Bates Australia is an Australian success story and one of the world's leading saddle innovators. 

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.

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.

To view Valley Country's extensive range of Bates products choose Bates from the horse & rider category under the brands menu at the top of the page, or enter Bates in the search facility, or browse the relevant horse & rider category at the left of your screen.