By Nick Pernokas 

Kate Wilson discovered her love of horses when she was 17. Driving to riding lessons became her motivation for getting a driver’s license. Kate enrolled at Ithaca College in New York, where she majored in art and minored in biology. She hoped for a job that would incorporate both, but when she graduated in 1995, the job options were sparse. Kate fell back on the time-tested method of scanning the classified ads in the newspaper. The ad that caught her eye was posted by a local tack importing company that was looking for a saddler’s apprentice. 

The tack company was importing a high-end English saddle made by Albion Saddlery at the time. They had a master saddler from the UK in house, and they were looking for a saddler’s apprentice to do repair work. Kate applied and got the job. For the next five years, Kate worked repairing warranty issues for Albion, and working on all different brands of saddles and making custom bridles. Kate was sent to Walsall, England, several times to work with the saddlers in the Albion Saddle factory to learn more about saddle construction, hand-tool technique and quality assessment.  

In 1999, the owner of the importing company decided that she didn’t want the overhead of the repair business anymore. Kate bought it and rented the space from her to continue the repair work. Kate now needed a name for her business. Since she was from Dutchess County, New York, the name Dutchess appealed to her. When her boyfriend, Jim Wilson, told her that the name sounded regal, Dutchess Bridle and Saddle became the shop’s official name. 

In 2002, Kate went to England to attend a saddle fitting school that was put on by the Society of Master Saddlers. At that course she was the only attendee who was not from the UK. The courses were very intensive, combining both classroom and hands-on work. Students were taught how to make back templates, analyze equine anatomy and understand the parts of the saddle that needed to be adjusted for different fits. Then, they were tested at the end of the program. In 2005, she returned for another course. After attending these introductory courses, Kate was required to work with three UK-based saddle manufacturers and have three years of in-field, hands-on fitting experience to become certified in saddle fitting. The saddle fitting program was actually designed to produce more customer satisfaction with the way British saddles fit their horses. It was hoped that this would then increase saddle sales for the UK. 

Jim Wilson was in the construction business. When Kate’s repair shop was sold by the owner, he offered her a place in his backyard and the two of them built a repair shop. One thing led to another and, in 2003, they were married. Kate’s business was taking off and she was getting behind on her repair work. Jim had been getting burned out on his 30-year construction career. When he showed an interest in Kate’s work, she began to teach him how to take saddles apart. Soon, Jim was not only taking saddles apart, but repairing and reassembling them. Within six months, Jim quit his job to work on saddles full time. 

“We’ve been working together ever since then,” says Kate. 

In 2006, Jim traveled to Albion Saddlery in Walsall, England, where he spent time with English saddlers to learn their techniques for repairing saddles and tree construction. He appreciated the differences and difficulties in building something out of leather as opposed to the perfect angles he’s used in wooden construction. 

In addition to repair, Dutchess Bridle and Saddlery also began to retail tack, bits and saddles. Originally, they only carried one brand of saddle, but they soon realized that customers were loyal to, and asking for, many different brands. Different brands also fit differently for both the horse and the rider. Breaking away from working exclusively with Albion opened up a new world of possibilities. The split was almost unheard of though, as this was a time when “independent” saddle fitters were not common. New brands were added to give them more retail flexibility. As the Wilson’s business grew, several other notable saddle manufacturers sought them out. 

Kate returned to the UK in 2008, to attend the week-long Certification Course. Students were tested on their saddle fitting skills at the end of the course. Kate earned her saddle fitting certification as a Qualified Saddle Fitter (QSF) through the Society of Master Saddlers UK at the conclusion of this course. 

By 2007, Kate had been getting a lot of her calls for saddle fitting, and other tack business, from the Hudson Valley area of New York. The couple realized that the horse country in that region would suit their company better, so they moved from Ithaca to Port Jervis, New York. Unfortunately, by 2008, the country was deep into a recession. 

“Once the recession hit, new saddle sales dried up,” remembers Kate. 

The Wilsons had been selling used saddles on consignment and now the consignment business began to surpass their new saddle retail business. They developed a solid program to market consignment saddles involving good photography and selective listing. Saddle repair also increased, as customers spent their money on restoring their old saddles instead of buying a new one. Soon, customers were bringing in western saddles to repair as well, but dressage tack accounted for the majority of their work. 

In 2019, the couple moved to their current 2000-square-foot shop in Montague, New Jersey, in order to better meet the growing need to showcase consignments, offer more retail products and expand the repair shop. 

Today, Jim does most of the saddle repair, while Kate does the saddle fitting and sales.  

Selling used saddles involves understanding what a saddle is worth based on its condition, how current the model is and what features it may have. Many used saddles are not worth selling due to wear and quality. 

The Wilsons research the saddles that do meet their quality control, online, to see what specific models are selling for. They average the available prices and use this to give the customer a price that they recommend selling the saddle for. They also agree to the lowest possible price that the customer will take. Kate will also take used saddles in her mobile fitting unit and sometimes sells them right off the truck. The saddle fitting truck is stocked with retail saddles and products like bits, which allow a customer to pick up something on site at their barn. In this way, the customer can see how the products fit before they invest in them. 

The Wilsons also provide 10-day trials on the used saddles to make sure that the saddle is right for the customer. A credit card number is retained for security. 

Dutchess Bridle and Saddle keeps demo models of new saddles so the customer can see how the saddle fits. They can then order the same or a slightly different model. Originally, Kate had to order saddles directly from England, but now many companies have distribution available from warehouses in the US. 

“Being independent and being able to work with a lot of different brands allows me to have the kind of clientele I have,” says Kate. 

The store’s unique ability to fit saddles to backs gives them a competitive edge. Matching the right saddle to the right customer is an important part of their business.  

“A lot of places don’t do the fitting angle of things,” says Kate. “They’re happy to sell you a saddle, but they might be hard-pressed to you whether or not that saddle is going to work for you.” 

The padding can be adjusted slightly in the panels of an English saddle, but the geometry of the tree for that horse still needs to be correct to work. 

Some saddles offer an interchangeable gullet plate that allows for saddle fit modification. This is a change that can be performed by a customer if they’re shown how, as opposed to more invasive types of tree modification. The trend in saddle manufacturing design is towards this adjustability. Customers have become more frugal since the recession, and they don’t want to have to buy a new saddle every time they buy a new horse. 

“These options definitely allow people to keep their saddles longer,” says Morgan Nervine, who rounds out the trio by managing sales and marketing for Dutchess. 

Kate travels to customer’s barns with a 16-foot box truck, which has everything in it that she needs to fit equine backs. One such tool is a simple flex curve. A flex curve is a rubber-coated wire, which is used to capture the shape of a horse’s back and then transfer it to paper. A flocking bench allows Kate to adjust the stuffing in the panels of English saddles. Gullet changes can also be done in the truck. 

“Structurally, the tree of the saddle needs to fit from behind the shoulder blade to where the last rib angles up and meets the back. That’s where the bearing area of the back is on the horse; and that’s the shape that the tree must match,” says Kate. 

Kate’s saddle fitting has taken her as far north as Vermont, and as far west as Idaho. She even has traveled to Trinidad to pursue her passion. 

This flexibility in saddle fit, as well as customer service, should keep Dutchess Bridle and Saddle busy for a long time. 

To find out more about saddle fitting and Dutchess’s English saddlery products, call 973-552-9544, or go to dutchessbridlesaddle.com. Dutchess Bridle and Saddle also can be found on Instagram and Facebook. 

Dutchess Bridle & Saddle, LLC 
412B US Highway 206 South 
Montague, NJ 07827