The griffon is presumably willing to go charging into combat by itself, and willing to be ridden, so I don't see why you couldn't ride it into combat without training.
Whether its saddle/barding transforms with it is a GM call, I think, as I can see it going either way.
When animated, a bronze griffon acts in all ways like a normal griffon under the command of its possessor
While they can sometimes be trained or befriended to serve as mounts, ...
The item acts like a normal griffon, but that creature is untrained as a mount. Likewise, it has no saddle or equipment.
The spell Swift Girding can put armor on quickly.
/cevah
Isn't this what Fly Skill checks are for? And if untrained, what Handle Animal checks are for...
When animated, a bronze griffon acts in all ways like a normal griffon under the command of its possessorWhile they can sometimes be trained or befriended to serve as mounts, ...The item acts like a normal griffon, but that creature is untrained as a mount. Likewise, it has no saddle or equipment.
The spell Swift Girding can put armor on quickly.
/cevah
Given that normal griffons don't obey anyone, and the figurine does, I'm more than willing to allow it as a mount with saddle , espeically given the limits on activation, only twice per week and a max of six hours on each.