Abstract:
A treeless riding pad for two persons is disclosed, particularly for use with handicapped and physically challenged riders. The riding pad allows a therapist or other professional to ride behind the rider and assist with therapy. The riding pad is made of soft materials and is typically an English-style pad. A looped member at the front of the riding pad allows the first rider to hold on to the animal. The riding pad has two sets of stirrups, allowing both riders to be stable while on the animal.

Description:
[0001]     The present invention relates to a riding pad for two persons to ride an animal, and more particularly, a treeless riding pad with two sets of stirrups, one for each of the riders.  
         [0002]     There are a number of prior art riding pads and saddles. However, only one two-person saddle that is known to be available and it suffers from the same issues as the one person saddles. Saddles have a tree or a rigid support included under the leather or other materials and provides support to the rider. However, when used with handicapped or physically challenged riders, those saddles are not appropriate. First they may provide support in the wrong places and not provide any support in the correct areas. Further, they are very heavy and, due to weight limitations for the animals, do not allow for a second rider. Even if a second rider could safely ride (due to weight limitations) with a typical saddle, there is no support for the second rider since the saddles only have one set of stirrups. Additionally, the back part of the saddle and cantle are typically in the way of the second rider, making the riding time uncomfortable or even dangerous, if the first rider were to need assistance. These saddles also position the riders quite a distance from the animal, preventing the animal&#39;s warmth from penetrating the saddle.  
         [0003]     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a riding pad that substantially obviates one or more of the problems and disadvantages in the prior art. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the apparatus and process particularly pointed out in the written description and claims, as well as the appended drawings.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention is directed to an English-style, treeless riding pad for two persons, the riding pad including a first seat portion for a first person, a second seat portion for a second person, the second seat portion disposed behind the first portion, a first and second stirrup attachment member, the first stirrup attachment member adjacent the first seat portion and the second stirrup attachment member adjacent the second seat portion, and a looped member adjacent a front edge of the riding pad for first person to hold onto while on the riding pad.  
         [0005]     In yet another aspect, the present invention is also directed to an English-style, treeless riding pad for two persons, the riding pad including a first seat portion for a first person, a second seat portion for a second person, the second seat portion disposed behind the first portion, and a looped member adjacent a front edge of the riding pad for first person to hold onto while on the riding pad.  
         [0006]     It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.  
         [0007]     The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification. The drawings illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of a riding pad according to the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is right side view of the riding pad of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the riding pad of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the riding pad of  FIG. 1  with the stirrups and rigging removed for clarity. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     A riding pad  10  according to the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The riding pad  10  is preferably an English-style riding pad, however the principles of the invention may be applied to other styles as well. The riding pad  10  is also preferably treeless, that is, it has no tree or other structural element contained with in the pad. The riding pad  10  is configured for two riders, a first rider and a second rider (not illustrated). As indicated above, the riding pad  10  is preferably for two riders. While riding pad  10  was originally designed for use with the handicapped or physically challenged, it could be used in any situation where two riders would be on the same animal. For example, the riding pad  10  could be used when one person wants to teach a child how to ride a horse. The riding pad  10  may also be used with vaulting pairs, i.e., trick riding involving two persons on a horse. Naturally, the pad could also be used in any instance where two persons would be on the animal.  
         [0013]     In riding pad  10 , the first rider would occupy the first seat position  12  and the second rider would occupy the second seat position  14 , if there were a second person riding with the first person. It should be noted that typically the riding pad  10  will be used with a horse or other equestrian animal, but it could be used with any animal that is suitable for riding.  
         [0014]     The first seat portion  12  is disposed at the front  16  of the riding pad  10  and preferably has a looped element  18  for the rider to grasp. The looped element  18  is preferably made of leather, but could be made of any other soft, durable material. It is preferred that the riders have only soft elements around them so that if there were to lean or fall forward, they would not injure themselves on any portion of the pad. Similarly, the majority of the top side  20  of the riding pad  12  is also made of leather. However, it is envisioned that the top side  20  could be made of any appropriate materials, including synthetic ones.  
