[Cookie4Pookie]

The few times I had to switch horses, you were allowed to take your stirrups with you, not your saddle.
Granted, this was a while ago but it worked out just fine.

[Lord Helpus]

While these eq horses are generally the same type and size, they are also all long past their early, developmental years.

All have filled out and are nicely fed , but, even more inportant, they are all very fit and have well muscled toplines.

If you take horses from the middle 80% of the conformation scale (leaving 10% at each end for the true extremes), and make sure they fit the above parameters, then any of them can wear ANY well made saddle (we are not talking cheapo, unblanaced saddles, here). Certainly for a short time, even if not for long term.

But I wouldn't think twice about putting my saddle on such a horse and expecting it to fit.

[MintHillFarm]

I was wondering this as well. It wont "kill" the horse as said above...but I think it could definitely hinder the performance.

I think at that level of showing, all the riders have excellent, balanced and beautifully made high end saddles.

I'm sure that unless one of the horses is built so oddly that a top of the line saddle wouldn't fit, it's likely a minor issue...

As for the grooms being in the ring; from a safety standpoint it's easier to have someone hold a horse's head while switching the tack. No horse is then in danger of getting kicked; the saddle is adjusted correctly etc...

I had no objection at all to the riders having assistance in the arena. It would look very disorganized, in my opinion, if the 3 riders were left to switch saddles on their own...

[magnolia73]

Also... well, these kids have very good balance and are light in the tack. They aren't grinding their seats or getting left at each jump. They don't sit crooked. They are all fit.

Me jumping in an off fitting saddle is going to annoy a horse more than the Maclay winner..... a daily ride from an unbalanced rider is going to be harder on a horses back than one trip with a great equitation rider...