I don't think the western show stuff is truly "western". I wonder all the time how it got to be considered western..??? Looks stupid to me, and no real "cowboy" would be caught dead mincing around like that I would think.
Anyway, like I've said before, for any one who takes the time to run barrels in the most efficent way, you'll find alot of the "dressage" techniques are used. Speed is not necessarily the best indicator of how well a horse will do at it. So in actuality the saddle has little to do with how well you keep your seat.
Becky