Help me, for my $/&% washing machine has shredded the gorgeous Fleeceworks pad I lucked into on consignment. 
What’s your favorite, moderately priced hunter show pad? Something potentially nice enough for an A rated show but at a price point where I could maaaaaaaybe afford to buy an extra? (If such a thing even exists?)
I’m not sure what your definition is of moderately priced, but the Success pads are fantastic. I lucked into an Ecogold on sale, but I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up a Success either for that money.
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Moderate to me is ideally around/under $100 if possible. So the Success pads could work!
It’s not the same as a Fleeceworks (so sorry about your Fleeceworks pad, that really sucks!), but I’ve liked the Toklat Medallion, Wilker’s, and Roma Equi-Fleece pads I’ve had/seen. I see used Fleeceworks under $100 on eBay a lot (though the condition varies), as well as ECP and Ecogold.
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I always loved my Toklat and Wilker’s pads, they wash well and last indefinitely. In my experience, Fleeceworks doesn’t hold up well in the washing machine, I always found little clumps of fleece in the washer, whereas my Mattes came out like new every time with no loss of fleece.
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Wilkers. Around $60 – customized for your saddle for the perfect show ring look.
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I am a notorious Fleeceworks sheepskin saddle pad washing killer. Bah humbug. Pun intended.
Check out the Engel sheepskin pads. The half pads are very nice and don’t die a quick death washing. You can get two Engel sheepskin half pads with trim for about the cost of one Fleeceworks sheepskin. They don’t make a plush trimmed shaped hunter pad unfortunately.
We have always had a hard time finding shaped pads that fit the long flapped saddles. Think Beval used to have custom Wilkers with cotton quilted bottoms designed to fit Butets that worked pretty well without having to wait two or more months for custom.
Yes, Beval’s used to have a lot of configuration options. I still have one and really like it, but use it sparingly since it can’t be replaced 
Everything else I have for showing is either Wilker’s or Toklat.
I don’t want to hijack but this may be a good place to ask this. I am looking for a reasonable showpad for one of my saddles, i is a 17" with a forward flap. The regular Toklat type ones do not fit - the flap is too straight on those pads and it looks doofy like half the pad is gone lol
How can I tell if the Wilkers will fit my saddle’s forward flap? Am I the only one that has this issue? I feel like I should see more size variety but I don’t.
No, hijack away! I’ve had the same question. The Wilkers look nice but don’t seem to come in more than two styles. Maybe I’m not looking in the right places; even their own website has just a CWD cut.
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Yes! The Beval’s shaped show pads we have are made by Wilkers. Beval just ordered a bunch to fit Butet saddle flap configurations, including a Butet 3.5 flap which is extra long forward. The cantle area could have been an inch or so wider but worked.
You may be able to order some custom configured pads from Wilkers. Just takes wait time.
Contact Wilkers directly. They made the Butet pads for Beval which we have. Worked for extra long forward flaps Antares.
This is what I would do as well. I have really liked their show pad with the built in nonslip patches. Effective, classic, high-quality.
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Ohhhh, that makes sense. Saddle is “only” a used L’Apogee. I’ll have to look on their website to see what style it is. Nothing too crazy forward cut, so I wonder if we can get away with a Wilkers Prix no-slip from Dover?
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Worth trying the Dover Wilkers pads. I would get a few if it works! Good luck!
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PSA because I recently was in the same place where several of you are now. I e-mailed Wilkers, received instructions, and have been a satisfied customer ever since.
What you need to do is – select CWD as the model for your pad. Be patient and continue with the order as though that is the pad you want (we know it isn’t!). On the last screen, there is a box for “Special Instructions.” In this box, you explain exactly what you want. What I did was to say “No CWD!” and then list the specs for my Devoucoux off of the flap.
When I received a confirmation e-mail from Wilkers, it still referred to CWD so I called in a panic. The rep I spoke with was the person who had just made my pad, specifically for the Devoucoux based on the specs I provided. And indeed, the pad I received truly fit my saddle. I have huge hangups, however, about the pad being too narrow under the cantle, so when I ordered a second pad, I requested that an inch of width be added to just the cantle area. And Wilkers did exactly that. I couldn’t be happier!
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Pretty sure that Toklat will custom make pads for essentially the same price as the regular ones. Not helpful if you need one for a show this weekend, but great if you have time.
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For hunters my favorite show pad is Ecogold secure style unless the horse is super sensitive and needs sheepskin. Worth the money, they wash well!
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I want to say there is–or used to be?-- a “forward” or “long” off the rack option. I know the Toklat Medallion pads I have fit my 3AA flap without looking wonky, but it’s been a couple years since I bought one and can’t remember the exact configuration I purchased.
Online now it seems like there are a lot fewer options for both them and Wilkers; maybe manufacturers haven’t been making as many since people haven’t been showing as much this last year?
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Shires SupaFleece! I mostly foxhunt so mine gets washed almost weekly and is 2+ years old now and still looks practically new.
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