WHY I BUILT
Flock My Saddle
Society of Master Saddlers Qualified. 30+ years inside English saddles. Personally trained by Thorsten Fichtbauer.
I'm Kyrena Parkinson, and Flock My Saddle is the workshop I spent four years planning, locating, and building — to do the work I couldn't do on the road.
For more than a decade, I fit saddles in the field — from Albion to Zaldi and just about every major brand in between, Black Country, County, Prestige, Custom, Amerigo, Stubben, Passier, Wintec to name a few. I worked out of my mobile unit, under show tents, in barn aisles and tack rooms, through weather shifts and whirlwind schedules. I did the best work the conditions allowed.
But the longer I did it, the more I kept running into saddles that didn't need another quick adjustment. They needed to be opened up, emptied out, and rebuilt properly — and that is not work you can do in a barn aisle in 90 minutes.
So I stepped away.
Why I stepped off the road
The honest version: I was tired of being a road warrior, and I was tired of seeing problems I couldn't fix in the best way.
By the end of my road years, the pattern was unmistakable. Saddle after saddle came to me already packed hard with years of incremental top-ups — sometimes from three or four different fitters, each adding fiber without ever removing what was underneath. Much of the wool was over-compressed. Different materials were mixed in. Panels had gone uneven and dense in ways that no field adjustment was going to undo.
What those saddles needed was time, proper lighting, a proper bench, and the freedom to strip everything out and start fresh. What I had in the field was a box truck with a “good” bench, a headlamp, and a rider patiently waiting in the aisle with a clock ticking time away.
That gap — between what saddles actually need and what field conditions allow — is the gap almost every honest fitter runs into. Most of us don't have the time, the workspace, or the equipment to do strip flocking properly while we're on the road.
So I stepped back to do this right.
For the better part of four years, I stopped taking new work and gave myself room to think — about what saddle flock restoration actually demands, what I was no longer willing to compromise on, and what kind of setup it would take to do this work the way it should be done. I spent that time studying, refining the process in my own mind, and searching for the right property — somewhere I could create a dedicated saddlery workshop from the ground up, with the space, light, and quiet the work requires.
That search has ended and the workshop has been created around the standards I wasn't able to meet in the field.
I built Flock My Saddle to close that gap.
Why strip flocking needs a workshop
A true strip flock is not a tune-up. It's a complete restoration.
Every panel is opened. Every bit of compressed, migrated, spent material is removed. The tree and all internal components are inspected. Then the panel is rebuilt by hand, from empty, using fresh fiber — traditional British wool or premium kapok — to match the horse's back as it is today.
That process takes patient, meticulous hours. It takes a workbench, controlled lighting, the right tools at arm's reach, and the ability to set a saddle down and come back to it. None of that is realistic in a barn aisle, and pretending otherwise is how we ended up with the over-packed, multi-fitter panels I was seeing in the first place.
A dedicated workshop is the only setting where this work can be done the way it should be done — and that is the only kind of work this business does.
The qualification behind the work
I've spent more than 30 years inside the panels of English saddles — from local schoolmasters to international competition mounts, across dressage, eventing, and hunter/jumper disciplines. I've worked with traditional wool-flocked designs and modern French performance saddles, and I've learned that no two saddles restore the same way.
That depth of experience means every saddle that comes into this workshop is assessed independently, without bias to brand — focused entirely on restoring correct function for your horse and your riding.
I've been a Society of Master Saddlers (UK) Qualified Saddle Fitter for almost 20 years — the gold standard of professional saddle fitting credentials in the English-speaking world. SMS qualification requires rigorous training, examination, and a demonstrated commitment to the welfare of horse and rider.
That standard doesn't change at the workshop door. Every service at Flock My Saddle is performed to the same level of care and precision SMS qualification demands.
Past clients whose horses or saddles have changed in the years since we last worked together.
Riders whose saddles have been adjusted repeatedly over the years and no longer feel consistently supportive — even after another field tune-up.
Horses whose shape, condition, or workload has shifted, and whose current panel structure may no longer be serving them.
Who the workshop is built for
Saddle fitters who want a trusted strip flocking partner for the panel work that's difficult to complete properly in the field. Your client stays your client. I restore the panel; you keep the fitting relationship.
Riders who bought a used saddle and want a clean, known baseline before their own fitter takes over the ongoing relationship.
Not every saddle needs a full reset. But when one does, this is exactly the work it needs — whether we worked together last season or a decade ago.
How to work with me
If you're a past client, a rider referred by a friend, or a fitter looking for workshop support, the next step is the same: start with the Services page and submit a request OR lets get on a call and have a conversation of your needs.
From there I'll review your saddle, your goals, and whether your situation is a good candidate for strip flocking.
Shipping instructions sent when the booking is confirmed.
Drop-off is available through The Paddock Tack Shop in Ledyard, Connecticut.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
The work your saddle has been waiting for.
Without proper restoration, saddles keep compensating.
Your horse keeps telling you something is wrong.
If you're ready to ship, start here.
If you'd like to learn about the work first, the Services page walks through exactly what we do.