centering with the main focus on training for and competing in endurance. I am a certified (human) massage therapist with growing interest and knowledge in equine anatomy and physiology.

ELISE GESKE
Fitting Agent: Greater Bay Area
Home town: Berkeley, CA
E-mail:Eliserp@comcast.net

I was one of those girls born with the "horsey-bug"- I think there´s a specific gene for that! It wasn´t until my early thirties that I had the opportunity to immerse myself in horses. I started with several years of lessons. I tried jumping, but decided that keeping all four feet on the ground was my preference. I gravitated toward competitive trail and endurance riding and continue to enjoy both.

I have competed for 12 years now, including endurance at the FEI level. The never ending journey that the horse/rider partnership encompasses continues to fascinate me. Learning and executing the components of the conditioning program, cross-training and training schedule, massage, nutrition, shoeing and saddle fit to maximize the fitness and comfort of the horse is my primary goal.

I was one of those fortunate ones when it came to saddle fit experiences (at least from all the saddle search horror stories I have heard). My first saddle purchase, after attending a saddle fitting lecture by a saddlemaker, was a quality custom endurance saddle that was comfortable for me and my horse. My introduction to ReactorPanel saddles, by a friend who was a saddle fitter for the company, was just another quality saddle fitting experience for me. This cemented my commitment to wanting to educate riders regarding the importance of saddle fit for both horse and rider and opening people up to the possibilities of alternative saddles, specifically, ReactorPanel.

Always wanting to grow and expand my knowledge, I have attended numerous intensive clinics on natural horsemanship. My studies in the last year have expanded into equine anatomy, specifically, completing Equinology´s Sports Massage Foundation Course.