Linda Mann and P.J.
"A totally different horse!"

When I first bought P.J., I knew immediately my saddle would not fit him, so I went out and bought a new one. For the next 3.5 years I tried 3 different saddles on him. P.J.’s attitude was never quite right. He would grab his lead rope and bite on it when it was time to saddle him. When it came to jumping, he would rush the fences and take off afterwards. P.J. was also very resistant when I asked him to really move out and to use himself.

I had heard about ReactorPanel Saddles from an RP owner and finally in Spring of 2006, I decided to make the call. I first rented the Port Lewis Impression pad and based on the results, I knew it was time to try a Reactor Panel saddle.

I took tracings and photographs of P.J. and photos of the impression pad results to Carmi. She evaluated everything and we then scheduled a fitting.

Carmi came out and evaluated P.J. and then we placed the saddle I owned at the time on him. Looks can be deceiving! Even though the saddle looked like it would fit, the Impression pad said otherwise and with Carmi’s expertise, she really helped me understand and feel where the saddle was causing P.J. pain.

Carmi then moved on to fitting an Esprit H/J saddle for P.J. and I. For the next couple of weeks, I really started to see a difference in P.J. He no longer grabbed the rope when he was being saddle and was more willing to move out when asked. He also stopped rushing to the fences and taking off afterwards. Even my trainer said, “He’s a totally different horse!”

Before I made the decision to order the saddle, Carmi told me to ride in my old saddle for about 10-15 minutes to see how he felt. As soon as I placed my old saddle on P.J. he reacted. When I got on to ride for a few minutes, I immediately could tell P.J. was not comfortable. He would not move out and he felt very short and choppy in his steps. He felt awful!

A couple of friends/fellow riders, who knew we were trying an RP saddle, watched. They noticed and commented about how uncomfortable P.J. looked in his old saddle. They were familiar with P.J.’s way of going before and they noticed big changes in him during our trial of the ReactorPanel saddle. My decision was made!

I called Carmi and scheduled a day to stop by and make the order for the Esprit H/J model and the saddle arrived right on time (actually a couple of days early!).

Carmi came out to do the fitting of the new saddle and P.J. and I took it for a test ride. To show off how well P.J. was doing, we jumped a few fences for Carmi and she thrilled at the change she saw in P.J. He jumped the fences like a nice quiet Hunter. P.J. moves much more freely now in his RP saddle and he feels great!

P.J. and I recently competed in our very first Horse Trials. We finished on our dressage score with a clean cross country round and a clean stadium round and placed 6th overall! We are now planning for a big 2007!

Since P.J. and I are competing in Eventing, we have since tried several of the RP dressage saddles and by far our favorite is the AvantGarde!

It has taken me almost 4 years to find the right saddle for P.J. and it has made a huge difference in our partnership. Before our Reactor Panels saddle, there was a lot of friction between P.J. and I. Now, we have really become a team. We have progressed more in the last 9 months than the previous 3 years that I have owned him. I feel a huge part of that is due to the fact that he is so much comfortable now in his RP saddle and as a result, he has developed a great work ethic.

I will never go back to buying a saddle off the rack. The quality of the ReactorPanel saddles is outstanding, and you cannot beat the customer service of the RP team. The personalization they provide is amazing and you really feel like you are a part of a family and a team that is truly interested in the success of you and your horse and whatever your goals might be!

Thank you ReactorPanel Saddle Company!

Linda Mann and P.J.
Dublin, CA
Eventing

Esprit Hunter/Jumper Saddle