Behind The Brand

In 2014, Dan embarked on his journey by selling second-hand horse tack from his parents' dining room table. The goal? To raise enough capital to kickstart what would become Henry James Saddlery.

Dan founded Henry James Saddlery in 2015 after facing challenges in finding high-quality, well-designed, and properly fitting bridle work. 2015 was the start of a 3 year long initial journey of designing, crafting and learning. It took almost three years of learning, designing and trial and error before we launched our first anatomical bridle range in 2018.

We meticulously designed the sizing based on our own horses, ensuring a perfect fit for increased performance. We spotted a big problem in the market: most bridles came in standard sizes, and buying separate parts cost a fortune. We wanted to change that by offering components in different sizes without extra charges.

Just after we launched our bridles in October 2018, Sedgwick, our leather supplier, went into administration. This posed a huge challenge for us: either move to another supplier and sacrifice quality or wait to see if Sedgwick would be saved. Fortunately, Sedgwick was bought out by a consortium of companies already working with them, consisting of a tannery, a UK distributor, and a hide merchant, enabling them to continue creating high-quality leather.

To date, we continue to work with Sedgwick, maintaining our commitment to using only the best materials. In 2019, we hit a high point when we were nominated and made it to the finals for the British Equestrian Trade Association's Online / Mail Order Retailer of the Year award. This recognition boosted our confidence and validated our commitment to providing quality products and excellent service.

In 2020, Dan took our bridle designs to BETA International. Olivia Turner from Olivia Turner ABC, a bit and bridle fitter, became one of our first stockists. Back then, we were on a shoestring budget and couldn't afford a fancy stand. So, Dan did what any resourceful entrepreneur would do—he camped out in the coffee area with a rucksack stuffed with our bridlework and leaflets.

 In November 2021, we reached a milestone by attending our first trade stand at a local equestrian venue. This was a significant step for us, allowing us to showcase our products directly to local enthusiasts and forge connections within the community.

By 2022, we were back at BETA International with our own stand, aiming to get our products into more shops. The response was great, and we signed up our first physical shop stockists, Colne Saddlery and Unicorn Saddlery.

Our brand continues to flourish with a lineup of planned trade stands throughout the year, alongside exciting new product launches. We are thrilled to collaborate closely with our riders, embodying our commitment to innovation and excellence in the equestrian industry.