Designer Trace Ward rides off with top prize for innovation

A DESIGNER who invented a revolutionary horse saddle after working with Tom Cruise on Hollywood blockbuster The Last Samurai has won a top award for her work.

Trace Ward, 29, from Edinburgh, was crowned Young Innovator at the John Logie Baird Awards.

The accolade saw her walk away with a business package worth 20,000, aimed at helping her launch her product commercially.

Ms Ward, managing director of the equestrian company About Tack, based in Whittingehame, East Lothian, said: "This award means a lot to our business. It feels fantastic to be recognised for the hard work that has gone into this saddle, and what greater honour than to receive an award that celebrates one of Scotland's greatest inventors, John Logie Baird."

Mr Baird's grandson, Iain Baird, attended the awards, along with around 300 guests from across the country.

It was when Ms Ward was in her native New Zealand on the set of The Last Samurai that the shortcomings of modern horse saddles became clear.

On her return to Scotland, she set about making a saddle with a flexible structure made from Dyneema, a fibre 15 times stronger than steel and most commonly used by paragliders.

She said: "Humans have ridden horses for around 6,000 years and modern-day saddles are based on a design that has changed very little over the past 2,000 years.

"We had difficulties with saddle fittings on set because the people who do the horses' costumes had to produce 50 saddles, each fitted specifically for each horse.

"Of course, the horses' form changes during the year. With current saddles, there is little room for change. My new saddle is much easier to adapt."

Current saddles have a rigid frame made from wood and steel, allowing for very little change in a horse's shape. The new design offers a combination of strength and flexibility, allowing the saddle to redistribute a rider's weight without restricting a horse's movement.

Isabell Majewsky, chief executive of the award organisers The Go Group, said: "This is a great achievement for Trace and About Tack. The John Logie Baird Awards were set up to celebrate innovative talent across Scotland and About Tack encompasses all that the awards are about."