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The arsons are fully lined with leather with
a leather roll all around the edges and the edges under the leather are
all fully rolled for safety compounded with safety. The cover is fully removable
and has several attachment rings for gear. The top front is a heavy steel
roll to hold onto when needed. |
| The lower edge of the front arson is spread
and flared forward to properly support the legs. Like the flaps on an Australian
saddle but bigger and more shaped. These conflicting curves on this plate
make it surprisingly hard to shape properly. |
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The rear arson cradles the seat and provides
a lot of stability. However at least one major jousting group has rules
against high cantles . For these cases the rear arson straps can be adjusted
loose enough that the whole rear assembly bends back over the rear of the
saddle as soon as the weight is lifted off the seat. Leaving a cantle no
higher than the McClellan. Of course in most cases the straps would be adjusted
tight and the full lumbar support taken advantage of. |
| The slight wrap around effect provides some
lateral stability as well as extra support for the lower back. In a pinch
the heel of the rider can be lodged into the notch at the bottom of the
rear arson with the knee lodged against the flare on the bottom of the front
arson. This allows a recovery from what would otherwise be an unhorsing.
Or support for tent pegging style spear sports. |
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This saddle ended up with iron stirrups. Some
McClellans come with iron stirrups that can be reshaped to fit the two and
a quarter inch straps fitted to the conversion. The stirrup straps can be
adjusted to position. So that the rider can ride stirrup forward like an
English saddle. Central like a western. Or in the suggested position. Like
a Mexican saddle. The stirrup's farther back and providing much better leverage
for lance handling and other martial arts. |
