Zandona Omnia Safety Stirrups

Ride the Omnia a few times in quiet work before you take it across country: the weight and the cantilevered shape of the tread feel different from a classic stirrup, and your foot takes a moment to find its place. Check the polymer arch at every cleaning for cracks, deformation or a cut, because that is the part doing the work; it can be replaced on its own. Rinse the stirrups after a sandy ride, let the water run out through the drainage holes and dry them off. Store them indoors rather than in a wet grooming bag, and do not leave the arch lying against a hot stable heater.

The Omnia suits showjumping, eventing, cross-country and daily work, and riders who prefer a heavier stirrup with few parts over a light model with a mechanism. The wide, rasp-like tread surface is also a choice for anyone who does not want steel pins in their soles. If you are mainly after light weight, for instance because you do a lot of dressage work with a long leg position, the LeMieux Vector Balance or Vector Control at 419 grams will suit you better. If a child rides in them, the LeMieux Junior Vector Balance is the more suitable choice: it is lighter and tuned to a lower rider weight.

Hang the stirrups on your stirrup leathers with the polymer arch on the outside, mirrored left and right, and check that the angled eye moves freely over the leather. Check the arch before mounting for cracks or deformation; if it is damaged, you replace the element and not the whole stirrup. Care is rinsing, letting the water drain through the holes under the tread surface and drying off. Lubricating is not needed, because there is no moving part in it.

How does the foot get out of this stirrup?

Through the polymer arch on the outside. It gives way under pressure, in any direction. There is no arm that swings open and no lock that has to release first.

Is there a mechanism in it that can wear out?

No, and that is exactly Zandona's starting point: no hinge, spring or magnet. The only part you check is the polymer arch itself, and that can be replaced on its own.

Is 680 grams not heavy?

It is heavier than the light machined stirrups of around 420 grams. Anyone who wants to ride light will certainly feel the difference.

How much weight can the stirrup carry?

Zandona states a load capacity of up to 400 kg per stirrup. The brand does not name a recommended rider weight.

Which size should I choose?

There is one size. Check with your own riding boot whether your foot goes in with space on both sides; Zandona gives no width in millimetres.

Does the polymer keep working in winter?

Zandona states a range of -60 to +60 degrees Celsius for the polymer, so frost changes nothing about how the arch behaves.

How do I clean them?

Rinse them, let them drain through the drainage holes under the tread surface and dry them off. There is no part that needs oil or grease.

Where is the Omnia made?

In Italy. Zandona states alongside that the construction is covered by two patent applications.

• Stirrup with a steel frame and a polymer arch that gives way in any direction.
• No hinge, spring or magnet; nothing that can stick or wear out.
• 680 grams per stirrup; loadable to 400 kg per stirrup.
• Cantilevered tread with a wide, rasp-like tread surface and drainage holes.
• Angled eye, so the stirrup hangs helpfully to step into.
• Polymer works between -60 and +60 degrees Celsius; arch elements available separately.
• One size, Grey finish, made in Italy.
• The tread width is not given by Zandona.