BPLC Adventure and Cavalry saddles.
A saddle for a REAL equine adventure.
95kg “200lb”… fully loaded!
Pete weighs 65kg, and fully loaded with all his gear, 4 days food and water, and all his tack he’s light enough to do a 100 mile endurance race and pass vet checks! Further more… he can GALLOP! What’s the point in freedom if you can’t enjoy it!
TESTED AND PROVEN!
It’s impossible to calculate how far BPLC have covered in our custom saddles, but Pete has covered around 20,000km on his horse Marengo alone, and in that time he’s had… no saddle issues. Not a single one, nor ANY lameness! Yes… they do need to be adjusted and you do need to have an idea what you are doing, but they are absolutely field proven!
After all these km… Pete’s created the slightly lighter “Cavalry Saddle.” Why? Because he wants to go fast! But if you are needing a bit more comfort or have longer distances between resupply, then these are the saddles for you. Now in their 9th generation “as Pete has made 9 new versions, each tested on Marengo during a long ride”, they are as good as we can get them!
Adventure Saddle. 2500 - 2850€ + tax
The whole point of these saddles is that they are designed for “LONG RIDES”, and as a result we feel selling them in any other configuration simply defeats the purpose of the saddles design. As a result, we prefer to sell them with the front, rear, and roll bag designed to work specifically with the saddle. With a full set of bags, the cost is 2850€ + tax.
They are designed to keep you balanced and comfortable while keeping the overall weight on the horse as little as humanly possible “4-6kg total weight”, including the twin mohair girths and breastplate that firmly secure the saddle as evenly as possible across the saddle support area. With the ability to shim both the seat and the underside of the saddle, its possible to adjust fit as shapes change along your journey.
Adventure saddles include…
Twin mohair girths or a large Y girth with stainless steel rings and nylon straps to attach to the saddle as well as a mohair breastplate with crocodile clips.
Your choice of horn shape, or no horn at all.
Biothane stirrup leathers, and flexible composite stirrups wide enough to suit hiking boots. The stirrup leathers “can be” covered in sheepskin fenders to allow comfortable riding in shorts or a bikini for an additional 50€ + tax.
A short sheepskin saddle cover, two large drink bottle holders with medical pouches, straps suitable for securing clothing to the saddle, a rain cover, and a padded neoprene seat.
Fitting the saddle and adjusting it can be done easily on the road or at home, and replacement pads and Velcro can simply be purchased off amazon if needed. “Shims included with each saddle sold”.
Cavalry Saddle. 2500 - 2800€ + tax
The Adventure saddle is a little more robust, with an extra layer of carbon defining it from the Cavalry saddle. The Cavalry saddle also comes with smaller front bags, as well as a full sized removable sheepskin as the cover, allowing the rider to utilise it as bedding each night in addition to saddle blankets.
The Adventure saddle is great for slow and steady, where the Cavalry saddle is better suited to Arabian or similar breeds, and light weight riders that intend to move fast and free. For the EU, they offer a rider of 60-70kg in weight the ability to REALLY move through the Alps or countryside as if they were competing in an endurance race. We EFFORTLESSLY cover distances of 60km fully loaded in under 7 hours in these saddles.
Cavalry saddles include…
Twin mohair girths or a large Y girth with stainless steel rings and nylon straps to attach to the saddle as well as a mohair breastplate with crocodile clips.
Your choice of horn shape, or no horn at all.
Biothane stirrup leathers, and flexible composite stirrups wide enough to suit hiking boots. The stirrup leathers “can be” covered in sheepskin fenders to allow comfortable riding in shorts or a bikini for an additional 50€ + tax.
A long removable sheepskin saddle cover, two large drink bottle holders with medical pouches, straps suitable for securing clothing to the saddle, a rain cover, and a padded neoprene seat.
Fitting the saddle and adjusting it can be done easily on the road or at home, and replacement pads and Velcro can simply be purchased off amazon if needed. “Shims included with each saddle sold”.
The ethical standard for long riding and considering your size.
Sadly, if you wish to do a long ride weight is always going to be an issue. We always have to put the horses first, and as a result we only make long rider saddles in 14, 15, and 16 inch seat sizes. As the distances ridden are often very hard on a horse, we will have no part in overloading and hurting equines and will not make these saddles for people over 90kg.
We can build seats for women and men specifically, or in a more generic form on request. But we will not make a saddle for a horse we feel will be ridden unethically due to weight, age, or lameness. The links below cover what we consider to be an ethical carrying capacity, as well as ethical standard. We make no apologies for this policy.
Our gear is designed to be a modern take on the set up used for thousands of years by cavalry and mounted infantry only lighter. You can gallop with it, climb hills and mountains, and live wild and free.
Pack saddle set ups. 650 - 3000€ + tax
In an ideal world, when riding with two horses, you are riding in a PAIR of fitted saddles. If each horse has a saddle fitted to it, the chances of the horse suffering an injury are reduced dramatically. The rider can alternate between horses, and the horses do not need to have a pack saddle and riding saddle swapped between them with neither ever really fitting “perfectly”. So, with a lot of help from other long riders, we came up with our own design of pack saddle bags made with very hard wearing 1000den Codura. They are secured effortlessly over the horn and at the rear of the saddle with a sturdy clip, and feature a single mohair girth under the horse to secure them in place. They can be removed in seconds in an emergency, can carry a ton of gear, and it’s possible to secure a roll bag to them when slung over the saddle seat.
Test, adjust, test further.
I know that the purchase of two custom fitted saddles comes with a large financial investment that is greater than what many are prepared to outlay. And with a set up for two horses costing a pretty penny for your “hobby”… its a lot, but still less than MOST custom saddles on their own. But for many people, ourselves included this is more than a hobby: this is our life’s obsession. Sadly, for those that just do the odd weekend hike, you will never travel far enough to realise the damage you are actually doing to the horses, but by the time you get over 600-1000km… the wear will start to show.
Having ridden as far as we have, and being in constant contact with others who have devoted huge parts of their lives too long riding, we feel that this is not only the most ethical way to travel long distances, but also the safest. Why? Because horses without pain that enjoy life on the road… are safe horses.
We live for this, and putting the care of our horses first is a cost we are happy to pay for, and why we’ve spent so much developing and testing this equipment.
Shipping costs are not included as they vary greatly and are additional. Buyer may choose shipping type and preferred carrier. A 30% deposit is required at the time of ordering of which a full refund will be given if we are unable to complete your order. Balance of payment is required prior to shipping, and due to the complicated nature of construction, time frame for delivery can be up to three months so booking in advance is advised.