Superior Saddlery — Andy Mashke
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Certified Used Saddles — David Solum
European saddle help: confirm fit, availability, shipping, and import details before you buy.
Call, email, or WhatsApp David Solum before purchase. Confirm seat size, tree fit, condition, shipping method, customs/VAT responsibility, and current availability.
NRHA reining has grown rapidly across Europe — Germany, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and beyond all have active competition communities. This guide is for European riders who want to compete at the highest level and understand that the saddles defining NRHA competition are built in America. Here is everything you need to know to buy correctly from 5,000 miles away.
The National Reining Horse Association's European operation has transformed continental western competition over the past two decades. What began as a niche discipline has grown into a serious competitive circuit with regional shows, national championships, and qualification pathways to the NRHA Futurity in Oklahoma City and the NRHA European Futurity. European riders compete at every level from rookie amateur to professional, and the standard of horsemanship at the top of the European circuit is world-class.
Countries with established NRHA affiliate organizations and active show schedules include Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Finland, Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. Germany hosts the largest and most active European reining community, with multiple regional circuits and several NRHA-approved shows per year. France and Italy have strong traditions in both recreational reining and serious amateur competition.
European riders competing in NRHA events quickly encounter the same equipment reality that American riders learned long ago: the saddles that define high-level NRHA competition were built by American makers who developed their designs in direct collaboration with the sport's top professionals. A reining saddle from a maker who has spent 30 years refining designs based on feedback from NRHA champions represents a level of discipline-specific engineering that is simply not widely available in European saddlery. The gap is not in craft — European leatherwork is excellent — it is in the specific competition context that drove the design decisions.
Every design feature of a reining saddle exists in direct response to a specific NRHA competition demand. Understanding what those demands are — and why they shape the saddle the way they do — is the foundation for making an intelligent purchase decision.
NRHA judges score each maneuver on a scale from -1.5 to +1.5, with 0 representing a correct, baseline execution. They are watching the horse, not the rider. The rider who is most invisible — who communicates most quietly and disturbs the horse's movement least — earns the most credit for the horse's performance. The saddle is the equipment that makes that invisibility possible.
The horse drops its hindquarters and slides to a complete stop from a full gallop — sometimes covering 20–40 feet. The rider must sit deep, stay still, and release all rein and leg pressure completely through the slide.
The horse pivots around a fixed hind foot at full speed — four, five, or six complete rotations in rapid succession. The rider's outside leg must flow freely around the horse with no interference from the saddle.
The horse changes its leading front and hind feet simultaneously in mid-stride at the lope. The rider must remain balanced through the transition without influencing the horse's timing or rhythm.
Every NRHA pattern requires at least two circles of different size — a large fast circle and a small slow circle. The horse must change speed precisely on cue, demonstrating full control of tempo.
The reining saddle diverges from the traditional stock saddle in four specific ways, each one a direct engineering response to the maneuvers described above. A saddle that does not incorporate all four of these departures is not a reining saddle — it is a general western saddle being used for reining, which is a meaningful distinction at the competitive level.
| Feature | Reining Saddle Spec | Why It Matters in NRHA Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Fork / Swell | Slick fork — no swells or lateral bulges | Allows the rider's leg to move freely around the horse during spins without interference. Swells push the knee outward and interrupt the close-contact thigh communication that reining requires. |
| Seat | Flat, 15"–17", smooth leather | Allows the rider to shift weight in any direction without the seat shape redirecting them. Smooth leather enables the subtle positional adjustments that communicate through a pattern without restricting the rider in a single position. |
| Cantle | Low, 2.5"–3.5", minimal dish | Catches the rider through the sliding stop without throwing them forward. A cantle that is too high creates an ejection effect; too low provides no support. The reining cantle is the lowest of any western performance saddle. |
| Rigging | 7/8 or in-skirt, single front cinch | 7/8 position keeps the cinch ring away from the horse's elbow during forward movement. In-skirt rigging eliminates the hardware that can rub the rider's leg during extended spin sequences. |
| Stirrups | Forward-hung, free-swing | Positions the rider's leg directly under the hip for balanced stop position. Free-swing allows natural ankle movement without the torque that fixed leathers create over a full competition day. |
| Tree width | Semi-QH (~6.25") or Full QH (~7") | Fits the majority of Quarter Horse and Quarter Horse-cross backs. Must be confirmed for the individual horse — not assumed from breed. |
American saddle makers use specific technical vocabulary that appears in every listing and every custom order. These are the terms you will encounter when shopping for a reining saddle from the United States.
