Intro:
In this Talking Tack feature, we chat with Brigitte, the owner of SaddleFit Canada. From starting ponies as a kid to running her own farm and then taking over an established saddle fitting business, her story is full of big shifts, hard work, and a lot of heart. Here is her journey in her own words.
How SaddleFit Canada Started
Q: For those who might not know you yet, could you share a bit about your background and how SaddleFit Canada came to life?
I have been a horse girl all my life. I started riding at two years old, getting led around on ponies at my neighbor’s. In my early teens I started training horses for myself, and by fifteen years old I was training horses for other people. I basically always did that, either part time or full time, until I had my very own farm in Kamloops.
I operated that as a small training, boarding, and lesson facility, and that was basically a dream come true for me. Then my husband and I had a child, and I made the decision that I wanted to slow down. My amazing saddle fitter at the time, who started SaddleFit Canada, was ready to retire. I jumped on the opportunity to become the owner of SaddleFit Canada and trained with her for one year, and replaced her as a brand rep for a few great saddle makers in Western Canada. I am now in my sixth year of doing saddle fitting with my business, SaddleFit Canada.
Horses in Her Life Today
Q: Outside of the business side, what role do horses play in your life these days? If you have any, do tell us about them.
My little family currently lives on my husband’s family ranch, and I have had this great opportunity to switch from riding mainly dressage to riding the family’s amazing ranch horses on gorgeous mountain trails that are literally our backyard. I have even been able to help them move cows from time to time, which has been a brand new experience for me, and I absolutely love it. It has been a very refreshing change.
Luckily, I still get to ride my friends’ horses, all kinds of breeds and all kinds of disciplines. Even though I have a soft spot for dressage, I love trail riding, and I basically like doing anything under saddle or with horses. I am able to take advantage of having a lot of friends and family with horses and use their horses as models for social media content and for pictures for my products. That has been a great way for me to stay involved with horses.
Life on the Road as a Saddle Fitter
Q: Life on the road as a saddle fitter sounds like quite an adventure. What are some of the most memorable or challenging moments you have had while traveling to serve clients?
Oh gosh, the highs and lows of working on the road as a saddle fitter. I used to do some very long trips, like up to eight days long. Luckily I do not do that anymore, as that was not sustainable, but it was pretty crazy to be driving some mountainous roads all the way to ferry rides over the ocean. Some of the best moments were when I would get to some really friendly clients at the end of a very long work day, and I would be so tired that I would start laughing about the silliest things. [laughs] Having clients that would understand and make jokes with me and just being uncontrollably laughing with them.
I have had quite a few moments like that, and they are definitely some of the highs of working on the road. Some of the craziest moments I have had happened in one trip. I got my truck and trailer stuck on a snowy mountain road with no cell service, middle of nowhere, but I was somehow able to get my way out and only ended up being two hours late to my first client of the day who was four hours away. On that same trip, because my truck was having mechanical issues, I ended up sliding down a client’s driveway and breaking her fence when my truck and trailer slid into it. It was one of those trips that I was very happy about when I landed home and actually made it, because that was more than stressful enough.
What People Do Not Always See
Q: Looking back at everything you have built so far, what do you think people do not see or fully appreciate about the work that goes into running a business like this?
I think what is easy to forget for customers and clients sometimes is that, although you are a professional who is offering services, you are also a human being. You need to keep face sometimes, even though you are going through severe health issues or a family crisis. You still need to do your best when you have trips that have been planned for saddle fitting a month ahead of time. So even if you are having an off day or you are not feeling well, you still need to show up.
The time away from family is extremely difficult and will end up wearing on you. There are also the stresses of wearing all of the hats in a demanding business. There are so many roles that need to be filled when you are a saddle fitter or any business owner, and at first you are on your own having to do it all. It is easy to forget how demanding that is. Saddle fitting is a very fast paced business. Everything is changing so fast, the knowledge and the research, and that is a whole other part of being a saddle fitter that you need to add to your plate, keeping on top of not just the trends but the knowledge and the new research. It is easy for customers to forget all the things that you are going through and doing for them.
Dream Version of SaddleFit Canada
Q: If money, space, or time were not a factor, what would your dream version of SaddleFit Canada look like?
Luckily, I am a huge dreamer, and I have already thought this out in a lot of detail. I would definitely love to be able to offer more western saddle fitting and have a whole used western saddle section, even bring in new brands. That would need a whole other person to take care of it. That would fit into me wanting to be more Canada wide with the brand, being able to hire more fitters that I can train and work with so that they could work with the same level of customer service, integrity, and quality of work all across Canada.
I would love to get demo saddles from all of my favorite brands. There are so many great saddle brands out there that I would love to carry, but that takes quite a hefty investment. I would also love to add more education. I am always wanting to keep learning, and the research and the technology and the knowledge on saddle fitting keep growing at such a rapid pace. I would love to just be able to keep up with it all. It would be great to attend bigger competitions so I can learn from them and go to the big trade shows. That would be so much fun, to travel around and meet people from around the world and see all the new tack and equipment that is out there. So yeah, I just need more money. [laughs]
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