Regarding stability - I was surprised but it’s very very stable. The first ride in it my girth was too loose because it was borrowed (the billets are IMO too short and my Prolite was therefore too short) and I was in a hurry and it didn’t move laterally at all. I tried to get it to roll while mounted by weighting one foot and then the other and it did not roll. It DID slip forward and walk the saddle pad back, but the second time I rode in it I got the girth properly tightened and the forward slip was minimal. To be clear, most saddles creep forward on my guy due to his forward girth groove. I think I need a longer Prolite whether I keep this saddle or not. Putting a Thinline pad under it cancelled almost all of the forward movement on the second ride. Since the tree is dynamic I can see how on some horses it might “walk” a bit but overall I think the fact that it moves with the horse is a good thing.
It is SUPER light weight and yet has a tree so that in and of itself is a major plus to me. It’s not like my Custom is so heavy (it’s a monoflap so it’s also light for a traditional saddle) but all things being equal I think lighter is better.
The twist is wide. The one in the saddle I am demoing is the “narrow” version or dressage style, but I think most dressage riders would find it wide. If you need a very very narrow twist you might not like it, but I’m not the best judge because I am not that picky about twists and will ride in pretty much anything.
I am very very small - just under 5’2", 105#, 28 inch inseam, narrow hips. I can ride small ponies if that gives you an idea of how small I am. I found the saddle extremely comfortable for me. I have always ridden in saddles that are too big for me because otherwise no one else can use them, and am chronically fighting the stirrup bar position, which in my current saddle (17.5) is exacerbated when the flocking in the rear of the panels gets smushed down and the pommel starts pointing toward the sky between fitting apointments. The Bua is a 17.5, but since you can mess with the seat separately the dealer put a seat reducer in there (under the leather) and it fits me more like a 16.5. I find the balance very comfortable for me and that my leg is back where it should be instead of swinging toward the dashboard. It has two stirrup bars, one forward for jumping and one aft for dressage.
My horse is very stoic and does not express opinions about tack, so it’s tough to say how he personally felt about it. I did think his canter was bigger and more elevated, but it could just be that I wanted to think that. I’m going to get several more rides in while I have it on trial so we’ll see.
The cantilevered tree made no difference to me whatsoever and I felt no movement, but I have it ratcheted down all the way and may be too light to compress the tree at all in this configuration. We are not advanced enough to be using all the fancy “go” buttons, but I’ve ridden highly trained horses regularly in the past and don’t personally have objections to the feel of the saddle based on that experience either. My trainer is riding him in it this week and she’s very accomplished so I’ll be curious to see what she thinks of it.
I can see how the design could dampen subtle cues, but on the other hand I think traditional saddles (and the mountains of pads and shims often used with them) also do that. Like, if you drop your right ischium slightly, there is no way the horse is feeling exactly that through even the nicest custom dressage saddle - they are feeling whatever doing that does to the rigid structure of the saddle and the cue is translated by the saddle. So I think if a horse is used to a traditional saddle, he might need to relearn advanced cues if you switch saddles, but really it is the same problem in a different saddle dialect, if that makes sense.
My vet boards at my barn and she looked at my horse and the Bua before and after my ride and was very positive about it.
Cons: The billets are not jump saddle short, but I wish they were at least 2" longer on each side. The billets are swing and there isn’t a point billet or a way to install one (since there are no points) if you like those. The flaps are also short for dressage, which is not a problem for me but might be for others (but you can order longer flaps). The flap is also slightly forward compared to a lot of modern dressage saddles. The seat is not deep and the knee rolls are pretty conservative if you like knee rolls (I’m agnostic about knee rolls - like I said, I’ll ride in anything). If you are bigger than me the seat might travel vertically - I’ll have to get feedback from other riders at the barn who try it. It looks weird, but not really when you are sitting in it. The leather is nice, but does not have the scrumptious “OH MY GOD I’M SO LUXURIOUS AND EXPENSIVE” aura that my Custom has. Oh, and my best barn friend totally HATES the saddle although she hasn’t actually sat in it because it isn’t traditional and she’s skeptical of the science, so there’s that. I’m a scientist and I like innovation, but if you’re a traditionalist I’m guessing you’ll just hate this thing on sight.
I’m taking a lesson in it tomorrow so I can update after that.
