Best and worst saddle awards

Kenzo

Kenzo

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Over the years, which saddle have you most preffered riding in? when I say this, I mean for you the rider, therefore considering the comfort, the position it put you in and ease of carring out general riding (so a bit of everything)

I've been having a late afternoon ponder and to my suprise, although I'm slighly embarassed to admit this but one of my all time favorites despite the make and how cheap it was, was *drum roll*.....

My little 16.5'' Maxam synthetic saddle (going back many moons ago here) :o, it was so comfortable and kept me in a secure position and for me kept my legs in the correct place, I loved it, it was bargain at £50.00 (brand new) from a stall at a horse fair.

Not sure which I could class as my worst though....*thinks*
 
My favourite saddles are Ideal, have had the Jessica and the Suzannah and have loved both.
Worst saddle i have had was a Wintec Dressage just because it didn't fit me properly and i tilted forward in it dreadfully :D
 
Hmm.......

My favourite has to be my Jeffries Falcon Hawk Event
Very comfy and one of the only saddles my long legs fit on!

Next would be my Pessoa legacy xp3 is a beautiful saddle but I don't fit on the knee rolls ! Hence I sold it plus it didnt fit Java..

Then after the Pessoa, a gfs generation and gfs pro vsd - leather is quite hard and they are IMO quite uncomfortable

Worst saddle , for me wintecs, had a few for my old ponies and hated them!
 
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My favourite would have to be my Barnsby - sorry don't know the make as I bought it second-hand ;)

Least favourite was a wintec synthetic saddle I bought for about £150 3 years ago. Used it for a year, then donated it to a riding school. Hated evry second I spend in that saddle- felt as though the horse was about a metre away from me!
 
Thanks for you feed back, helps also because I'm trying some saddles tomorrow and I was pondernig over the Fieldhouse generation training saddle, I can live with a bit of uncomfort (if there a touch hard in the seat) so long as I can find one to fit my my lad that's the main thing, interesting about the Barnsby saddles, I'll have to see if they have any of those in (second hand in wide) that I could also try, it's nice to get some feed back.
 
Ideal Jessica. Its a few years old but i got it off a friend in absolutely perfect condition, she looks after her tack alot better then I do! :o

Worst was a Colligiate saddle. Probibily not the saddle's fault but it didn't fit me, or the horse. Infact the horse threw me off because it was so tight around her shoulders and was like an ejector seat behind..

D :D
 
Yeah the Colligiate ones look a little too bulky for my lads shape (not that I've tried one) but I can tell it's not the sort of saddle that will sit correctly on him, he's better with something more CC or they type on a flatter tree like Ideals or Black County, think its just a case of coming away with a quite a few and possibly a few trips back and forth but it's got to be done so I no point moaning. :)
 
Have to say my Ideal Jessica fitted a Big 16.2hh ID, then my 15.2hh TB and now my 16.2hh KWPN. It seems to mould so easily to horses shapes.
Plus its got knee rolls not knee blocks so I am secure, but not fixed if you get me. Can't reccomend the Ideal saddles enough :)
 
My friend has an Ideal which is the comfiest saddle I've ever ridden in, don't know what model it is though.
Another of my friends has a Stubben Siegfried, and I find it really uncomfortable, it's like sitting on a plank!
 
My most comfortable and favourite saddle is the Ideal H&C Apex. I have them on both my ridden cobs.

The worst saddle was a friends Thorowgood Griffin, it was like sitting on a brick, awful thing.
 
I love my saddle, its the ideal event saddle its so comfy, and fits taz really well he's 17hh ID fits him no matter if he's on the fat side or skinny great to jump and hack in but a wee bit to forward cut for dressage, im wanting to get a grandee for him at somepoint as have tried one on him and love it more than my event :(
 
I currently have a Henri de Rivell which is the most comfortable saddle I have ever ridden in. They aren't the prettiest saddles out there or the best quality but I love it, and it was a bargain :D

I used to have an Ideal (Event, IIRC) which I liked as well but that was sold with the horse it was fitted to.

Had a Harry Dabbs Elegant DR saddle for a while a couple of years ago and HATED it. I could never ride properly in it and despite having it fitted by a qualified saddle fitter several times, and refitted, and reflocked etc, the horse hated it more than I did. Sold it after 9 months and I swear the horse breathed a sigh of relief as it left the yard for the last time!
 
