Bates Saddles

Bates Saddles began in 1934, when George Bates bought a sewing machine with money borrowed from his sister and started making saddles on the veranda of his home in Perth, Western Australia. The company is still family-owned, sells saddles in more than 30 countries and sits in the same group as Wintec.

Bates makes saddles for dressage, jumping, eventing and general riding, and is best known for building adjustability into the saddle itself. The EasyChange gullet system lets the width be changed by swapping the gullet, so the same saddle can be adjusted as your horse builds or loses muscle. Many Bates saddles also use the CAIR cushion system, an alternative to traditional wool flocking.

A gullet change is quick, but choosing the right width still needs a trained eye. Philip Ireland, our Society of Master Saddlers qualified fitter, can assess your horse in our arena and set up a Bates saddle to suit. Book a saddle fitting, or browse our dressage saddles and jumping and cross country saddles.