[Ryan A. C.]

I am looking for a company that offers arming saddles, though I don't actually expect to find one. So instead can anyone offer instructions, or tips in constructing my own?
What would be a good base to build on, Australian?
Any period artwork with attention given to tack would be most helpful or any picks you jousting folks might have of yourselves.

Thanks so much

[Gordon Frye]

Ryan;

If you are interested in a REAL Arming Saddle, that will fit your horse and you, talk to Jeff Hedgecock of Historic Enterprises : http://www.historicenterprises.com/ He has made one for himself, and offers the service to others as well. If you dig into his website you'll find a little photo essay on how he went about it, fitted it to his horse, etc. Since he is totally retentive in this sort of thing, AND is a serious rider and historic jouster, his equipment is not only made to be authentic, but made to use, and to work properly as well.

Another top-notch maker of cool stuff including saddles is "Bjarni's Boots": http://www.bjarnisboots.co.uk/ Check out their Royal Armouries goodies. Serious Arming Saddles there! But go also to "Prices" and scroll down... he offers a beautiful ECW period saddle for a mere 1200 Pounds... and a LOT of other cool stuff.

You might also want to look into Camargue saddles: http://www.sellerie.onenparle.com/selles.htm They're a pretty close copy of the late-15th Century military saddles. There are a couple of vendors of these, so you might do some more net searching, but I can also send you a few more links if you need too.

I ride a Portuguese myself, and I know a few other fellows who joust in them, but they aren't the best for fit and have a nasty habit of slipping sideways at inopportune moments (unless your horse has SERIOUS withers!). Be careful though, as Ebay has some really cheapo India-made versions for cheap... but a decent one costs around $500. Try Frontier Equestrian for theirs: http://www.frontierequestrian.com/getProduct.cfm?CatList=26 I haven't done any lance-to-lance contact while riding mine, but with plenty of quintain and running at heads, its a good solid seat (I've also ridden out a few good solid buckings in it too... not a time for a crummy saddle!)

Some guys like Rod Walker use a modified Aussie saddle... but he can jump in and tell you about that aspect. But there is in fact an extant English Civil War saddle that is remarkably similar to the modern Aussie saddle, the main difference being in that the ECW saddle has large square skirts, while the Aussie has the rounded, rather narrow skirts like a modern English-style saddle.

Anyway, I hope this gives you somewhere to start at least! Take care, and good luck!

Cheers,

Gordon

[Benjamin McCracken]

Blankenshield has arming saddles. I'm not sure how historically accurate they are. http://www.livesteelarmor.com/index.html


Ben