Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill

 

By EQ Life Staff

 

The international dressage community recently celebrated the beginning of a new era, as the top three medal winners showed a softness and harmony which has inspired millions and confirmed the importance of good basic training with reference to the progressive training scale.

 

The WEG Silver medallist Helen Langehanenberg attributed success to her attention to detail and care to ensure that Damon Hill is happy and comfortable in a saddle designed to allow freedom of the shoulder and elastic oscillation of his back muscles.
 

 

Judge's boxes at WEG
 

In Normandy 2014, Helen rose to new heights and posted a personal best score of 88.286% in the freestyle event. This PB was achieved with the assistance of Helen’s personally designed Prestige X-Helen saddle. When Helen visited Australia earlier in 2014, she explained how this saddle had evolved and the design features that were incorporated to improve her competition performances.
 

 

Helen acknowledges her Silver medal
 

Prestige’s X-Technology is the result of a close study of human anatomy and careful consideration of the horse’s comfort. It brings together the most sought after features and achieves maximum closeness to the horse by making minor adjustments to the tree - not by resorting to an extreme twist, lengthening the tree supports, or shifting the centre of gravity to the rear of the seat – all of which can cause discomfort and/or harm to the horse.
 

 

Helen rides in her Prestige X-Helen saddle
 

Prestige has delivered a unique closeness between horse and rider by imbedding elastic membranes into the saddle tree. These membranes are filled with a special shock absorbing material in the area corresponding to the rider’s seat bones. The exact location of the membranes varies according to whether the saddle is for jumping or dressage, allowing for the different seating position.
 

 

Helen's perfect secure leg position
 

 

Prestige Italia developed the X-Helen dressage saddle as a reflection of Helen Langehanenberg’s training methodology. Helen’s design delivers optimum performance and a more refined feel, made possible by the thinner panels.  The unique features aid the horse’s well-being, comfort and ease of movement, which greatly enhances harmony between horse and rider. These factors will ultimately influence the judge’s assessment and marks.??Prestige Italia have a proud tradition of working with the World’s leading riders and taking into account their training philosophies and horse care ideals. They have combined this hands-on experience with state-of-the-art technologies and the latest high-tech materials to produce saddles and equipment that deliver optimum performance … and a winning edge.

Saddleworld stores proudly stock Prestige saddles and look forward to showing you the range.

Helen Langehanenberg