When did you upgrade to a dressage saddle?

abbijay

abbijay

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I'm just looking for others' experiences so tell me how far you have gone in your dressage before deciding to bite the bullet and upgrade your GP?
Basically I'd love a dressage saddle but can't justify one, even a cheapish second hand one will cost me 6 months worth of lessons and I know how much more I will gain from the lessons. We're off to out first big dressage in a couple of weekends, at Novice, and I'll be amazed if many others will be doing it in a GP (let alone on a big daft cart horse).
 
I took so long to find a GP saddle to fit my girl that I use that for everything. I do Novice dressage and while most people do have a dressage saddle, we usually win so it’s not essential, and I spend money on clinics and training instead! Mine is a Sec D, so not a big posh dressage horse either!
 
Several of my liveries have recently bought their first dressage saddles all second hand and cheap, I think one was an old Albion for under £200, the difference to their riding really shows, unless you have a difficult fit they are out there for very reasonable prices if you keep your eyes open and are prepared to haggle. They are using the dressage ones for hacking and 2 have also upgraded from the GP to jumping which also benefits that side of things, if you don't jump you only need the dressage saddle so can sell your GP to recoup some of the money.

That said don't feel you have to get one just because everyone else is in one, the judge is judging the horse not the tack.
 
be positive said:
Several of my liveries have recently bought their first dressage saddles all second hand and cheap, I think one was an old Albion for under £200, the difference to their riding really shows, unless you have a difficult fit they are out there for very reasonable prices if you keep your eyes open and are prepared to haggle. They are using the dressage ones for hacking and 2 have also upgraded from the GP to jumping which also benefits that side of things, if you don't jump you only need the dressage saddle so can sell your GP to recoup some of the money.

That said don't feel you have to get one just because everyone else is in one, the judge is judging the horse not the tack.
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This is pretty much what I was going to say.
I use a dressage saddle early on but only because I'm in a position to afford it. I do find they help but equally don't buy just to fit in!

If it helps, my friend who events, generally does their dressage tests in jump saddles up to novice/1*, she only owns 2 dressage saddles for the whole yard and they are saved and fitted to the top horses!
 
I do a bit of local dressage at novice /the odd go at elementary and got one because my YO was selling hers, it fit my horse and it was a bargain. It seemed like a good idea at the time. However, it really didn't suit me. The seat was too small for me so to get my seat in the right position I had to have my stirrups so long that my legs were all over the place. In the end I sold it for what I paid for it after a couple of months and when I went back to my GP, my instructor said I was sitting so much better in it that I've not bothered looking again. If a bigger one fell into my lap like the last one did I'd consider it but I'm not actively looking.

I do notice when I go places though that I'm literally the only one without one, and that's just local unaffiliated stuff! We still do better than most of those in posh saddles though :p
 
ihatework said:
This is pretty much what I was going to say.
If it helps, my friend who events, generally does their dressage tests in jump saddles up to novice/1*, she only owns 2 dressage saddles for the whole yard and they are saved and fitted to the top horses!
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Yes, that is exactly the help I needed!
I don't feel I desperately need one as I still believe we will get more from spending £500 on lessons than £500 on a saddle (he's an awkward high wither shape with massive shoulders but not overly wide and I would want a brown saddle so I don't think I'd have any luck with a smaller budget but I will keep looking).

I really love my GP and although his jumping days are behind him I don't think I could bear to part with it, just in case.
 
I did dressage up to novice and evented at BE90 and UA100 in a GP saddle. Lots of people had dressage saddles, but I couldn't afford one so I didn't get one. Current horse has one, and we're only competing at intro/prelim, but that's only because I was given it for free and it fitted perfectly!! Plus it's adjustable so likely always will fit :p If I hadn't been given it I would have stuck with the GP. However, since I've had it I've found it has improved my dressage riding, and my instructor has said she can see such a difference in my seat...
 
I have plenty of clients who compete at least lower levels of dressage in GP or WH saddles, you can put leather loops on the bars to bring your stirrups back to a dressage position but equally you will end up further from the blocks and lack support unless they are on velcro. A good GP will sit you in reasonable balance with about a 3 stirrup hole range, usually enough for people to do flatwork and smaller jumps in the same saddle. If not jumping then a WH with the stirrup loops on can be a good solution, especially if you show as well.
 
abbijay said:
Yes, that is exactly the help I needed!
I don't feel I desperately need one as I still believe we will get more from spending £500 on lessons than £500 on a saddle (he's an awkward high wither shape with massive shoulders but not overly wide and I would want a brown saddle so I don't think I'd have any luck with a smaller budget but I will keep looking).

.
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I have one but I rarely jump and find I ride with stirrups very long anyway even on GP saddles. Horse came with Gp saddle and last year I needed a new saddle, as he is still changing shape. I just said in an ideal world it would be a brown dressage saddle. But something that fits him and my budget is key. So by a bit of luck I had a brown dressage saddle that fitted him. Did NOT fit me. Too small and no blocks left me very perched. BUT as it fitted him whilst he put on weight we stuck with it (£200). A few months ago with an offer from Mum to help I set my saddler on the look out for an upgrade but still a tight budget. Another bit of luck we have an ancient brown suede albion and I LOVE it. Traded in the old saddle so only cost me (mum) another £100.

So yes you can do brilliant dressage in a none dressage saddle. But you can also get a nice basic saddle pretty cheap if you are happy to wait.
 
I compete at Novice on my little coloured mare, who sticks out like a sore thumb amongst all the fancy warmbloods! We are about to affiliate in the new year, so that will only get worse :D We don't have a dressage saddle but I'm sure nobody notices as they are too busy wondering what on earth we are doing there! As others have said, we usually do quite well so I don't care what they think. My saddler is on the lookout for a cheapish dressage saddle, but that's because I want my leg in a better position, not because I want to fit in. And the chances of finding a second hand 16.5" extra-wide flat treed dressage saddle are close to zero, so we will continue in our GP for as long as we need to ;)
 
I got one once I'd decided to do more dressage I think, started with a cheap second hand one.
However once I started to more up the levels I realised I needed one that fit me as well as the horse, so I was competing elementary and about to step up to medium. Having a saddle that put me in the right position made sitting trot slightly less of a battle, so I call that a win :lol:.

Cowpony I have an Equipe which is a flatter tree and they do come in 16" and brown, though not sure how wide they go! Otherwise my completely oddly flat back i(n the profile) baby horse is in the original Kent and Masters though I think you'd need different panels as she is not wide (roof shaped)!
 
The cob I do Elem in his WH as I'm not a gymnast! I couldn't ride him deep enough to justify another saddle. He's XXXXw.... My ponies got one when I was starting BD elem.
 
i evented up to 1m and competed up to prelim level in dressage in a gp saddle. When i moved to novice i really noticed that i needed a normal dressage saddle for my position. I don't think my dressage really started to click until i got one. I got a cheap second hand one for about 300 euro.
 
I'm having this debate at the minute with my mare. She's in a GP, goes well in it but I can't help but regret not buying her dressage saddle when I got her (it was v comfy and position wise it was noticeably better). I just can't justify it st the minute though - we need lessons and I've just had lights put on my school so it's all about priorities.
 
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