For the past five years I have been riding several horses on Empire saddles: William, Grace Jones, Habakuk and also my wonder mare Kenzie have been fitted with an Omani through Akash Saddlery. Of course with "TreeClix inside! Quite a few of my students now also ride an Empire saddle.

The Omani is not only a very nice saddle to look at, but gives me support where needed without being coercive. It has a deep seat, the monoflap gives a nice close contact feel, and the rockers leave my knees free, allowing me to ride with a long, relaxed leg.

Because of the cushions placed under the frame of the saddle with a wide saddle rail, my horses have a lot of freedom of movement in the topline. The built-in TreeClix system ensures optimal positioning and can be easily adjusted at every stage of training.

I have owned and tried many different saddles in my 40-year career; however, thanks to the unfailing service and care of Akash Saddlery and Jolanda van der Leeden, I am now very wedded to my Empire saddles! And - more importantly - so did my horses!

I have been riding Empire for over 6 years now. For my short legs, it was difficult to find a well-fitting saddle. I certainly found that in Empire. It offers me an incredible amount of comfort, allowing me to work even better with my aids.

Thanks to Jolanda's expertise and the built-in TreeClix system, I can customize different saddles for the many training horses I have. I wouldn't want anything else. Both for myself and for the horses.

I always assume that a horse is not just "naughty" and I think it is very important to listen to what a horse is "telling" you.

Over the years, I have discovered that a well-fitting saddle can prevent many problems for both horse and rider. And that is exactly what I think is the strength of Empire! So much thought and testing went into it.... It is also important that they remain open to discussion to make any adjustments to get the best out of horse and rider.

The Empire Omani made me feel like I could sit in the saddle and let my horse, Diva, perform naturally with a top-notch feel. She has stopped grinding her teeth and she puts her hind leg further under, which makes for a better connection from back to front. This makes her flying canter changes almost effortless and she makes far fewer mistakes. So: happy horse = happy rider.

I got in touch with Jolanda in 2022 because I sometimes got stuck in training with my horses but could not always find the problem. Jolanda has helped me and my horses tremendously with Empire's fine saddles and the super system "TreeClix". After our saddle fit appointments, I often laughingly say "I can't train against this!". Small changes do so much. And my horses are so much better developed in the topline. And also importantly, never sensitive again! This just makes me super happy as an amazon.