Show Equine Professional Company

Quality Saddles by Crest Ridge Saddlery
The Craftsmen at Crest Ridge Saddlery are inspired by working saddles from the Old West.

Saddle Fitting for Gaited Horses, Stock Horses and Mules
Saddle fitting gaited horses and mules is our specialty. At Crest Ridge Saddlery, we approach business a bit differently than other companies. We are not here just to sell you a saddle. We want you to have a saddle that is correct for your horse and comfortable for you. We want you to tell your friends “this one fits!”

For the horse to perform at his optimum level it is your responsibility as an owner to make sure of his comfort. The following is a very basic guide in simple terms that most anyone can understand to insure that the saddle that is placed on a horse will fit reasonably well.

Do you have a saddle fitting problem?

Is your horse:

twitching its tail back and forth under saddle?
doing its best to nip you during saddling?
trying to lower its head while being ridden?
trying to run out from under the saddle while you are mounting?
developing white hairs under the saddle area?
showing uneven sweat patterns or ruffled hairs on the horses back after being ridden?
showing uneven muscling?
showing atrophied withers?
sore backed?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then the very first thing you should check is saddle fit.

Saddle fitting can be a nightmare for several reasons. One of the most frustrating aspects is that many times saddles that appear to fit while the horse is standing still proves to be ill-fitting when the horse in motion. It becomes even more frustrating because the saddle leather itself is covering what you need to see.

About Our Company
Debra Racheter is the owner and founder of Crest Ridge Saddlery of Lowry City Missouri. Since 1998, Debra has been professionally fitting horses which led to designing and manufacturing saddles. Debra Racheter, Owner and Founder of Crest Ridge Saddlery

Debra’s impetus in founding Crest Ridge Saddlery was her 17 years as a trail guide at the horseman’s resort she built and operated in North Central Arkansas. She saw firsthand the problems caused by ill-fitting saddles and the difficulties her customers had in finding quality saddles the fit both horse and rider. Her experiences led her to become a master saddle fitter, specializing in gaited horses and mules. That led her to building saddles, with an emphasis on gaited horses and mules. She has been a presenter at numerous Equine trade shows, including Equine Affaire, Horse World Expo, Midwest Horse Fair and the Minnesota Horse Expo. Debra has also appeared on RFD-TV's "All Around Performance Horse" where she gave a demonstration on saddle fitting.

Debra brought and keeps saddle fitting at the forefront. She created one of the first online resources’ for measuring and fitting treed saddles. Through Crest Ridge Saddlery, she creatively merges a no-nonsense approach to excellence, attention to detail, and concern for the comfort of both the equine and rider. The resulting saddles are beautiful and practical works of art, built by Amish craftsmen from all over the country.

Crest Ridge Saddles
Crest Ridge Saddlery offers nine different saddle styles built in a variety of weights. With 19 saddle trees in our active inventory, Crest Ridge Saddlery can provide a saddle that best fits you, your horse or mule. Our goal is to sell you a proper fitting saddle for your horse that improves your horse’s gait, your safety and your enjoyment. All Crest Ridge saddles are designed to place the rider in a center balanced riding position, for optimal safety and comfort. Our saddles are designed to reduce their weight by using shorter rounded skirts. Our saddles accommodate the shorter backs found in many gaited breeds and feature flared trees to avoid interfering with the horses shoulder. All of our saddles are built with high quality materials by some of the finest Amish leather craftsman in the country. Crest Ridge saddles are built to last by using top quality materials and attention to detail in both design and construction. Our Amish master craftsman can build a custom saddle for you--if you can dream it, we can build it.

Here the types of saddles we offer:

Trail Saddles: Trail horse saddles are the most popular style of gaited horse saddle in the United States. Crest Ridge Saddlery offers five different trail horse saddles. Each is uniquely designed to match needs of the horse and rider. Our trail saddles are also available in Ultra-Lite and Lite models, where we substitute Codura for leather and/or use lighter weight trees to reduce the total weight to as little as 14 pounds as compared to around 25 pounds for our traditional leather saddles.

Heritage Saddles: Our Heritage Saddles are modern renditions of classic saddle concepts adapted to the demanding requirements of gaited horses and mules. We took proven ideas such as McClellan rigging, bear trap swells, California fenders, 3/4 seats, over the tree rigging and many others, to create these saddles. Most of these saddles began as a custom order by one of our customers who had seen a saddle in a museum and wanted one for themselves. Each is a work of art made by our Amish master craftsman. All our Heritage Saddles are completely functional and rugged enough for everyday use.

Custom Saddles: Many avid riders have the ideal saddle pictured in their mind but can't find exactly what they want. Crest Ridge Saddlery can finally make that dreamed for saddle a reality by building a custom saddle and tack for your horse or mule. You don't have to compromise your desires, nor do we compromise on quality. Best of all, you'll be pleasantly surprised how affordable it is to have your custom gaited horse or mule saddle built by Crest Ridge Saddlery.

