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.

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 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.

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.

Then in October 2022, a big moment came when we teamed up with a UK sales agent. They've helped us get into key stores across the UK, expanding our reach even more.

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.