I used to compete my mare in the very very select few competitions that were available for 'non pros' up here.

Since then, it seems to have really taken off, however along with the increased interest, there is also plenty of people selling the cheap makes of saddles for people to put on their own horses. It's much easier to cause damage to a horses back with a western saddle as you cant adjust the tree, they are much bigger and their sizes arent different by just millimeters like a lot of english tree's these days.