Hi, I am getting ready to purchase a County Saddle. Expensive, for sure, but I love how balanced I am and how forward my horse is. My primary discipline is foxhunting. I enjoy some local horse shows and clinics. My question is, which saddle? I like the deep seat that the new Solution offers and like the Conquest as well. Both seem to fit my draft cross with all the customizing available. Does anyone have any suggestions or input? All would be appreciated.
I have the Conquest. I love how it rides and I feel very secure even when my young OTTB decides to a bit exuberant! I was able to find mine used with minimal wear for an excellent price. I would never have been able to afford one at this point otherwise.
Happy shopping and Happy Hunting!
I have the Conquest and love it. The Solution has a deeper seat which feels great but for hunting, that restricts you to a smaller spot on the saddle. We have a lot of hills, banks, etc., so the flatter seat is much more suitable. That being said, there are lots of folks who hunt in deep seat saddles
I am also an eventer and prefer the more open seat there as well, for the same reasons. I like to be able to shift forward and back in the saddle and the Conquest allows this more readily.
However, to each his own. Many folks like the deeper seats for their own reasons.
I seriously considered the Solution when I got my last saddle in the spring of this year. It is a new model, with similarities to the Innovation.
Not trying thread jack, but do you find the medium tree Conquest fits the average TB? I’m looking for a nice used saddle but am weary of getting something that might not fit my TB.
[QUOTE=jawa;7882501]
I have the Conquest. I love how it rides and I feel very secure even when my young OTTB decides to a bit exuberant! I was able to find mine used with minimal wear for an excellent price. I would never have been able to afford one at this point otherwise.
Happy shopping and Happy Hunting![/QUOTE]
No, Conquests run very very wide - I just got a narrow (maybe even extra narrow) and it fits medium. The County rep will tell you.
I have 2 old Stabilizers (love them), one old Eventer (meh) and a new-to-me/new-ish Conquest (love it.)
I rode in a couple of stabilizers, meh…I ride another horse in an eventer…less meh…the conquest is lovely. I have a non-slab sided TB and the med fits. I had a med narrow Barnsby and it was a titch too narrow for him.
I would get a County rep to come out and show you what they have. My rep was AWESOME.
Conquest for sure. The Solution is nice, but it isn’t something I would be comfortable doing a lot of galloping in.
As as for the trees, I don’t find them to run wide at all. When I was shopping for a saddle, my horse was fitting MN to M in everything we tried. At the time, he sized a MN with County, but I opted for a M so I could ride everything I rode in it. Glad I did that, as he changed drastically this year and the M fits perfect now.
I’ve never ridden in a Conquest, but I test rode in a Solution over the summer and sat in it again at Fair Hill in October. I REALLY like it–it has a much larger balance point than my Stabilizer, so I feel like I’m able to move around and have more room in general. The seat is a lot deeper than my Stabilizer, which was also nice. I don’t foxhunt (I event). I’d have a County fitter come to your barn so you can test ride in everything–it’s a big investment, so I’d say a fitting is worth it 
I personally have a 2006 model Stabilizer. I LOVE IT!!! I went through many types of saddles trying to fit my OTTB and my independent saddle fitter suggested used County saddles. I did some reading and liked the idea behind the Stabilizer and how it helps the horses back.
I must admit, when I first started riding in it I was not sure what to think. I felt as though I had to learn to ride all over again. The point of balance is more centered (I was used to H/J saddles). It also gave my horse the most amazing freedom in his shoulders. I had the horse over a year and had no idea how huge his trot and canter stride were. For a little guy (15.2 1/2) he could cover some serious ground.
I have yet to hunt in it (because I’m still a hunting wannabe), but I would feel very secure in it over mixed terrain as well as free to move easily. It is not the best saddle for equitation or H/J, but I wouldn’t trade it in for anything. I feel safe, secure and my horse is incredibly comfortable.
I’m trying to remember which website I found mine on. The owner of the consignement shop was Patricia and she was based out of the San Diego area. I personally feel like I got a STEAL on my saddle. My saddle fitter couldn’t believe it was under $2000 (it had minimal evidence of use) and the County rep that checked it over said if I didn’t buy it, she would for resale… I’ll try to remember the consignment shop for you, but I believe Rachel from www.iselltack.com and Nicole from www.mdtackexchange.com usually have a handful of County saddles available.
My OTTB has a shark fin wither, huge shoulders and a fairly flat back. The County has been my lifesaver.
