The design of the saddle has evolved somewhat in the 3,000 years since people began using them to ride horses, but the purpose remains largely the same. “A saddle is the trait d’union, it’s what unites a horse and the rider,” explains Chloé Nobécourt, the director of the equestrian métier, the saddle-making department, at Hermès. “You can ride without a saddle if you’re skilled, but it won’t be comfortable for the rider—or the horse—for long. A saddle distributes weight, but really, the purpose is to create a connection, the perfect harmony, between you and your horse.”

Hermès has a long history of exploring the changing bond between human and horse. Though perhaps better known today as a luxury fashion house, it began in 1837 by making leather harnesses for the carriages of European nobility. When the house started producing saddles in the mid-19th century, horses were still essential for industry, war and transport—some 80,000 are thought to have lived in Paris in 1900. But with the advent of the car, the saddle needed to evolve to reflect how horses were being used for sport and leisure. In response, the equestrian métier—which has been based on the top floors of the Hermès store on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in central Paris since 1880—pioneered the design of the sports saddle.

Today, saddles used in equestrian competitions are usually “English saddles” and feature a design specialized to a particular discipline. Nobécourt gives the example of those seen during the show jumping spectacles at Saut Hermès, the international event hosted each spring by Hermès in Paris. Riders compete to cover a set course of obstacles in the shortest amount of time. “You need to get out of the saddle to follow the horse as it jumps, and so the flap is advanced,” she says, referring to the position of the leather that hangs either side of the seat and that, when extended forward, allows the rider to adopt the correct position to jump with the horse. “Ultimately, a good saddle is one that you forget you’re riding. Sometimes you get the sense that the horse’s legs are almost your own. It’s an incredible feeling.” 

To achieve this sensation, saddles need to be made bespoke to rider and horse. While their design continues to evolve to meet the needs of both riders and horses, there is also much that has stayed the same. After experimenting with new materials like carbon fiber for the saddle tree, the rigid structure beneath the leather around which a saddle is built, the house returned to beechwood. “So far we've not found something that we believe is good enough to replace it,” says Nobécourt. They also continue to use the saddle stitch, which involves using two needles, each attached to one end of a thread, that loop back and forth in a mirror image of one another—a process that is stronger and more flexible than a standard stitch and which cannot be replicated by a machine. “The notion is that if one thread were to break, which could happen—there’s a lot of friction on the saddle—the other thread will keep the saddle in place. There’s nothing better for durability and reparability.”