| Term | What It Means for a Reining Saddle |
|---|---|
| Tree | The internal skeleton of the saddle. In a reining saddle, the tree must handle the axial forces of sliding stops without flexing or deforming. SYMMETREES™ by Superior Saddlery are manufactured in-house to precise tolerances with a 25-year warranty — a significant advantage over outside-sourced trees. |
| Slick Fork | A fork with straight sides and no lateral swells. The defining visual feature of a reining saddle. If a western saddle has pronounced swells (bulges on either side of the horn base), it is not a reining saddle. |
| Gullet Width | The width of the channel between the tree bars at the front of the saddle. Measured in inches. Semi-Quarter Horse = approximately 6.25"; Full Quarter Horse = approximately 7". Always confirm with a wither tracing for your individual horse. |
| Seat Size | Measured in inches from the base of the horn to the top of the cantle along the center of the seat. Most adult reining riders use 15.5"–16.5". This is not comparable to English saddle sizing — do not transfer your English saddle size directly. |
| In-Skirt Rigging | The cinch ring is concealed within the skirt leather rather than sitting exposed on the outside. This eliminates hardware that can rub the rider's leg during spin sequences in reining patterns. Common in purpose-built NRHA competition saddles. |
| Ground Seat | The internal leather structure beneath the visible seat cover. A properly built ground seat positions the rider correctly over the tree's balance point and distributes weight evenly through the bars. Poor ground seat construction causes the rider to sit behind the balance point — a common problem in lower-quality western saddles. |
| Roughout | Leather finished with the suede-like rough side facing outward. In reining saddles, roughout is sometimes used on fenders to provide grip, but smooth leather seats are standard — smooth leather allows the subtle positional mobility that reining communication requires. |
| Skirt Length | How far the saddle's leather skirts extend behind the seat. For horses with shorter backs — including some European breeds used in western competition — confirm that the skirt length does not extend past the last rib, which would restrict hip movement. |
| Silver | Decorative metal work on conchos, cantle trim, and hardware. Competition reining saddles often carry minimal silver to reduce weight. Show saddles carry substantial silver packages. Specify your preference clearly when ordering. |
To estimate your western saddle seat size, sit in a straight-backed chair with your feet flat on the floor and measure from the back of your knee to the back of your hip. This gives a rough starting point: most riders around 170cm / 5'7" use a 15.5" or 16" seat; taller or longer-legged riders typically use 16.5" or 17". However, this measurement is a guide, not a definitive answer. The flat seat of a reining saddle can feel more open than expected, and many riders find they can use the same size as their standard measurement or half an inch smaller.
The most important step for a European buyer purchasing remotely is to consult directly with David Solum or Andy Mashke before committing to a size. Both sponsors can advise on seat size based on your measurements, riding style, and any previous saddles you have ridden comfortably.
Tree fit is the highest-stakes variable in a remote saddle purchase. A saddle with the wrong tree cannot be corrected with pads. For a European buyer, the cost of returning a misfit saddle — transatlantic shipping plus customs on return — makes getting tree fit right the first time critical.
European breeds used in western reining — including warmbloods, PRE (Iberian), Lusitanos, and various crossbreeds — often have different wither profiles and back lengths than American Quarter Horses. A wither tracing is more informative than breed description alone, and it is the single most useful document you can send before placing an order.
The reining saddle market is defined by a small group of makers whose names appear consistently in the inventory of serious NRHA competitors at every level, from amateur to Open. These are the makers you should know before shopping.
Superior Saddlery is ReiningSaddles.com's primary new saddle sponsor. Andy Mashke builds NRHA reining saddles using the SYMMETREES™ technology — precision trees manufactured in-house rather than sourced from outside suppliers — backed by a 25-year tree warranty. Superior's reining saddle lineup includes signature models built in collaboration with some of the most accomplished riders in NRHA history.
Bob's Custom Saddle has produced NRHA competition reining saddles for longer than any other maker still active in the discipline. The Bob Avila signature line established many of the design standards that subsequent makers followed. Bob's Custom saddles are built on in-house trees with full rawhide covering and are known for exceptional longevity — a well-maintained Bob's Custom from the 1990s remains competitive equipment today. David Solum's certified used inventory consistently includes multiple Bob's Custom reining builds across seat sizes and silver levels.
Donn Leson's saddles are prized for their leatherwork — diagonal basketweave tooling, full floral scroll borders, and silver work that ranges from refined to spectacular. The Reinmaker is a purpose-built NRHA competition design; the TVB is a heavier build with more traditional appointments. Both command strong prices in the secondary market. Used Donn Leson saddles in David Solum's inventory have been inspected for tree integrity and honestly described.
