i’m looking at Western saddles. Three that i like happen to all be H.Williams (used) western saddles. One is a roper saddle that doesn’t have a skirt, (so i’m assuming it will be lighter weight?) It’s kinda funny to me that my three top pics are all the same maker. So…my question is: Are they decent quality saddles? (but then, i’m old so how long do they really need to last anyway LOL) and am only looking to add one or two to my saddle collection for western dressage competitions and for the occasional friend who rides western and happens to come over for a ride. …OR, must i get a show saddle for western dressage? (these three are all nicely worn and well-taken care of)
As someone who has ridden a lot of dressage and a lot of Western, but not Western dressage 
My understanding is you want a Western saddle that puts your leg under you like in a dressage saddle. Not a chair seat.
That’s going to be somewhat individual to how the given saddle fits you personally. Where the stirrup hangs. Also some Western saddles slope a lot in the seat from pomnel back to cantle. These do not slope that much.
As far as I know, Western dressage (like regular dressage) does not award points for turnout, so as long as your gear is legal you do not need to invest in bling and silver.
Buying Western saddles, the one thing that can need replacing is the fleece underside. Easily done by a saddle repair person.
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First thing I would do is measure them. They look to be standard 16" seats, suitable for a big/tall cowboy. They appear to be good quality. The first one appears to have monel stirrups; I have monels on my ranch saddle and they add 15 lbs to the weight.
I’m not familiar with the maker so I can not comment on the quality.
Just based off of the slick forked saddle as that’s what I’m familiar with, it’s not one I’d buy to go to work in everyday. The one thing I do like about it compared the two swelled fork saddles is how narrow the stirrup fenders are.
One thing to remember when buying a roping saddle, specifically an arena roping saddle, they tend to throw your feet back so you can lean on your swells when you rope. And they weren’t built to be ridden in all day.
Roping outside and inside are two different deals.
that’s one of the things i like about them, they are fairly flat. (for Western).
