Portugal has long been considered by many in the world of equine sports to be the cradle of classic horsemanship. Here's a quick look at several different types of Portuguese saddles.

Dinis saddle The Dinis saddle is a saddle that combines great tradition and innovation in saddle-making. It has a structure from dressage saddles directed to the Portuguese equitation and following the design principles from the Portuguese traditional saddles.

Domingues saddle A Domingues saddle is considered by horsemen to be a multipurpose saddle. It's an innovation having an intermediate design falling somewhere between English riding saddles and the traditional Portuguese Relvas saddle.

Portuguese Equitation saddle The Portuguese Equitation saddle is a very popular saddle and has a structure directed to the Portuguese equitation. It closely follows design principles associated with several other Portuguese traditional saddles.

Portuguese saddle The standard saddle know simply as a the Portuguese saddle has a design that has evolved from the saddles that were used in the 18th century.

Relvas saddle The design from the Relvas saddle is attributed to Carlos Relvas who lived in the 19th century. Relvas and was a wealthy landowner, sportsman, photographer, bullfighter and the father of José Relvas who became an influential politician in the beginning of the twentieth century.

Ribatejo saddle The Ribatejo saddle has an intermediate design. One falls somewhere between the two most traditional Portuguese saddles, the Portuguese saddle and the Relvas saddle.

Academia Maestro Saddle This is a new saddle for the demanding rider in classical dressage. Manufactured specifically for the needs of the academic rider and the baroque horse. It has been designed and developed by actual riders and combines up to date knowledge in saddle construction with traditional saddle craftsmanship.

This has been a quick look at several of the more popularly used Portuguese saddles used by horsemen.

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Portuguese saddles