Boz Testimonial-Orlando Alamillo 3-21-07

My name is Orlando Alamillo and I live in Southern California. After purchasing and using my Boz equipment since the summer of 2002 I am finally ready to write my testimonial.

I currently own two Boz Balanced ride saddles; I have an Agility model and a Heavy Duty Roper. These saddles are superior in design and quality. They fit every horse I have put them on. I have used it on horses that range from a 14.2 hand cowhorse all the way up to a 16.2 hand running Quarter Horse with absolutely no fit issues whatsoever. These saddles surpass all other saddles in their durability and weight. The Boz saddles are also very distinctive in their appearance. Whereas anything else pretty much gets lost in the sea of saddles, everywhere I go people ask what sort of saddle are you riding in? My reply is that I’m riding a "Boz". I ride performance horses, I ride gymkhana, I have worked cows and I have roped. In order to be successful in these disciplines speed and agility determines who wins and who doesn’t. Because of the position that these saddles put me in as well as the weight balance that they provide it gives me an edge over the competition.

When I originally purchased the "Boz Bareback" I purchased it under the strong suggestion from John Bozanich. I had only intended to purchase the Balance Ride saddle, but he convinced me to give it a try. At the time it was a fairly new product, and again it was something extremely unique. And to be completely honest this piece of equipment certainly surpassed all of the claims that I was told. I was told it will make you a better rider, it will give you better balance, and you can do any sort of riding in it except rope. I purchased my first one in the summer of 2002, I bought my second one in 2005, and I currently have another one on order. I will have to say that this one piece of equipment is the BEST investment I have ever made in all of my years of riding. I have ridden consistently for the last 19 years and I have made the most amount of progress in the last 4. If you think you can ride it will certainly confirm whether you can or if you are in for a humbling experience. This saddle offers the most amount of contact, most amount of security and if well maintained it is virtually indestructible and built to last a lifetime. I use it to start horses in as well for my everyday riding and competition in gymkhana racing. Please take a look at my photos I am NOT a petite individual. The Boz Ultimate Bareback saddle is the one thing that I cannot do without. It is not a miracle cure because it takes good equipment, time, effort and knowledge to become a proficient rider and it is a major part of the puzzle.

Over the years I have purchased and used an assortment of equipment and tack. We are always looking for that "magic piece" that will make everything all better. Not only do we want to find that equipment that will make horse training faster, more humane and take less effort, but we also don’t want to spend that much money, does that sound familiar? We have all gone and purchased something at the 99 cent store because it was such a good deal, but in the end it was just a throw away item. As horse people we kind of do the same thing with our tack. We purchase something because it is economical, we use it a few times and then it either breaks, or we find out it didn’t work as well as we had hoped, so then it just sits in our tack room. If we go through our tack room and add up all of the money that we have spent on tack we have not used in years nor have the intention of using ever again it will be a very eye opening experience.

When I first acquired the Boz tack I started with one bit, one halter bridle combo, one set of reins with sticks, and one martingale. This is all tack that is very well made and designed to be used on a daily basis. Like all things they have to be taken care of and maintained, and even though I am going on 5 years of using this equipment I am still using the original sets on a daily basis. The only thing that has changed is that I had to get more tack because one set was not enough, if I wanted to ride a couple of horses I did not want to ride them in anything else and 5 years later I will not use anything else. The tack is designed to get the most out of your horse in the quickest and most humane manner possible.

So if you have made it through my other three testimonials you have a pretty good idea that I am a big fan of the Boz equipment. The last and final piece of the puzzle is you have to learn how to use the equipment. Most of us have already been riding for years and know how to put a saddle on a horse, or how to put a bit in a horse’s mouth. But beyond that do most of us really know much after that? Back in the summer of 2002 I decided to try a riding clinic with Boz, I figured I had nothing to lose, I had already bought some tack, and a saddle from him. His system of horse handling and training was an eye opening experience. I say this because most of our horse knowledge on handling and training horse has been handed down from our parents, grandparents and so on and so forth. But if we ever ask "why" we something a certain way, the answer we usually get is "that’s the way I was taught" or "this is the way world champion X does it", and we take it at face value. Boz’s method is very straightforward to understand, it is based on science and the actual physiology of the horse. The system is very simple. Just because I say it is simple doesn’t mean that it is easy. Please review the "Horse and riders evaluation test" posted on the website. It will prove how much you can or cannot do. By no means would I say that I am an advanced rider, I would consider myself an "Intermediate" at best. But just being able to perform all of those maneuvers at the intermediate level would put you into superstar status in most horse circles.

Like I have mentioned in another testimonial, I have progressed farther and faster in the last 4 and a half years that I have had my Boz equipment and training than in the previous 14 + years. I have been approached by others to help them to teach them and their horse to do the things that I can do on my horse. I may not be the fastest rider all of the time (look at my photos, I’m not as aerodynamic as I could be), but I am one of the most consistent riders, if I have a problem I can fix it because I have been given the knowledge to do so. Whereas other people’s horses get hot and start to lose their competitiveness by the end of a long day or at a 2 day show I keep going at my pace and consistency. Most people set their sights on a lucky break to win, I know what I need to do and know how to do it.

Since that first clinic in 2002, I have attended other Boz clinics and have had the opportunity to take some private lessons. Just like anything else we have to take what we have learned and practice it at home. You can take superior equipment but if you don’t know how to best use it you are not using it to its full potential. The same thing goes for riding and training methods. You can take the best and most effective methods, but if you are using less than acceptable equipment you will not progress at the pace that you potentially could be.

If you have ANY questions regarding any of my testimonials or if you are in the Southern California area and would like to learn more feel to contact me via phone or email.

Orlando Alamillo

8018 Oak Hill Rd

Oak Hills CA, 92344

(626) 991-6118 cell

orlandoalamillo@yahoo.com