My favourite saddle has to be my Andrew Gould GP - it was so comfy - but Im getting an APG equine dressage saddle so that could change very shortly :p
My least favourite was my Wintec as the gullet kept spreading
 
Damnation said:
Ideal Jessica. Its a few years old but i got it off a friend in absolutely perfect condition, she looks after her tack alot better then I do! :o

Worst was a Colligiate saddle. Probibily not the saddle's fault but it didn't fit me, or the horse. Infact the horse threw me off because it was so tight around her shoulders and was like an ejector seat behind..

D :D
Click to expand...

This highlights how different every saddle is for every rider- my sister and horse love their Colligiate jumping saddle. Feel it supports them really well and allows lots of room for her long legs without being really blocky!
 
I love my pony's saddle- it's an old ideal saddle but very straight cut, so it's really comfy for dressage :)
I don't think I have a worst.. I rode in my friend's treeless saddle once which I didn't particularly like!
 
Best saddle Ideal or silhouette, had the ideal Ramsey once and it was great but im equally if not more impressed by a silhouette i now have just for shows, they are specially made for a local saddler and he does lots of slightly different models and i love mine.

Worst has to be the wintec saddles! i had the wide version and yes the gullet goes so wide it would fit a table however the panels are so inflexible they dig into your horses shoulders even if the horse isn't overweight but just has a large front and well muscled shoulders.

Im not just being snobby by looking down on synthetic saddles as i actually think the thorowgood saddles are very decent and would certainly buy one for everyday use.
 
Love Ideal Jessica's and Barnsby's. I also for an everyday saddle am quite impressed with my Thorowgood T6 which was brought for the rising 4yo as he will change shape over the next few years and for a synthetic, very nice, he seems happy in it and comfy and looks good and adjustable with flocking

Also love Stubben Siegfreids :)

Hate Wintecs and have ridden in some Albions with such huge knee rolls you feel like you are dislocating your pelvis and cannot get your leg underneath you. But guess that was just that particular style (cannot remember which one)
 
I've loved every Lovatt and Rickett that I've sat in, but sadly do not have one at the moment. I'm also a big fan of WOW, though I've only sat in a flat (cross country) and shallow seat, so I don't know about some of the deeper ones.

My current favourite saddle is an old Albion K2 jump. The seat is fairly flat, it's not very padded but it has a wide twist, which suits me perfectly. The leather is beautiful, and while I'm not usually a fan of suede knee rolls, the seat is quite slippery, so I'm glad they're there.

My least favourite was a brand new Albion K2 jump I had a few years ago. It had such a narrow twist it crippled me after an hour and a half, and the leather scratched so easily. I hated it, and gave it back pretty quickly.
 
I have two favourite saddles, one is an Ideal International event VSD, better known as the armchair, super confortable, not blocky (can't stand blocks!) and very suited to my short legs, even for eventing it was perfect. My all time favourite though is a made to measure dressage saddle from Tony Goodwin in Dublin, made with a short flap for my little legs, very secure and comfy saddle, just need another horse that it fits now!

Worst - Wintec dressage, bought it when I was riding a friends horse, he only had a very forward cut Stubben and my little legs could just not cope with something as forward cut, I hated it - it was like sitting on a plank, I was delighted when the owner bought a new saddle which suited me better - so if anyone is in the market for a 17.5" wintec dressage that has been sat on 3 times ;)
 
Best saddle: the new style thorowgood cob saddle. Suits me perfectly and I find it soooo comfortable. Fits the horse well too;)

Worst saddle: wintec and an albion gp saddle. It was a constant battle to keep my position.
 
My favourite saddles of all time are two of my show saddles. One is a 14in Colemancroft which I evidently don't fit into any more but it fits everything from my shets, to welsh a's and darty's. My other favourite saddle is my Jeffries Show Saddle. It has a very comfey, although quite flat seat, it's half panel so really lets you feel your horse and it doesn't have any knee rolls or big cantles for me to get stuck on when said horsey is being bad - I like freedom of legs to be able to wrap round in such situations.

I also love my Zilco exercise saddles - you feel as though you are sitting on the horse rather than perched on top of a saddle like most race exercise saddles are these days.

My worst saddle has to be my darties. It's a Eurosport straight cut show saddle. It fits the pony and looks great on him the only problem is that it has a VERY high cantle which kind of makes you lean forward slightly. This in itself wouldn't be so much of a problem if my darty didn't like to have a good bronco session every now and then - you go straight out of the front door!
 
Favourite saddle = Wintec Isabell Werth (older model) for dressage competing Advanced Medium and Albion K2 jump for jumpint (Pre-Novice BE).
 
worst saddles for me are - Thorowgood as they are really bouncy and boingy to sit in and Stubbens merely because they are like sitting on a wall but you do feel secure in it.

Best saddles for comfort for me are - Albion K2 jump, Barnsby & Prestige.
 
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