Superior Saddlery:
Andy Mashke and the SYMMETREES™ Revolution

Andy Mashke built Superior Saddlery on a premise that most saddle makers of his era considered unnecessary: that the saddle tree — the internal skeleton that determines everything about how a saddle fits and performs — was too important to buy from someone else. In the early 2000s, when Mashke established Superior Saddlery, the saddle-making industry largely purchased trees from specialized tree makers and focused their craft on the leather work applied over them. Mashke decided to control the entire process.

That decision, and the technology it required him to develop, produced SYMMETREES™ — a proprietary tree manufacturing system that Superior Saddlery operates in-house, carries with a 25-year warranty against breakage, and considers the foundation of everything Superior Saddlery makes. It is not marketing language. It is the actual competitive advantage of the saddles bearing Andy Mashke's name.

The Andy Mashke Story

Mashke came to saddle-making through the western performance horse world — not as a hobbyist who happened to pick up leather tools, but as someone embedded in the competitive reining culture who understood from direct observation what separated a great saddle from a merely good one. He saw riders at the highest levels of NRHA competition managing equipment that was sometimes excellent and sometimes inadequate, and he recognized that the tree was the variable that separated them.

The conventional western saddle market of the late 20th century had a structural problem: tree quality was difficult to verify before purchase, impossible to guarantee, and inconsistent even within a single maker's production. A tree that tested sound at the shop might have been built from wood that would crack under the stress of competition use. There was no quality assurance system, no warranty, and no standardization of dimensions that would allow a buyer to confidently purchase a replacement saddle knowing it would fit the same horse.

Mashke spent years developing the SYMMETREES™ manufacturing process — a system that produces saddle trees to precise, documented specifications using controlled materials and processes that can be reproduced exactly. When the process was mature, he launched Superior Saddlery with the SYMMETREES™ warranty: 25 years against breakage. In an industry where most trees carried no warranty at all, this was a statement of confidence that the market had never seen before.

The SYMMETREES™ System

The SYMMETREES™ designation covers Superior Saddlery's in-house tree manufacturing process, which Mashke developed to address the structural inconsistencies he observed in conventionally sourced saddle trees.

The critical innovation is dimensional precision. Conventional saddle trees, even from high-quality tree makers, were hand-shaped from wood — a process that introduced variability from one tree to the next. Two trees labeled identically might measure differently, fit horses differently, and wear differently over time. A rider who loved the fit of one Superior saddle and ordered another for a second horse had no guarantee the second saddle would fit with the same precision as the first.

SYMMETREES™ trees are manufactured to documented, reproducible specifications. When Andy Mashke builds a saddle to fit a specific horse's back measurements, those measurements are recorded. If the owner needs a replacement saddle for the same horse five years later — or wants to add a second saddle for a second horse with similar conformation — Mashke can build to the same specification. This is not possible with conventionally sourced trees.

The 25-year warranty against breakage is the public-facing proof of the SYMMETREES™ system's quality. A warranty requires confidence in the manufacturing process and the materials — confidence that is only possible when the manufacturer controls every variable. Mashke can offer 25 years because he built the trees himself.

The Endorser Roster

Superior Saddlery's endorser relationships are not sponsorships in the conventional sense — they are collaborative development partnerships. When a world-class competitor puts their name on a Superior Saddlery model, it means the saddle was developed in direct consultation with that rider, refined through competition use at the highest level, and represents the rider's personal judgment about what a competition reining saddle should be.

The roster reads like an NRHA Hall of Fame ballot:

Shawn Flarida — Six-time NRHA World Champion and the rider who broke the million-dollar barrier in NRHA earnings. Flarida's involvement with Superior represents the most demanding possible real-world testing environment. His model lines emphasize the precise, conservative tree fit that allows a horse maximum freedom to perform the extreme movements that his training system demands.

Craig Schmersal — Multiple NRHA Futurity Champion and one of the most technically precise reiners of his generation. The Schmersal models — including the Show Reiner, the Allround Saddle, and the Lady Reiner — reflect his preference for clean, workmanlike equipment that does not interfere with the rider's position.

