Different horses. Different disciplines. One way of thinking.
Ainsley Saddlery began with a saddle, but the story has always been much bigger than one product or one sport.
For more than 15 years, our work has been shaped by horses: riding them, producing them, watching how they move, understanding what is being asked of them and questioning the equipment we put between horse and rider.
Today that work stretches across numerous disciplines and ways of life.
The disciplines are different. The horse remains our starting point.
It started with a saddle Ross couldn’t find
More than 15 years ago, Ross Ainsley was playing professional polo, managing high-goal teams and breeding, training and sourcing horses around the world.
He wanted a saddle that gave him better comfort, balance and rider position. When he couldn’t find it, he began developing his own.
What looked like a relatively simple equipment problem quickly became something much deeper.
Comfort raised questions about fit. Fit led to pressure and biomechanics. Different horses raised questions about tree and panel design. Rider position led to balance. Working at speed made it impossible to think about any of those things only while a horse was standing still.
The first result was the Ainsley Original Saddle.
Then came a harder question: could a saddle work across the enormous variation in horses being played around the world?
Three years of development produced the MVP Polo Saddle, later ridden by many of the world’s leading players, including David “Pelon” Stirling and Adolfo Cambiaso.
But the most important thing to come from that process wasn’t one saddle.
It was a way of thinking.
From a product to a philosophy
Once you start looking closely at what happens between horse, rider and equipment, the same questions begin appearing elsewhere.
Where is pressure sitting? Is the horse able to move freely? Is the rider balanced? What happens when the horse move through different gaits? Or changes body condition as the season progresses? Is a detail there because it serves a purpose, or simply because that’s how it has always been done?
Those questions have taken Ainsley into new parts of the equestrian world.
But different sports require different answers.
A racehorse galloping beneath a lightweight exercise saddle has very different requirements from a stock horse working cattle, a polocrosse horse changing direction at speed or a sporthorse developing through its work.
We work closely with experts in all disciplines to make these products perfect for you.
Earning our place
When we enter a new discipline, we start by understanding the horse and the job.
We work with riders, trainers, saddle fitters and horsepeople who know that environment. We study the equipment already being used. We prototype, put ideas onto horses, test them in the conditions they were designed for and refine from there.
In racing, that means looking closely at weight, pressure, balance, stability and freedom of movement at speed.
In stock work and polocrosse, it means understanding stability through turns, stops and changes of direction while allowing the horse to move freely beneath the rider.
In sporthorse, our work continues to develop alongside experienced saddle fitters and horsepeople as we determine where Ainsley’s approach can genuinely contribute.
The answers aren’t always about inventing something new. Sometimes they confirm that something already works extremely well.
What matters is asking the question.
Horsemanship is the constant
Equipment is only one part of understanding horses.
How a horse is bred, started, trained, conditioned, handled and understood matters long before a saddle enters the conversation.
That wider curiosity has always shaped Ainsley and continues through the people we work with, the equipment we develop and conversations through The NRG Podcast with people from all disciplines.
Different disciplines bring different knowledge.
We want to keep learning from all of them.
Ainsley Saddlery’s mission is simple: elevate comfort and performance across all aspects of horsemanship – empowering people, helping horses.
We ride horses, we know horses, and we understand the sport.
Join Ross Ainsley on Instagram and TikTok, where he shares his passion for horsemanship - offering invaluable knowledge, tips and tricks for riders of all levels.
Ross is a co-host of The NRG Podcast with fellow horsemen Glen Gilmore and Nick May. Tune in as they share their diverse journeys with horses along with knowledgeable guest experts - covering topics like training, behaviour, nutrition, and management. Through lively discussions and stories, they offer unique perspectives on horsemanship and the highs and lows that come with it.