Rigged Ralide Saddle$179.00 RALIDE with quick draw cinch system
$231.00 RALIDE-QD with leather billet cinch system
$260.50 RALIDE-BLT Ralide Llama Pack Systems start at $380.50 – one price for everything you need to take your llama on the trail.
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Sopris Unlimited is now the only llama equipment dealership authorized to sell Ralide pack trees. The trees are rigged by Sopris and accept Sopris System components.
The rigged ralide is a single piece molded polyethylene pack tree, rigged with heavy weight 1-¼" wide nylon webbing. The Sopris Felt Pad attaches to the bottom of the saddle with velcro strips, which keep it in place during saddling and when the saddle is off of the llama. Extremely durable and waterproof, the saddle is ideal for day-in and day-out commercial packing, llama leasing, and the Forest Service because of its versatility—the saddle excels at carrying extremely awkward loads, and trail maintenance tools, etc. can be lashed directly to the saddle.
The Sopris Rigged Ralide llama pack saddle is completely waterproof—it can be submerged in water. It is practically indestructible: while we don’t recommend this, driving a truck over a Sopris Rigged Ralide will probably leave the saddle unscathed. Like the Sopris Classic Saddle, the Sopris Rigged Ralide is user-friendly, comfortable, and extremely stable while carrying heavy awkward loads in steep rough terrain.
- Specs:
- Vertical spinal clearance: 2-½"
- Horizontal spinal clearance: 4"
- Length: 21"
- Weight excluding felt pad and cinches: 7 ½ pounds
- Color: Tan
It is important for the llama’s comfort that you distinguish between the front and rear of the saddle: Be sure to place the rounded end of the saddle bars to the front of the llama.
When the Ralide saddle was first introduced to the llama market around 1984, Charlie Hackbarth was skeptical. It appeared to be too long and heavy, and the rigging was a nightmare. Since that time however, the Ralide has proven itself day in and day out in commercial llama pack strings across the country.
Bill Redwood has owned a commercial pack string and a llama leasing business in southwestern Colorado for over twenty years. In the early years he tested most of the saddles on the market, and the Sopris Classic saddle has exclusively been his choice for the last 15 years… except for one—the Ralide.
Bill has always used a Ralide to carry his kitchen gear. He has persistently said that he “uses the Ralide because it’s tough. The tree is a little heaver, the rigging is a nightmare, and the pad is hard to handle. But the saddle is comfortable, and it stays in place." Bill challenged Charlie to do something with the rigging and the pad, contending that if he succeeded, the Ralide might even give the Sopris saddle a run for its money—at least in the hard commercial use category.
Bill’s insistence, along with the Ralide’s record—We’ve never heard of a Ralide saddle causing a sore, nor have we heard of any llama behavior problems associated with the Ralide—finally convinced Charlie to swallow his pride and take a closer look.
In 2007, Charlie stripped the rigging from Bill’s Ralide saddle tree and re-rigged it, adding the Sopris Quick Draw Cinch System and Chest Strap and Breeching. He cut a new pad, complete with vents, and designed it to follow the contour of the arch, never making contact with the llama’s spine.
When Charlie was finished, Bill hung a set of Sopris panniers on the saddle and put it to use on his rental llamas and on a number of llamas in his commercial string. Turns out Bill was right—with the right rigging and pad, the Ralide does make a great llama pack saddle.