Children's saddles that ACTUALLY put the little ones in good positions?

[frenchclassical]

I’m struggling to find a student of mine a small saddle - one that doesn’t put her leg in a horrible chair seat. She’s an incredible little rider at just 6 years old but my old-school forward flap 15" saddle is way too big for her and everything I’ve tried on her pony has such a forward stirrup bar there’s no hope she can have a nice leg. I’ve tried her in one of those silly kids western saddles but she hates it - and I don’t blame her.

She rides with a beautiful strong leg bareback - can even post! But I’d love to get her cantering around the arena on her own and a saddle would really be best.

Any ideas?

Thoughts on the Collegiate 13" saddle?

Any other trainers have little pony riders that are actually riding?

Cheers!

[poltroon]

The 14" Pessoa Rodrigo saddle is a very common choice for this age, and seems to work well for a lot of kids. Beval also has a nice 14" saddle.

13" is pretty small, I think she will outgrow that pretty fast.

The 15" Stubben Rex is a pretty nice saddle, a bit more affordable if you find one used, though a little big for 6 year olds. It’s not what I’d pick if I had plenty of money to spend, but it does seem to work decently well even when it isn’t perfect.

[Temecula_Jumper]

Have you tried the Pessoa pony saddle? I got my daughter a 15" when she was four (it was too big then but she was just doing walk trot). She is still riding in it at 8, although she’s almost outgrown it. I believe they also make it in a 14".

[Pennywell_Bay]

We found the Beval 15 inch pony saddle was great for my daughter from 6- now (she’s 10). We’re just now considering upgrading and it.

[mroades]

How much do you wanna spend?? We went through about twenty Bevals and Pony Pessoas. We now have a tiny Antares and it is like night and day.

[bluepece2]

What is she doing? My 6 year old rides dressage in the smallest wintec dressage saddle they make and sits beautifully in it. Her jumping saddle is. Knights robin hood which we had imported from Sweden, it’s a size 15". It puts her in a decent position but not perfect.

[HappyAmmy]

Ovation makes a lovely child saddle that fits the little one’s wonderfully. My daughter was a tiny thing and their 15" fit her quite well between the ages of 7 and 11. Reasonably priced as well. Her leg stayed put and she felt secure. Her goal in life has been to find saddles that feel like that one ever since.

[Limerick2017]

My girls rode in Beval Juniors. I felt they developed correct leg positions. The Pessoa definitely put them in a chair seat. When we switched trainers to a more knowledgeable Equitation trainer, she asked us to replace the Pessoa. The Collegiate Ian Miller saddle is also good for the little ones if you can find one on eBay.

[Limerick2017]

@HappyAmmy

Ovation makes a lovely child saddle that fits the little one’s wonderfully. My daughter was a tiny thing and their 15" fit her quite well between the ages of 7 and 11. Reasonably priced as well. Her leg stayed put and she felt secure. Her goal in life has been to find saddles that feel like that one ever since.

She needs an older Butet.

[adelmo95]

If you can find an older Collegiate Ian Miller saddle I highly recommend it. I loved mine as a kid, got a 15 inch that was a little big but manageable and was able to use it up till I was 13 (I was a tiny kid…) and jumping around the 1.10’s on my pony. It allowed me to stay in a position where I was very competitive in the eq classes and I felt secure enough to jump the bigger fences in it. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ian-D-Millar-Collegiate-Close-Contact-Saddle-15-NWOT-children-s-saddle/142714056929?hash=item213a6bb0e1:g:G3EAAOSwBmlacTIX (I am in no way associated with this saddle just did a search to see if I could find an example)

[HappyAmmy]

@Limerick2017

She needs an older Butet.

Ironically, that is exactly what we moved to post growth spurt at 11. It took 8 (8!) saddles to find one that fit the oddly shaped pre teen and the horse with broad shoulders. We hung with the butet until that became too small and moved to a Voltaire that accommodates the ridiculously long leg, little butt and the mare’s broad shoulders. We tried to stay away from custom as long as possible but the shapes demanded it eventually. She does say her Voltaire reminds her a lot of the Ovation which remains her standard but unfortunately no longer accommodate the horse or kid.

[Sport]

My niece is in a small Antares. It made the world of difference in her position when she switched to it. She was 5 at the time.

[twoscompany]

I had a great Collegiate Ian Miller that lasted through numerous little ones. It’s still going strong almost 20 years later. I still have the same Butet that was purchased for my 6th birthday (15", no blocks, flat seat). It was a little big for me 21 years ago, but it’s the saddle I still ride in today- highly recommend if you can find an older one. There’s a few great consignment stores by me- I spotted a tiny Antares there the other day. Happy to get a price on it if you’d like! Just PM me.

[AndNirina]

My daughter (9) has a lovely older Butet that puts her in a fantastic position. Highly recommended if you can find one. She had 3 Pessoas prior to this saddle, but this puts her in a much better spot.

[PonyPenny]

Collegiate Ian Miller is the best saddle for little ones. I had a 14" and a 15.5" when my daughter was growing up. You can find great deals on Ebay.

[BITSA]

Bevel

[frenchclassical]

if any of you are willing to sell your pony saddles please send me a PM!
I think 15" is going to be too big for her but will consider it.

Anything under $1000 would be preferred at this point. I think they’d rather buy her a bigger pony before buying her an Antares (which I’ll agree is the greatest little pony saddle around - but NOT cheap).

I found an Ian Miller on ebay but the seller won’t let me ask questions so that’s out of the question.

[hoss]

I find it a bit odd that no one has mentioned the saddle fitting the pony properly. If the saddle isn’t balanced and sits pommel high or if it’s placed too far forward over the pony’s shoulder blades and sits up, the rider will be in a chair seat regardless of the placement of the stirrup bar. I think any of the above mentioned saddle brands can potentially put a 6 year old child in a beautiful position, or a terrible position, depending on the placement of the saddle on the pony and whether or not it fits the pony properly. Are the saddles you’ve already tried balanced on the pony? If not, you may be able to make one of the ones you have work with a shimmable pad. FWIW, I’ve seen lots of little kids at our barn in terrible chair seats in pony Pessoas on one particular pony but then in a much better position, same kid, same saddle, on a different pony.

[Mistysmom]

I agree that I would first make sure the saddle is fitting properly and properly balanced on the pony. This can be a huge factor in influencing the child’s seat and throw them off into a chair seat. There are many great saddles for ponies but the size of the saddle and it’s fit on the pony/horse should be the first step.

Sometimes with smaller kids, it just has to do with the size of the child and the width of the pony. It could also be that when she rides bareback, she does not have the added width of the saddle so can get into a good seat. If this is the case, it will self correct pretty quickly as she grows…

[wondrlnd77]

I love the old Jimmys saddles for little kids. They are hard to find, but worth their weight in gold