I’m looking for a very inexpensive (1k-ish) jump saddle. I’ve exhausted my local (3 hours radius drive) consignment tack shops, as I was hoping to find something of better quality used, but no dice. I’m not excited about buying off eBay without a trial or spending hundreds of dollars in postage on trials. I noticed the Classic II in the Dover store today and thought it looked quite nice. Does anyone have any experience with this model? For note, I have a 15.2 Haflinger that currently goes in a Black Country wide. He does have a bit of wither and does not require a hoop tree.
You may as well try it since you have a nearby store and can return it free, but I’m not optimistic. I think Dover’s Circuit line does a nice job of mimicking the feel and fit of the popular French brands but I don’t think they handle breadth of back very well on a medium tree and they do not offer a wide tree. If your pony is currently going in a BC wide this doesn’t seem like it will be the right geometry for him.
Have you tried Thornhill? The Paris retails around $1200 and comes stock in wide.
The Circuits do come in wide, which I’m surprised by. It’s the foam that concerns me, but for that price I can’t be picky. I’ve always been a BC, Stubben, or Thorowgood saddle buyer, so I didn’t realize Thornhill started that low. Thanks for the tip!
