Gotcha. I don’t think there’s any harm in asking, FWIW. But, I also am the person that wouldn’t care if bitless headstalls were allowed. Every horse has a different preference. We do what works for the horse and just hope they like the discipline we prefer. Lol.
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So, if you are aware of the rules not allowing western saddles in traditional dressage, why would you even ask? It’s a traditional sport that has traditional rules.
Personally, I think it would be great if you started paving the way in western dressage so that we could see more western bred horses moving to their potential instead of shut down and boring! Take the challenge and give the judges and other competitors a wake up call.
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I think you aren’t getting the responses you anticipated because of the way you worded your question. It doesn’t sound like you are starting a general, theoretical conversation about why only English saddles are allowed. It reads like you are specifically asking why you can’t use a Western saddle, since it’s the one your horse prefers. And people are, not surprisingly, interpreting that as you wanting the rules to be changed to allow different types of saddles.
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I’m not the OP, but I believe it was to just start a conversation. Everything starts somewhere. Someone at some point questioned “tradition” from “why can’t women vote” to “why can’t we use Micklems in dressage”.
I’m not saying I see a pressing need to see western tack included in an english-specific discipline, but I do understand why one person would be more interested in dressage tests versus western dressage tests.
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What an interesting comment. My horse is a Western Dressage (WDAA) world champion. He’s also a USDF All Breed Res Champion and scored a 71% at his last USDF show. Not sure what is “shut down and boring” to you unless USDF is also shut down and boring.
BTW, same horse scores high 80s in hunters. I’m sure some would find that shut down and boring, too. Can’t please everyone.
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Thanks Beowulf. I’m just gonna let this thread die
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We’re about the same age and I have also been on several journeys with horses and riding disciplines. I never imagined I’d enjoy western dressage. In fact, early on I was highly skeptical of the entire idea. But I had one particular fancy Paint gelding who simply didn’t fit anywhere else. Yet he loved everything about western dressage. He excelled in it. So that became a sort of unexpected journey.
Please explore the western dressage Level 4 tests. They’re pretty challenging. That’s what I was schooling with that gelding when I had to, sadly, have him put down. My biggest regret is the years I lost, joking about western dressage, when I could’ve been enjoying it with him.
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Mostly just tradition! I wonder if the company that made your western saddle and/or the fitter you used could possibly work with you to find a dressage saddle or have a custom one made that both of you like? There are some smaller companies out there which aren’t well known so there might even be something out there that you & your horse like! Best of luck that you find something somewhat easily, saddle shopping is the worst haha
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Why not ask some local schooling shows if they would let you? I can think of some laid back ones near me that would probably allow you to at least ride a test and be judged, but maybe not for ribbons.
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I’m sorry, what did you want?
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Actually I have a friend who runs schooling as well as recognized shows. I’ll ride HC. I’m not chasing awards
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Can I ask what breed and/or how your horse is bred? Pretty cool that he can do all the things!
Well done!
Still waiting to hear why I can’t ride in an English saddle in Western Pleasure classes though. It’s the same thing (different side of the coin) and yet, that isn’t questioned.
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Why can’t you ride an alpaca backwards in a tutu,?
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Because alpaca are ferocious.
No joke. I used to think they were Llamas Lite until I met a guy from Peru whose grandparents had a herd that ripped a mountain lion to shreds. 
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I have an alpaca story (or twenty) I’ll share with COTH.
In my early twenties, I moved to upstate NY from SC with four dogs and a cat. The first winter was miserable - I stayed in a tiny trailer that was about 45m from the nearest gas station/store. The second winter, I found a house a bit closer to town for rent listed in the paper by a couple well into their 80s. I went to visit it - it was an old, half-falling apart farm house right next to the “main” house on a huge alpaca farm. The couple said they had trouble finding someone to rent the house. I didn’t say it to their face, but I could see why.
They were okay with my four ditch dogs, so of course I rented it and did some repairs on the flooring and roof. The couple had been in the alpaca business their entire lives and were winding down. There were still some 100 odd alpacas on the farm, which was run solely by them. There was a bit of disrepair going on in this property.
I had to be careful letting the dogs out every morning. You never knew which alpaca would be in the front yard. They were extremely aggressive to dogs. They bite and kick like the dickens.
It seemed every time I fixed a fence for this couple a new alpaca would escape somehow. It was a full time job avoiding these evil things, and I used to call it my time living on the Funny Farm.
One time, I got home around 1 AM from my night shift. I got out of my car and heard the clip-clop of hooves behind me – that evil little shit chased me from my car into my own house, and then walked around the front yard waiting for me to let the dogs out.
Not a fan of them… and that’s before I tell you of the time that a loose alpaca chased me down on my horse…
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Both alpacas and llamas are sometimes turned out with sheep because of their fierce territoriality and protectiveness. Coyote (or loose neighborhood dog) won’t know what hit them.
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I hope you find a judge with a POV that looks beyond tack to score you.
USDF Judges Handbook co-author Jeff Ashton Moore comes to mind.
I rode in a clinic with him on my Hardwired To Gait TWH & another rider rode in full Western tack on his WP mare.
Both of us got the same attention & teaching as the standard WBs that made up the rest of the lessons.
And both non-standard horses improved by Day 3.
My current ride is an alleged (no registration) TWH.
He does trot, but canter is Work in Progress.
A couple years ago he won his Intro A, even though he broke to gait a couple times.
I thanked judge later for recognizing us. She advised:
“Your geometry was Spot-On”
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Oh, yes. Lol. See, that’s the thing. I was familiar with llama as livestock guards. For some reason I always thought alpaca were a smaller, less-effective version of llamas. (Doesn’t help that people here give them silly-looking haircuts!) Then this Peruvian guy described how his grandparents knew from the noises they were hearing that it was a mountain lion attacking & that it had been injured by the defending alpaca. When his grandfather went out to check on their flock, he found all the alpaca, even the babies, gathered around tearing at what was left of the big cat. He’d hoped to salvage the pelt. Nothing left. 
@beowulf, omg! I’m laughing yet I probably shouldn’t! Considering that even our little rabble-rouser longhorn bull waited patiently for hours in the bitter cold for me to rescue him the time he got pushed through the electric fence by the cows? The alpaca are becoming more & more terrifying
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I’m not sure that riding HC exempts you from all rules. And the judge has a say, as well as the organizers. You’d best check.
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