At Advanced Saddle Fit, we are motivated above all by empathy for the horse, a dedication to fitting saddles by scientific method to the greatest extent feasible, and a commitment to do our best for every horse we work with.
As stewards of our horses’ lives, we owe it to them to make their working lives as comfortable and productive as possible by striving to make informed, optimal choices in the equipment we use.
Colleen Meyer is a principal of the company and a life-long horsewoman. Her personal mission is to lift the veil that shrouds saddle fitting in myth and mystery by promoting greater understanding of the design technology that underlies correct saddle fit.
“In my view, successful saddle fitting depends upon developing a capacity for accurate pattern recognition in horses and saddles rather than reliance on a list of rules. What has become obvious to me fitting thousands of horses over the years is that we need to focus on designing and fitting saddles for as much tolerance in fit as possible, considering that the horse’s back changes shape continuously, both in motion and over time.”
Prior to founding ASF, Colleen was a career Foreign Service Officer in the Department of State’s Economic Bureau. She served five overseas tours of duty over nearly two decades, along with her husband Matt Meyer, formerly a U.S. intelligence officer. She often says that the leap from Foreign Service to fitting saddles is not as random as it might seem, as the tasks are essentially the same: first identify the fundamental nature of the problem, then work out how the problem might be solved to everyone’s satisfaction.
Colleen is one of a handful of Americans certified as a Qualified Saddle Fitter by the UK’s Society of Master Saddlers, the only internationally recognized professional qualification in saddle fitting.
She graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in economics, and has a Master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Colleen and Matt have an OTTB, Archie, and two ponies, Llewie and Lemon, along with three Jack Russell terriers, three cats, and every now and then a Greek rescue pup, on their farm, Windrows, in Marlborough, NH, shown above.
