I would strongly vote in favor of Stubben - at least give HQ or your local rep a call. Last I checked you could get a full custom for just around $5k. They also have lots of used saddles and demos floating around for well under that, if your horse fits in a stock size.
They are much more comfortable and elegant than the Stubbens of years past, but are still perfectly balanced and ‘minimal’ feeling.
If you like the French feeling you could also try Meyer. Their stock saddle is $3800 so a custom may fall near $5k.
Love Stubben – but would not give HQ or a local rep the time of day. In my area there’s a lot of backlash in the community right now directed towards one rep, coincidentally, who also told me to buy the Stubben I did…
After continuously contacting Stubben HQ and my rep, about a brand new saddle a Stubben rep sold me that objectively did not fit the horse (bridges, tree is too small and doesn’t fit horse, caused horse shoulder pain), I won’t buy direct from them anymore. I still love the saddle and use it on another horse, but the whole situation was really frustrating… and I was a staunch Stubben supporter up until that point. I tried Stubben HQ several times, with emails dating back to January 2019 – which is when I first felt my horse was unhappy with the saddle.
Sadly, this was something collaborated to me as a caveat emptor on this forum before I bought my Stubben. My rep took me for a ride, cashed my checks, and laughed all the way to the bank while my horse got worse and worse… I had her out three times after I bought the saddle to get her to look at it, she never made an adjustment, and tried to blame his soreness on his girth…
TLDR; Would buy a used Stubben, would not buy new.
I bought a new Prestige about a year and a half ago (happened to be dressage as that’s what I needed to replace), and the factory semi-customized a couple things at no charge - long flaps, extra gusset. I also ordered it in brown leather with ivory stitching (the stitching is one of their “usual” options) and wasn’t upcharged for that either. I took a chance as I wasn’t able to ride in that configuration, although I did try out a demo in the standard flaps/gusset, but my horse was measured by a fitter who works for tack store that deals with Prestige.
I was very happy to find it fit like a glove right out of the box, and I enjoy riding in it.
I don’t know if you’re doing hunters or jumpers, but one way to save a little weight on a wool-flocked saddle is to get a monoflap. My dressage saddle is a monoflap and it is lighter than a double-flap model. Of course, then you’ll be using a short girth, which isn’t very on-trend in the hunter world. I have no idea if jumpers would care, although I’m sure you could use it. The eventers definitely don’t care
I would not recommend Stubben. As far as I know, the product is still good, but I had a very bad experience with their fitters and I have heard similar from many, many others across the country. They tend to not know what they are doing. Fitter insisted my very narrow, slab sided high withered OTTB was a medium wide, and that my rolly Polly pony was a medium narrow. She never even took measurements, just eyeballed it.
For reference, the OTTB now rides in a medium with a large pad to make it a MN, and the pony rides in a XW hoop tree.
Passier was offering a custom saddle for around 2k 3 years ago when I was in the market. They are very nice saddles and they can make them look more ‘french’ if requested.
There was an Italian brand I saw advertised not too long ago that would make a saddle off of your fitters specs; I think they were like 2-3k? I just can’t remember the name…
The $75 wouldn’t bother me at all but an experienced independent fitter shouldn’t hit 3 strikes either. After the first strike they should have a pretty good idea where to head for a home run. Next one might not be it but should get you to 3rd base. YMMV. Saddle shopping is horrible.
Also, I might reconsider BC. They are a good value if they fit you and the horse. I promise from more than 5 feet away folks won’t notice it doesn’t fit in for hunterland.
Ah, I’m sorry to hear this - I’ve only had good experiences with their head office & reps and am sorry to hear you didn’t. I actually bought a new demo off the Stubben website based on advice from one of their reps and haven’t gone through the full custom process with them. That rep didn’t make any money off of the sale or me, she was just helping me out when I needed a saddle! It’s really unfortunate that the success or failure of such a huge purchase relies entirely on the rep… I wonder how much longer this sales model will last.
Take a look at Ryder saddles. I don’t have one, but a few people in my barn do, and they’re really beautiful. I think they start at $3500 or so for custom. I love a French saddle too, but they are more expensive and, as many have noted, often don’t fit as many horses as a wool flocked saddle can. The Riviera is the one I would check out: https://www.rydersaddles.com/jump-saddles-1
I have that one “bookmarked” to consider for my next saddle. :lol:
