John Whittaker all purpose saddle

[Birker2020]

Hi I'm really excited as I'm having a saddle fit for my horse tomorrow and I see that the saddle fitter has a number of John Whittaker second hand saddles on his website.

I just want a GP saddle for hacking/jumping and dressage and I wondered what people thought of them, are they good saddles? TIA.

 

[tristar]

that one make of saddle i have never riidden in, but i must say i have always like the look of them

 

[Birker2020]

that one make of saddle i have never riidden in, but i must say i have always like the look of them

The fitter says they are going to try and do their best to see if my Jefferies Falcon Event saddle can be made to fit my horse but I don't think it possibly can as he's a funny shape. This would be the best scenario as my late Father bought it for me and its great sentimental value as it was Bailey's saddle for about 12 years. It will break my heart to sell it.
This is the JW saddle. Looks lovely.

 

[Milliechaz]

ive got a JW everyday gp and i think its great. I find it really comfy and it suits my changing youngster. It is also really light which again is what i wanted for my youngster. A definite thumbs up from me.

 

[twobearsarthur]

The fitter says they are going to try and do their best to see if my Jefferies Falcon Event saddle can be made to fit my horse but I don't think it possibly can as he's a funny shape. This would be the best scenario as my late Father bought it for me and its great sentimental value as it was Bailey's saddle for about 12 years. It will break my heart to sell it.
This is the JW saddle. Looks lovely.
View attachment 86871

Totally not answering your question. But if you can afford not to have to sell your special saddle. There’s a lady on FB who makes handbags from saddles. She also does commissions usually for sentimental reasons out of peoples saddles. Maybe that’s something you could do if it doesn’t fit.

 

[JackFrost]

I have one (dressage). I am impressed with it for the price range it is in. Quality materials and has clearly been thought through ergonomically for both horse and rider. Very comfy, well made. I found almost immediately that it improved my position to sit more symmetrically, so I now sit better in other saddles too.

 

[Birker2020]

Totally not answering your question. But if you can afford not to have to sell your special saddle. There’s a lady on FB who makes handbags from saddles. She also does commissions usually for sentimental reasons out of peoples saddles. Maybe that’s something you could do if it doesn’t fit.

Ahh thank you, that's an usual idea. I might look into it, but I think I will have to either part exchange it or sell it in reality.

 

[Birker2020]

I have one (dressage). I am impressed with it for the price range it is in. Quality materials and has clearly been thought through ergonomically for both horse and rider. Very comfy, well made. I found almost immediately that it improved my position to sit more symmetrically, so I now sit better in other saddles too.

thank you, that is good to know.

 

[Season’s Bleatings]

If it helps at all, I held on to a gorgeous Barnsby saddle for quite a few years after my horse retired, because it had huge sentimental value to me. Last year I decided to sell it though as it was taking up space and as lovely as it is/was, it wasn’t really adding anything to my daily existence. Selling jt didn’t actually bother me as much as I thought it would - I loved that saddle, but it was no use to me.
My old horse died a few weeks ago and I’m still totally ok with my decision to have sold the saddle.
Good luck with the fitting, let us know how it goes x

 

[Xmasha]

We looked at the JW range a few years ago, the quality just wasnt that great. There used to be quite a lot of them for sale second hand. Maybe the quality has improved over the years ? . I think if you look at the second hand market and see what sells fast, thats usually a good indicator on quality.

ETA .. id buy a jeffries over JW all day long

 

[Birker2020]

If it helps at all, I held on to a gorgeous Barnsby saddle for quite a few years after my horse retired, because it had huge sentimental value to me. Last year I decided to sell it though as it was taking up space and as lovely as it is/was, it wasn’t really adding anything to my daily existence. Selling jt didn’t actually bother me as much as I thought it would - I loved that saddle, but it was no use to me.
My old horse died a few weeks ago and I’m still totally ok with my decision to have sold the saddle.
Good luck with the fitting, let us know how it goes x

I know, I'm probably being silly to be honest, being sentimental over an inanimate object. I have a collection of headcollars I won't use because of their significance, I don't need to add to the pile lol.

 

[Season’s Bleatings]

I know, I'm probably being silly to be honest, being sentimental over an inanimate object. I have a collection of headcollars I won't use because of their significance, I don't need to add to the pile lol.

Having a gorgeous leather headcollar with his nameplate is what kind of tipped me to sell the saddle - I knew I’d have it forever no matter what.
One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t get round to getting one for our mare who unexpectedly died last May - sadly all we have left of her is mane & tail hair and a lifetime of crazy memories!!

Anyway not to derail your thread - maybe your fitter can work some magic to get the Jeffries saddle to work ????

 

[Birker2020]

Having a gorgeous leather headcollar with his nameplate is what kind of tipped me to sell the saddle - I knew I’d have it forever no matter what.
One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t get round to getting one for our mare who unexpectedly died last May - sadly all we have left of her is mane & tail hair and a lifetime of crazy memories!!

Anyway not to derail your thread - maybe your fitter can work some magic to get the Jeffries saddle to work ????

Ahh thanks Sheep. That's really kind of you.

 

[JackFrost]

If the saddle means more to you than the money, I would keep it. It may be right for some future horsey you haven't yet met.
Please let us know what the fitter says, I 'd be glad to hear their opinion on JWs.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Appalling, cheaply made and over priced.
I stripped some down that came in for repairs, awful. The saddle nail which should have been (1/8th inch mild steel) was an aluminium nail which you can buy from any builder's yard. 3 or 4 stitches to hold the panels in and not laced in, all machined, no real skill in making it or attention to detail, badly made. I as you can see, was not impressed considering what they charge for these. At the time I costed one out and it had approx 120 quids worth (max) of raw materials in it yet the saddle in question was bought for 1600 a few months earlier.
Jefferies and Barnsby are far superior.
Oz (saddler)

 

[teddy_]

I was of the understanding that old-er John Whitaker saddles were made by, or in the same factory as Prestige. They carried the same trees / fittings / so on, so forth.

I don't think the more recent offerings compare in quality whatsoever. As cremedemonthe said, something like a second hand Jefferies or Barnsby will be at a similar price point but everything about it will be superior.

 

[sbloom]

I was of the understanding that old-er John Whitaker saddles were made by, or in the same factory as Prestige. They carried the same trees / fittings / so on, so forth.

I don't think the more recent offerings compare in quality whatsoever. As cremedemonthe said, something like a second hand Jefferies or Barnsby will be at a similar price point but everything about it will be superior.

Yes at one point in their very early days they were definitely made by European type manufacturers and were well regarded in some circles. Can't say I'm a fan of quality or tree shape etc in the ones I've seen (last 13 years).