How Do Crest Ridge Saddles Give The Trail Or Endurance Rider Such Great Advantage?
The advantage in a Crest Ridge Saddles over for the rider begin with saddle fitting. Our master saddle fitter reviews the measurements requested from each purchaser to determine which of our 19 different trees will best fit your horse. With so many trees to select from, we have an excellent chance of having a tree that will provide great weight distribution over your horse’s ribcage, not interfering with shoulder movement and placing absolutely no pressure directly on the spine. The excellent fit combined with a wide number of rigging possibilities creates a saddle that is very stable and secure on the horse. Your saddle is then constructed by an Amish Master Craftsman using top-of-the-line materials providing durability and style. Since each of our saddles places the rider in a classic center-balanced equitation position, the rider will be deep in the seat with a low center of gravity. The saddle helps put you in the proper position to give your horse seat and leg cues. All of these features combine to provide the maximum comfort for the horse and rider while being in the optimum position to team with your horse for maximum performance.

Is It True All Saddles Are Custom Fit?
Yes! We offer a simple to understand method for all of our customers to take a few measurements. Debra, our master saddle fitter carefully reviews the customer’s measurements and photographs so she can and pictures so that we can select the proper tree for the horse. Debra designed ands own exclusive rights to each of our trees. Currently, we have 19 different trees in our inventory. We work with rider to help recommend the proper twist, rise, seat size and cantle to make sure the saddle fits the rider as well as the horse. After the saddle is delivered, we ask each of our customers to check the saddle fit, sending us some more pictures and a white towel test. We work with each customer to make sure the saddle fits correctly, offering suggestions for rigging and padding, to optimize the fit. We allow our customers to be the final judge of saddle fit. If the saddle does not fit to the buyer’s satisfaction within the trial period, we offer a full refund of the purchase price or an exchange.

There is a clear difference between a master craftsman and someone who simply makes a saddle. Our master craftsman have proven themselves to be among the very best. The quality of their work makes each saddle durable work of art. Go to any tack shop and you can easily see the difference in the quality of workmanship. Our master craftsmen carefully cut each piece of leather so that it fits smoothly and evenly. Their hand-stitching is simply superb. All of the edges are smooth and rounded. Our master craftsmen have years of experience and it shows in every saddle.

What Do Customers Say About Their Saddles?
Everything arrived today and the quality is top-of-the-line, just like everything else you sell! I've had my new Ovation saddle for about a month now and it is AWESOME! It's the most beautiful quality saddle I've ever owned (and I've owned some nice saddles). It's light weight for me to lift and it fits my horse perfectly. We ride some pretty steep hills, and this saddle stays in place like no other! A breast collar isn't even necessary. THANK YOU DEBRA!! The value of your expertise is beyond words. I was amazed that you knew that I needed to lower my stirrups just by looking at the white towel test! Wow! I spent SIX YEARS and many thousands of dollars in search of a saddle that would fit my horse this well. He's happy, and I no longer have back pain or discomfort during or after rides! I just can't say enough good things about you and your company. Again, thank you!! Dianne Joslin, Lexington, KYI can't say enough about Crest Ridge saddles, they are absolutely the best , I have had a lot of different saddles, will never buy anything but a Crest Ridge, great quality, fairly priced and your service is outstanding. I hope to be riding in them for many more years.I am very appreciative of the personal service I have received over the years from you, thank you so much and may you have many happy trails.
Sherry A. Barker, Ocala, Florida

Dear Debra,
The difference in Herbie was astonishing. He took five steps and settled down to gaiting far better than he has since I bought him. And he stayed that way for two and a half hours of trail riding as well in deep snow with three other horses. HE is happy with the saddle and it was as obvious to my companions as it was to me.

Not only that, but there was about an hour's unsaddled break between the indoor test ride and resaddling him for the trail ride. Ordinarily, the little beastie would greet his saddle with pinned ears. When he saw the Sinclair coming at him again his ears were up and he made no protest about being cinched up either. That spoke volumes... I have tried many saddles over the years and I know when it's good within minutes. The Sinclair felt like "old home week" in seconds.

Thank you for all your help and your considerable expertise. You will definitely be getting recommendations from me to my friends who are looking for saddles. Everyone at my barn who saw the saddle asked about it and thought it handsome and comfy looking.
Sharon

Order Your Crestridge Saddle Today!
Your horse deserves the comfort, beauty and durability that Crest Ridge Saddlery has to offer. Just pick up the phone, let us know about your horse and riding situation and we'll set you up with one of our incredible saddles today. Call Now!

Contact: Our Friendly Staff
6635 NW Highway E
Lowry City, Missouri 64763
Phone: 1-417-644-0091
Email:
Website: Click Here To Connect