         [0015]     The first seat portion  12  preferably has a cantle-like ridge element  22  to provide a limited amount of support to the first rider. The ridge element  22  is preferably rounded in shape as it crosses the riding pad  10  to correspond to the anatomy of the rider when that person sits in the first seat portion  12 . The ridge element  22  is preferably made of leather and may have soft materials (e.g., felt, fleece, leather, etc.) encapsulated to provide some structure and stability to it. Similarly, the second seat portion  14  also has a ridge element  24  similar to the ridge element  22  for the same purpose. The ridge element  22  is typically lower than most cantles on saddles with trees. The lower the ridge element  22 , the less support and more work the rider may have to do. This provides a good opportunity for the rider to develop strength in areas that the rider may not otherwise be able to.  
         [0016]     The underside  26  of the riding pad  10  is preferably made of felt. The felt  26  is preferably attached directly to the leather of the top side  20 , to provide a relatively thin riding pad  10 . It should be noted that the leather for the top side  20  and the felt  26  may be of a variety of thicknesses. Another layer of soft, flexible material may also be included between the leather and the felt layers. However, it is preferable that the layers are thin enough to allow the heat from the animal to be transmitted through the riding pad  10  and provide warmth to the riders. The warmth from the animals assists with circulation in the riders. With the felt  26 , the riding pad need not have another pad between it and the animal. Rather, the felt provides all of the protection that the animal needs. It is possible, however, to put another pad between the riding pad  10  and the animal.  
         [0017]     The riding pad  10  preferably has a three quarter rigging  28  on both sides of the riding pad  10  to assist with securing the riding pad to the animal. While any rigging is acceptable (e.g., full, center, ⅞, etc.), Applicants have found that the three quarter rigging is preferred. The preferred rigging  28  consists of two straps  30 , 32  attached to the riding pad and then to a ring  34 . The strap  30  is preferably attached in front of a ring  34  and strap  32  is preferably attached to the pad  10  behind the ring  34 . The actual distance between the attachment points of the straps  30 , 32  is not critical. It is also preferred that the riding pad  10  have billets  36  attached to the rings  34  on either side, rather than the typical latigo, which then in turn attach to a cinch (not shown). Applicants have found that the billets  36  attached on either side to the rings  34  provide better opportunities for the pad to be secured when both riders are on the animal and do not interfere with the riders.  
         [0018]     The riding pad  10  also has a two attachment  38 , 40  elements on each side of the riding pad  10  for the stirrups for the first and second seat portions  12 , 14 . The attachment elements  38 , 40  are preferably metal rings to which the stirrup leathers  42  would attach. Each of the attachment elements  38 , 40  also have a skirt  44  covering the attachment elements  38 , 40  so that the riders do not get caught or injured on them. While a particular design of stirrups  48  is illustrated, the riding pad  10  may have any design of stirrups and still be within the scope of the present invention. The attachment elements  38 , 40  are more forward of their respective seat portions  12 , 14  than on a typical saddle. Usually, the attachment elements are relatively close to the center of the seat portion between the skirt and fender, whereas the attachment elements  38 , 40  in the present application are generally in a forward part of the seat portion. See, e.g.,  FIG. 3 . This allows the riders to more fully develop and use their legs while riding. Many of the riders that use the riding pad  10  are fully ambulatory and therefore, the use of the legs while on the animal may be some of the other exercise that their legs receive. The position of the attachment elements  38 , 40  also allows for stretching and flexibility exercises while mounted on the animal without the attachment elements  38 , 40  interfering with those exercises.  
         [0019]     The length of the riding pad  10 , while allowing sufficient distance between the first and second seat portions  12 , 14  for the first rider to be more independent and develop riding skills, is still not so long as to injure the animal&#39;s back or kidneys. Applicants note that the size of the riding pad  10  and the seat portions  12 , 14  may vary depending on the age, weight, and height of the riders, however, the configuration of the first and second seat portions allows It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the water heater controller of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.