I have a new man in my life. Frank is stable, supportive, looks good, and smells amazing.

I’m talking, of course, about the Frank Baines Reflex dressage saddle I brought home with me after Wickenburg.

;))))))

I have “joint custody” of Frank to love, coddle, and breathe in the smell of new fine leather…and ride, of course.

The hours in the saddle at Wickenburg showed that Frank is obviously a good fit for Liberty…and the fact I could ride 25 miles (and 6 hours in the saddle) and still be walking that afternoon and the next day showed it worked well for me, too. I hated the idea of it sitting around gathering dust, so I offered to bring it home and keep it in my house where it would be climate controlled…and maybe I could try it on Mimi and use it if it worked?

Guess what? It works.

As Mimi has gotten older, her back has gotten more rock in it, and I’m starting to suspect the Duett might be a little bit too flat for her anymore. So I toted Frank down to the barn a couple weekends ago and plopped it on her back.

I love the point billets on this saddle — they actually align with her girt groove, so the saddle doesn’t slide forward.

She moves really well in it, and I really like how this saddle makes me ride. I can’t “ride lazy” in it — but I don’t have to work to engage my core/inner thigh contact.

And Saturday was the second ride…and I got a solid 45 minutes of really good work out of her. She’s still doing a little bit of hind end tripping, usually coinciding with a deep spot of sand, which means she’s dragging her feet.

But she keeps willingly offering a canter, which is huge, so I think it’s probably mostly mechanical at this point, and it just means I have to ride her with a little more contact and support. Fortunately, this saddle makes that really easy.

the face of long-suffering when subjected to my “exploded box of Crayolas” color schemes

The shaggy yak is frantically dumping her coat, and she got the First Shampoo Bath of the Year (always an occasion) this weekend.

two weekends ago; previous photo in the crossties shows this past weekend’s offerings

And Frank has a new home in my bedroom…which makes me feel like I’m living in a tack room, as I now have two saddles hanging on my bedroom walls. At least all the biothane tack lives out in the garage.

that’s okay, I don’t actually need space in my bedroom or anything…