Freedom Treeless Saddles is owned and operated by Melissa Molaison.

I live on a farm in Georgia with my husband, Chris, my daughter, Claire, my horses Beamer, Dot, and Bear, and an assortment of dogs, cats, cattle, and chickens.

My riding background includes a wide variety of disciplines- I've tried my hand at everything from dressage to working cattle over the years.  In 2004 I got involved with the North American Trail Ride Conference and started volunteering, then competing in Competitive Trail Riding, and I continue to be an enthusiastic competitor and supporter of NATRC today.  In 2006 I purchased a young Tennessee Walking Horse filly, Painter's Polka Dots (bred by Painted Gait Farm of Byron, GA) and trained her myself to be my competitive trail mount.  Dot and I went on to do very well in NATRC competition- in 2009 we won multiple regional 1st place awards and pointed out of the novice (40 mile) division.  We then moved on to Open (60 mile) division and are enjoying the challenge of competing against our mentors!

Dot is a great example of a horse ideally suited for a Sensation Treeless Saddle.  She's got a nice round barrel, good muscle in her back and shoulders, fairly low withers, and does well in any Sensation model with no issues. She was broke and trained in my English Trail and has been ridden in Sensations of various models ever since.  I compete her in a G3 English Trail saddle.

 

Picture:  Melissa and Dot on Fernandina Beach, FL, in October 2010.

I got my start with treeless saddles when I was competing my Arabian mare, Beamer, and was having difficulty finding a saddle that fit.  I had constant difficulties with back soreness and saddle fit issues in training and in competition.  I eventually found Sensation saddles and bought an English Trail saddle, and my saddle fit issues became a thing of the past.

Beamer has always had fairly high withers, so getting the Sensation properly fitted to her was a challenge.  We set up a Skito pad to help with her particular conformation issues, and it worked great- our back soreness issues resolved and she went well with my ET at any distance.  I have semi-retired Beamer now, she no longer competes for me, but I still ride her occasionally in my English Trail or my husband rides her in his G4 Western Sport.  As she has aged her back has swayed considerably, making the high withers much more difficult to fit, but with the proper padding we are still able to keep her happy and comfortable going for trail rides in our Sensation saddles.  Due to the pommel design, the Hybrid, Westlish, and Western models are easiest to fit to her as they provide more wither clearance.

Picture:  Melissa and Beamer competing in the Almost Summer at Biltmore 2005 NATRC Competitive Trail Ride 

My latest project is a 2006 Tennessee Walking Horse gelding, we call him Yogi Bear.  He was given to me by a fellow distance rider as an unbroke 4 year old in February of 2010.  I had just gotten him good and broke with about 3 months of consistent under saddle work, and was taking him trail riding often at a nearby National Forest area, when I got pregnant with my daughter, Claire.  Since he was still green and still a bit unpredictable, I stopped riding him in September 2010 for the remainder of my pregnancy.  He will be back in training to be a trail horse some time in 2011.  Ultimately I want him to become a "husband horse" and I may eventually compete him in distance events.  Bear is a very modern type TWH- BIG!  He's got a great build for treeless- none of his conformation is extreme.  Round and wide but not too wide, medium withers, good muscle, and no conformation issues that require special attention.  He's an easy one to fit, and does well in any of the Sensation models.  I broke him in my English Trail saddle, and he will continue to be ridden in either the English Trail or my husband's G4 Western Sport.  

Picture:  Melissa and Bear in April 2010, Bear had been under saddle for about 30 days at the time.