Kyle Tack saddles represent the entry point into purpose-built NRHA equipment — genuinely competition-capable saddles at price points that make the discipline accessible. For a junior rider, an adult amateur entering NRHA competition in Europe, or a rider who needs multiple saddles for a training program, the Kyle Tack reining saddle delivers the essential design features at a price point significantly below Bob's Custom or Donn Leson.
Every specification chosen to your requirements: seat size, tree width, tooling pattern, silver level, leather color, and endorser model. SYMMETREES™ tree with 25-year warranty.
Competition-proven saddles personally inspected by David Solum — 40+ years evaluating western saddles. Tree integrity, leather condition, and hardware soundness all assessed and honestly described.
For European reining riders who are clear on seat size and tree width requirements, the certified used market represents outstanding value — the same competition-proven saddles that American NRHA competitors ride, at 30–60% below new retail, with David Solum's personal inspection providing the confidence that remote buyers need when they cannot sit in a saddle before purchasing.
For European reining riders who want a specific endorser model, have unusual dimensional requirements, or want to specify tooling and silver to a competition standard, a new Superior Saddlery saddle is the correct choice. The ability to specify every dimension precisely eliminates the uncertainty of finding the right used saddle in exactly the right configuration.
Both Superior Saddlery and Certified Used Saddles are experienced with international buyers and communicate by phone, email, and WhatsApp. WhatsApp is the recommended channel for European buyers: it allows voice calls, video calls, photo sharing, and text messaging without international charges. Include your country, time zone, and WhatsApp number in your first message. Central European buyers (GMT+1/+2) will find the best overlap with US Mountain and Central time in the European afternoon hours.
Payment from Europe is typically handled by bank wire transfer (SWIFT/IBAN) or major credit card. Confirm accepted payment methods with the seller before placing any order. Currency conversion from EUR, GBP, or CHF to USD occurs at the prevailing exchange rate at time of payment. For custom saddles, a deposit is required to begin work; the balance is due before shipping.
Custom saddles built to specification are typically non-returnable once completed. For a European buyer, a return would involve transatlantic shipping costs plus customs handling on re-import to the US. Resolve every dimensional question before placing a custom order — seat size, tree width, skirt length, and all design specifications should be confirmed in writing before any payment is made.
A reining saddle shipped from the United States to Europe involves costs and requirements beyond the saddle purchase price. Budget for all of these before placing your order.
| Cost Item | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Saddle purchase price | Confirm with seller (USD) |
| International freight (FedEx / UPS / DHL) | $150 – $350 USD |
| Shipping insurance | ~1–2% of declared value |
| EU customs duty (HS 9201.30, leather saddles) | ~2.7% of CIF value |
| VAT in destination country | 19–25% on (saddle + freight + duty) |
| Carrier customs brokerage fee | €15 – €50 |
| Currency conversion | At prevailing USD/EUR rate |
| Estimated landed cost premium | Add ~25–35% above saddle price for EU buyers |
Saddle: $4,000 USD • Shipping: $250 • Insurance: $50 • CIF value: $4,300 • Duty (2.7%): ~$116 • VAT at 19% (Germany example): ~$833 • Brokerage: ~€30 • Approximate landed cost: ~$5,280 USD equivalent before currency conversion. Always verify current rates with your national customs authority — these figures are general guidance and subject to change.
Shipping costs, import duties, VAT, and customs brokerage fees are entirely the buyer's responsibility and vary by destination country. ReiningSaddles.com, Superior Saddlery, and Certified Used Saddles are not responsible for these costs. Always confirm current customs rates with your national authority before ordering. This guide provides general guidance only and is not tax or customs advice.
ReiningSaddles.com connects European reining buyers with Superior Saddlery (new custom saddles) and Certified Used Saddles by David Solum (inspected used saddles). Both sponsors are experienced with European buyers and can communicate by WhatsApp. Contact David Solum at (417) 793-1403 or davidsolumsales@gmail.com.
Complete this form and we will connect you with the right sponsor for your seat size, horse fit, competition level, and budget. Include your WhatsApp number for fastest response. We reply within one business day (US Mountain Time).
European and international buyers should include country, time zone, seat size, budget, and the saddle page they are asking about. David can use photos and messages to help confirm fit and availability before shipping.
European riders should confirm the practical details before buying a new or certified used saddle from the United States. The saddle may be correct, but the purchase still needs clear answers on fit, availability, shipping, import costs, and return expectations.
Used saddle inventory can change quickly. Buyers should confirm availability, price, condition, seat size, tree fit, shipping, taxes, customs/VAT if applicable, and any return terms directly with David Solum before purchase.