Jul 12, 20234 min read

Tim Smith reminices on his last 5 years riding in a WOW Saddle

Updated: Nov 22, 2023

We love reading through your lovely customer reviews, and this one sent in from Tim Smith did not disappoint! It is quite a read, but well worth it to learn all about Tim and his horses fantastic experiences together! Here's to many more happy years!

"I have just realised that it's nearly 5 years since I first met Nicola Nicholls and bought my first Wow saddle .

Very briefly I got back into riding at the age of 32 ( now 60 ) and before I knew it was a horse owner!! After a couple of years I was introduced to Arab racing and then found myself owning an arab and going racing . Later I started competing at endurance and before long was participating in race rides etc . My trusty partner through all of this was Hamac a French bred arab . We had some success at the races and some at endurance and for years I rode him in a full tree race exercise saddle which fitted both of us . By the time he had got to 19 , saddle fitting was becoming a problem as hes very short backed and I'm not the smallest rider . Getting someone to help us was not easy and back problems were occurring. Someone suggested Wow and then I met Nicola . We had a good chat about what I wanted to do and that was simply to find a suitable saddle for my horse and myself to carry on riding together Nicola was very keen to help and lent me a saddle to ride in. I actually rode in a graded ride at Euston Park ( Arab Endurance festival) and we completed with a grade1 and no back issues. After that I bought my first Wow saddle! In the five years that we have had the saddle Hamac has had NO back issues , no saddle related problems and most importantly for me he is still in full work helping to train younger endurance horses and still competing himself at the shorter distances and getting grade 1s . I'm very lucky to have a good support team with an excellent vet , Mc timoney specialist and saddler . Without the saddle and Nicola's regular visits to make sure all is well I am of the opinion that Hamac would not be doing what he is today . Hamac 2002 first race with me as owner trainer , partner was the jockey Jpeg 345 age 11 on a race ride 20180 Euston Park setting out with Nicola's saddle 20210 8and 9 helping train a 100k race ride winner at home Img 5888 Piddle 2019 on the way to a grade 1 Img 0589 Pembrey 2022 on the way to a grade 1 Img 6527 Pembrey 2023 on the way to a grade 1 and performance formula winner At 25 my little horse still loves going out having fun and I am very grateful that I'm still able to enjoy him after 21 years together! Alif At the grand old age of 56 I decided that I would like one more horse to compete at endurance with . I bought a lovely 3yr old called Alif . As soon as he was ready to be ridden a saddle was ordered from Nicola and I became the owner of a second wow based on my experiences with Hamac . Alif will probably be my last horse and I wanted him to have the benefit of everything I had learnt so far !! Alif has been brought on slowly partly due to health and work issues but also because I just wanted to give him time to grow up . He started his endurance career in 2022 and made a very positive start . He participated in four rides in 2022 and achieved three grade 1s and performance formula placings one third and two wins . One ride we lost a shoe twice and as I didnt want to injure his foot we simply went slowly and ran out of time . 2023 hes been out twice and two grade 1s and performance formula wins . Nicola has been out to see him quite a bit as he has been growing as well as changing shape as hes got fitter and stronger . This is where being able to change so much with the saddle has been a major win and again working with Nicola has been great as we have been able to change things around to sort horse and rider . I think Nicola has found looking after an endurance horse slightly different compared to other disciplines !! Fingers crossed one 80k ride to do and Alif will be an advanced endurance horse and ready to compete in 80k race rides. Showstopper. The last part of my story with Wow involves my third horse Showstopper a 16 2 Anglo Arab , originally bought to go racing with . Latterly like Hamac she then went on to have an endurance career but in recent times has had lameness issues and problems with her feet . Her one other problem was that she has always been extremely sensitive when it comes to saddles. With some persistence, corrective shoeing and veterinary support I have been able to keep her relatively sound but the saddle problem persisted. I asked Nicola for help , another wow trial and another saddle bought . The saddle had been the icing on the cake , one happy Anglo she loves It , she has been back competing at low level endurance for the first time in several years and another veteran enjoying herself at an advanced age , Thankyou Wow but most importantly thank you Nicola. "