Pictures Transitioning from Dressage/GP to Jump/CC Saddle

[lleventing]

Hi all, been eyeing off this forum for a while now and decided I should post on here in hopes of finding a few answers to my various queries. I have recently purchased a bates caprilli close contact jumping saddle (with cair) and I'm finding it a bit hard to transition into it after 15 years of riding in dressage saddles and jumping in a fairly deep seated GP. I am finding it hard to sit trot and find myself bouncing around with no control when I'm usually very sticky in the saddle and have no trouble at all jumping/riding bareback with NO support whatsoever. I feel like I'm about to slide off the back and have little to no control over my legs except in canter where I'm sitting fairly well??? My horse is a 4 y/o green Ottb so obviously the situation isn't ideal, just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this?? Will it get better over time??? What can I do to get better?? inserted a pic of the saddle and my boy below

 

[Red-1]

I'm afraid I don't think the issue is you, I think that saddle is neither here nor there as a jump saddle.

The CC jump saddles I feel secure in don't have knee support, they have a block that sits above your thigh at the front. That is why I like them TBH, as I have a long thigh bone and in many saddles my knee goes over the front of the knee roll in a jump length stirrup. With my saddles, the knee s free, as the support is higher up. Mine are also a bit more forward cut than the photo seems on your saddle photo.

Also, Cair is not as nice as people think IMO. Flair is quite soft and yielding, I like that for dressage in some instances. I prefer not to have it for jumping as I think if you catch it wrong it can rebound you, but for dressage I can like it. Cair is different, hard and unyielding.

When I was eventing at my highest, I didn't even have a dressage saddle. I bought a silly-expensive jump saddle, and had to chop both of my old saddles in to afford it. Despite being a cc jump model, dressage was fine in it, if there was an emergency the high thigh rolls at the front gave adequate support. It was very close contact and balanced even for dressage. Because of the back block, I couldn't have my stirrups quite as long as I would otherwise, but that was OK.