Bates Australia is driven by a philosophy of true innovation solely focused on performance of saddles for both horse and rider. An unquenchable thirst for understanding the impact saddles have on the equine back and their unrelenting patience for problem solving has earned Bates Australia their reputation, as industry leaders in innovation. Their philosophy of innovation and excellence permeates through every aspect of their business, from the drawing board down to each stitch on their saddles.
Bates Saddlery was formed in 1934 when Mr George Bates borrowed $100 from his sister, bought a sewing machine and began to make saddles on the verandah of his home in Perth, Western Australia. From these humble beginnings, Bates Saddlery has grown to become one of the most respected manufacturers of riding saddles in the world.
From inception, the aim of George Bates was to produce high quality saddles for a variety of equestrian uses and over the decades the company has remained true to its founder's vision.
Today the company, renamed Bates Australia, is run by one of the founder's grandsons, Ron Bates, with another grandson, Ken Bates, being responsible for research and development. Under Ron's leadership and Ken's development the company has broken new ground in saddle manufacturing technology.
Their innovative approach to saddle manufacturing saw the worldwide release of the Wintec range of saddles in 1986. Wintec was the first saddle to be manufactured from high-tech synthetic materials and set about modernising an industry firmly planted in tradition. Wintec Saddles were extraordinarily lightweight, easy-care, high quality and fun with a range of bright colours available. Wintec saddles provided riders around the world with a quality alternative to leather saddles that sought to create more ease for rider’s to find time to spend with their horses. It was accepted enthusiastically by riders at all levels, including Olympians. The excellence of the Wintec range was demonstrated during the 1992 Olympics, when Isabell Werth rode in a Wintec saddle in the gold medal-winning German Dressage team.
Bates Australia revolutionised the industry again in 1996 with the launch of the EASY-CHANGE Gullet System, allowing the rider to custom fit their saddle to their horse’s changing shape. This was an innovation that was much needed by the riding population of the world and fulfilled a need for optimally fitting saddles, a need which had previously been neglected by the trade.
The visionary Research and Development Team of Bates Australia have been responsible for developing many radical systems that work together to produce saddles with unparalleled performance. The Bates Saddle Range are the most technologically advanced saddles in the world featuring Elastiflex Trees, the Adjustable Flexibloc System, Unique Stirrup Bar Positioning and Adjustable Y-Girthing System, to name a few.
The latest revolutionary innovation of Bates Australia has won acclaim from renowned riders, vets, remedial therapists and saddlers worldwide. The CAIR Panel System has been hailed as one of the greatest inventions of the 21st Century. The notion of air as the ultimate in cushioning for the horse’s working muscles is a simple concept, no one however, could have predicted the profound difference this simple system would make to both horse and rider’s performance. Around the world riders are reporting behavioural problems that have been eradicated upon using saddles with CAIR. Riders with injured backs are reporting the profound shock absorbency the CAIR Panels provide them with. Many Vets have undertaken independent testing of CAIR and have found it to outperform any other saddle panel they have had experience with. Remedial therapists have been astounded at the rapid improvement in muscle development that they have found when incorporating saddles with CAIR into their remedial programs. Saddlers have commented on the ease of both servicing and fitting saddles with CAIR. The Bates brothers regard the CAIR Panel System, as their biggest and most significant innovation in the saddle industry.
Quality testing at Bates Australia far exceeds industry standards with stringent quality controls placed on each saddle that leaves their factory. The Bates range of saddles is made from pure aniline dyed leather from the finest hand selected hides. Detailed quality reports are given to the tanneries on each hide received by Bates Australia, so they can work together with the tanneries to continue to improve tanning methods to produce consistently higher quality hides. Additionally, saddles are picked at random and subjected to a series of intensive tests on durability and workmanship. Bates Australia spares no expense evaluating how their saddles perform employing external expertise in the areas of physics and engineering to conduct independent testing, providing comprehensive reports on their findings. The Bates Australia trademark is an assurance of unsurpassed quality and the radically different performance each rider can expect. Only if the saddles pass these stringent quality checks are they deemed worthy of the Bates name.
The Saddle Industry generally is craft orientated focusing on the way things are made, rather than how the saddles perform for the rider and the horse. Bates Australia is unique in that they have shifted their focus to the horse and the performance of saddles. Bates Australia is a company driven by providing practical and innovative solutions to longstanding drawbacks in saddle design. They travel the world several times a year to listen to riders, vets, saddlers and fitters around the world, gathering feedback. Their innovative approach and commitment to improving horse and rider performance has earned the company their wonderful reputation and has won them a number of prestigious export and design awards. The success of the Wintec brand has made Bates Australia the biggest volume seller of saddles under one brand name in the world.
| 1970 — | The Elastiflex Tree was developed. |
| 1984 — | The World’s First ever full cloth race saddle was produced. |
| 1986 — | The Wintec Range of Saddles were launched globally. |
| 1996 — | The World’s First EASY-CHANGE Gullet System was launched. |
| 2001 — | The Revolutionary CAIR Panel System was launched. |