Why Saddle Fundraisers?

In my many years as a rider and trainer, I had tested many brands of saddles, since so many of the horses I work with in both my massage and training practice seem to have pain issues relating to poor saddle fit. In my search, I was looking for a saddle that would support both the rider and the horse and that was nice enough for performance people, but not so cost prohibitive that only the elite could afford it. Another criterion for me was that the saddle be easy for the lay person to fit to different horses as their needs changed.

I was about to give up hope of ever finding a saddle that could do all those things until I tried the Fhoenix. In our non-profit program, we currently work with 11 different horses and ponies and I was able to find a way to make the Fhoenix fit every one I rode in it. All the horses moved better and were less sore than when I ride them bareback, which before purchasing a Fhoenix was how I had been training most of them.

After seeing the difference in support it gave to our riders and the comfort to our horses and ponies, we began selling our existing saddles in an attempt to raise funding to purchase Fhoenixes for all our equine partners. Although the Fhoenix is extremely reasonably priced for a saddle of its design and quality, it is still fairly cost prohibitive for us to re-outfit our entire program with them. We began by looking for used Fhoenixes.

I approached Shannon Olson (the Fhoenix representative for the US/ Canada) about our desire to have fundraisers to purchase used Fhoenix saddles and to seek her assistance in locating suitable ones. Shannon made us an amazing deal: she offered to sell us the previous season’s demo models she had at dramatically reduced prices. Since she needed to move the existing stock as quickly as possible, she was able to offer us an additional price reduction if we could raise the funding in a short amount of time.

To qualify for this extra discount, we need to raise enough funding to purchase one saddle per month. We will have monthly fundraisers throughout the spring and summer months to assist us in meeting our goals. We encourage people to attend the fundraisers and to take advantage of the opportunity to demo the Fhoenix saddles we have been able to purchase. Haul-ins are available for a $10 fee made payable to the stable. Please contact us directly for more information.

--Ferronato