Safety stirrup

A safety stirrup adapted to be attached to a saddle strap and receive a rider's foot, said stirrup comprising:

• a frame having an upper end adapted for receiving said strap and a lower, generally horizontal cantilever base having a lateral dimension and presenting a free end spaced below said upper end, and a single, depending wall portion interconnecting said upper end and base, the spacing between said upper end and base end being sufficient to permit placement of a rider's foot above the base, said upper end being located substantially centrally of said base substantially at the lateral midpoint thereof;
• and
• a footpad assembly affixed to said base and including a resilient, synthetic resin, normally upstanding keeper wall adjacent and extending upwardly from the region of said base free end, said keeper wall permitting substantially unrestricted up and down movement of the rider's foot within the stirrup, said keeper wall being deformable outwardly under the influence of excessive force applied thereagainst by the rider's foot, in order to permit the rider's foot to safely move out of the stirrup, said keeper wall having memory sufficient for causing the keeper wall to reassume the normal upstanding orientation thereof after said rider's foot has cleared the stirrup, without manual manipulation of the keeper wall.