Casey Deary — NRHA Futurity Champion and one of the most successful amateur-to-professional career transitions in reining history. The Casey Deary Reiner, Workhorse, and Reining Saddle models cover the range from everyday training use to show-pen presentation.

Jason Vanlandingham — NRHA Futurity Champion whose model lineup at Superior includes Show Reiner, Workhorse, and Show Saddle configurations — reflecting the variety of contexts in which a professional trainer works horses across different levels of collection and different competitive environments.

Cade McCutcheon — Son of Tom McCutcheon, Cade has become one of the most accomplished young reiners in NRHA competition. His collaboration with Superior reflects a next-generation perspective on reining saddle design.

Tom McCutcheon — Multiple NRHA Futurity Champion, NRHA Hall of Fame inductee, and one of the most decorated reiners in the history of the discipline. Tom McCutcheon's Superior model represents decades of competition feedback distilled into a single design.

Additional endorsers include Carlee McCutcheon, Mandy McCutcheon, Gina (Schumacher) Bethke, Mirjam Stillo, Nicole Hutchings, and others — reflecting Superior's commitment to developing models that serve the full spectrum of NRHA competition, from nonpro to open.

The Model Lineup

Superior Saddlery's production spans over 60 distinct models across reining, cow horse, and ranch disciplines. Within the reining category, models are organized by competition level and use case:

Show / Full Silver models — including the Craig Schmersal Show Reiner, Jason Vanlandingham Show Saddle, and Jason Vanlandingham Show Reiner — represent Superior's top-tier presentation, with full sterling silver packages appropriate for NRHA Futurity and world-level competition.

Competition models — the Casey Deary Reiner, Cade McCutcheon Reiner, and AF Reiner series — are built for regular competition use, with quality silver packages but emphasis on performance rather than maximum presentation.

Training / Workhorse models — the Casey Deary Workhorse, Jason Vanlandingham Workhorse, and Todd Sommers Workhorse — are designed for daily training use, with durable construction, minimal silver, and the same SYMMETREES™ tree as the show models.

Cow Horse models — the JK Cowhorse/Reiner (developed with Jade Keller) provides the versatility required for NRCHA competition without sacrificing the tree quality that makes Superior saddles desirable for reining use.

Ranch models — including the BA Ranch Riding, BL Ranch Riding Pro, and Cowhorse/Ranch Riding — bring SYMMETREES™ tree quality to the ranch and ranch riding competition market.

Mashke's Design Philosophy

Andy Mashke's design philosophy can be summarized in a single principle: the tree is the product. Everything else — the leather, the silver, the tooling, the endorser relationships — is built on top of a tree that fits, performs, and will last for 25 years under the most demanding use the western performance market can apply.

This philosophy produces saddles that are visually conservative by the standards of show-pen competition — Superior saddles rarely feature the most elaborate possible tooling or the most aggressive silver coverage. The emphasis is on fit and function, with silver and tooling appropriate to the model's intended use rather than maximized for visual impact at the expense of weight or balance.

Riders who prioritize the feel of a saddle over its appearance consistently choose Superior. The NRHA endorser roster — the most demanding real-world test available — validates this hierarchy.

Buying a Superior Saddlery Saddle

Superior Saddlery saddles are available new through the Superior Saddlery website at superior-saddlery.com, where the full model lineup is presented with detailed specifications. Pricing is by inquiry — Superior does not post prices publicly, reflecting the custom-fit nature of each saddle build.

Certified used Superior saddles are available through David Solum's inventory at ReiningSaddles.com and CertifiedUsedSaddles.com. Used Superior saddles carry specific advantages: the SYMMETREES™ tree has been proven through use, the leather has been broken in, and the price reflects realistic market value rather than new retail. Used Superior saddles in good condition trade at $2,500–$6,500 depending on model and silver package.

The Saddle Matchmaker on this page includes Superior Saddlery's full lineup of 63 models in its scoring algorithm — selecting a discipline, seat size preference, and silver level will surface the most relevant Superior models alongside the certified used inventory for direct comparison.