I have been riding in a county Competitor which i like very much. It is a borrowed saddle and now I have toe change to by a County Connection in the same size or a very good price on Ebay. I was told by a County person that the difference is that the stirrup bar on the connection is longer and therefore may put me in a different position. I am an old rider but a new dressage rider. Would buying the Connection be a mistake? Thanks for any advice.
I’ll try. My experience is that the two saddles fit the horse very differently, as well as the rider. I think the Connection is a straighter tree which on a curvy backed horse is not going to work. A longer stirrup bar gives you more options, and I like them for me. I’m 5’ 4" with a long femur. Having the bar set back keeps me out of a chair seat.
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I like the Connection much more than the Competitor. I have found that the latter puts me in a chair position, for the reason noted above.
I’m the compete opposite as the posters above me. I have 2 Competitors for 2 very different horses and love, love, love them. I tried the different dressage models County had available before buying my own when I had the rep out a few years ago and the others left me feeling like a scrambled Mr. Potato Head. It’s funny how a few tweaks here or there can make such an enormous difference! Neither of my horses liked the other models either.
If you are currently doing well in the Competitor, I’d personally get one of those. If you weren’t doing well in the Competitor then it may be worth taking the risk and trying the Connection, but IME with talking to others it seems that riders usually fit one model really well and the others it fits either so-so or terrible. Every person is different, though.
My experience in the Competitor is that it isn’t a good fit for shorter riders. I love mine, but it makes me fight to keep my legs under me. Every tall rider (5’10" and up) LOVED my saddle though. Apparently works great for long legs.
My friend is a shorter rider and loves the Connection. She said her sitting trot improved dramatically, and that she feels like her position improved.
I would take the risk, but verify there’s a trial period or return policy, and make sure you understand what those are before buying. I’ve ordered saddles online before and had to return them due to fit. It wasn’t that bad (I’m poor and lazy, so obv it was easy to do).
Agree.
I tried both when I was shopping. The trial Connection was small for me, so perhaps it wasn’t a true comparison to the trial Competitor. It felt a little like I was in a forked seat.
I’m 5’2" but far from petite. The Competitor I ordered has an 18.5" seat with a short, forward flap, and Skid Row panels.
I rode in a competitor for several years and then tried a connection. Found that the connection tipped me forward. I don’t feel like the competitor gave me a chair seat, but I’m 5’7". The tiny (think Debbie McD tiny) trainer at my barn was in a horrible chair seat in the competitor.
FWIW - I’d worry a bit about a saddle on eBay that is a “very good price”. It’s a super tough market to sell a saddle on, due to eBay & PayPal policies that make it basically impossible to not take a return on a saddle so IME most sellers are going to charge a pretty steep price for the risk they assume.
I’d also think you could find a good price online for a competitor either through a tack seller or one of the many Facebook selling groups, as I didn’t think a competitor fetched a particularly high price on the used marker - but I could be wrong as it’s been years since I bought a new to me saddle.
