My story
Dear friends, my clients and our visitors, welcome to my website. I will briefly introduce you my beginnings and I am happy to talk to you in person if we meet.
I crossed my path with horses whilst I was studying to become an electrician in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm and horses then quickly became my lifelong love. I was already fascinated by western lifestyle and everything around it in my youth, but at that time it was still in its infancy in our country and western riding was still to become more popular. Following my original interest in western riding, I naturally became also more interested in western saddles, which had been almost unavailable in our country. Before my basic military service, I ''made'' my own first saddle as a modification of an old military saddle and it was soon followed by my first western saddle made on a self-made saddle tree from a laminate (and since I knew nothing about laminate at the time, I was more laminated than the tree :)). After returning from the military, I also wanted to start making proper western saddles and since the demand and inquiries started increasing, I got some literature from the USA about their production and decoration and I started making them. Shortly after I met a man who greatly influenced my work, Mr. Olejníček from Vsetín, from the 3rd generation of a family of leather bagmakers and saddle-makers, who introduced me into the secrets of working with leather and it was him, who essentially trained me in the saddle-crafting. Before the Velvet Revolution, I worked for him in Slušovice, where we made jumping saddles.
After the revolution, I became independent and, with the experience I had gained from the jumping saddle production, I returned to the production of western saddles. I learned the technology of making polyethylene trees and already then I had created my first saddle tree models. I had the first tree made by a carpenter and then I fine-tuned it by grinding and adding layers until the tree was exactly to my taste. Then I made a prototype form of it and started producing my own trees. Today, I produce my own trees made perfect to my taste over the time on a CNC machine, which enables to make them with a maximum precision. This makes my saddles unique, they fit the horse well and, despite the solid material, they ensure excellent contact between the rider and the horse's back. Since then, I have been constantly trying to develop, improve and offer new models of saddles to meet the demands of both, hobby and professional riders and trainers. Due to the custom production of saddles, each piece produced can be considered an original.
I always strive to approach each client and horse individually to meet even the most ambitious expectations for a new saddle, while ensuring a good saddle fit.
Training of horses and people
As I already mentioned above, I started with horses at the age of 15 at the training school in Rožnov, but despite a relatively late start, horses quickly fascinated me, they interested me and I wanted to understand them, so I started looking into training techniques of various trainers and then I naturally began to pass on the acquired experience to other less experienced riders. After returning from the army, I took the trainer's exams and started training vaulting, where I liked how the riders gained excellent balance on the horse and confidence in movement. Like most riders, I started my rider career in a jumping saddle, but after the revolution, thanks to the borders opening I had the opportunity to travel abroad, where I was able to get to know western riding more closely, as it was still in its beginnings in our country at that time.
I was attending various western competitions, watched the work of western riding trainers and gained experience in the western saddle. I started training in the western style and also organized courses with foreign trainers. I myself first started with reining disciplines and gradually moved on to all-around disciplines (trail, pleasure, horsemanship, showmanship, etc.).
I have already trained riders who became European champions and many other successful riders. Over time, I have refined my own style of training, emphasizing not only the training of the horse, but also the rider's understanding of why and how a given exercise is done, and thanks to this, many clients are returning to my courses and many are seeking my help when they encounter any difficulties on their way with horse. Nowadays, I can offer trainings for the needs of young horses, beginners, and riders preparing for european championships