Riding sidesaddle works well with a balanced saddle

Roger Philpot, considered by many to be the world's foremost authority on sidesaddles, has distinguished himself as an instructor and adviser and is renowned for his expertise on sidesaddles, saddle fitting and sidesaddle jumping.

He spent the holiday weekend working with members of Aiken Ladies Aside at Black Forest Equestrian Center.

Philpot, who is based in the United Kingdom, embraces the challenge of traveling the world to work with horsemen and to help them improve their sidesaddle riding.

"You never know exactly what type of people, what type of rider and what type of horse you're going to be working with," said Philpot, who was impressed with the facilities at Black Forest. "You have to learn to adapt to what's in front of you. It's been very pleasant for me to come here because two of the riders I've known from the past (are here)."

Philpot became involved with sidesaddle riding by accident. He had leased a livery yard, and the man who leased it had horses from the master of the Warwickshire Hunt, who was in her 70s and was hunting sidesaddle, he said.

"I was asked to exercise her horses, and unbeknownst to me when I went to get on, they had sidesaddles on," said Philpot. "I must admit getting bucked off the first one after about a quarter of a mile. I remember the name of the horse, Sparrow, and that's how I became involved with it."

The horseman has had great success with producing the Sidesaddle Rider of the Year in the United Kingdom.

"I had a young woman come to work for me. We had an old racehorse, and I didn't know what to do with it, so we put an old sidesaddle on the horse and before we knew it, we started to win Sidesaddle Rider of the Year, and it grew from there," said Philpot.

The fit of the saddle is critical, said Philpot, who was being shadowed by The Saddle Doctor's Holly Spencer, who will now be the local source for sidesaddle fitting issues.

"If you don't have a saddle that fits correctly, you really can't teach," said Philpot. "That's why I always insist before I get started that I have to set the saddles up before I teach the riders, and that's where a lot of people go wrong because they haven't got a balanced saddle. That's a major problem with a lot of people because of these inexpensive imports they're buying; the saddles they're buying aren't balanced. And then, all of a sudden, sidesaddle riding wasn't fun after all because the sidesaddle wasn't correct."

His expertise with sidesaddles has given Philpot a terrific way of life, enabling him to travel worldwide.

"Last year, I had eight weeks in New Zealand and Australia teaching," said Philpot.

He became involved with the more technical side of sidesaddles as a result of being named the chairman of the Side Saddle Association, during a period when the organization was having a difficult time, he said. Philpot was the chairman of the SSA for 8¬½ years.

"The technical part of saddle fitting I've learned from doing it and by watching the earlier saddle masters who've by now passed away," said Philpot. "They showed me what to do and what to look for."

Contact Ben Baugh at bbaugh@aikenstandard.com.