My searches for the “just right” saddle have never been simple. Long before the availability of different tree widths, I rode a very round, mutton-withered, aged grade pony mare in 4-H and regional hunter shows. An all-purpose pony, she had run barrels, traversed trails, and circled the Western pleasure ring. We threw on her a surreptitiously fitting all-purpose English saddle from our motley collectionÑone which I promptly outgrew. The right saddle, which we special ordered, took many moons to arrive (I clearly recall opening a tiny Christmas present containing a catalog photo of the saddle). When the beautiful specimen of leather and brass arrived, we kept it for the rest of the pony’s long lifeÑit fit her and only her.