Hello All: I have a question and am seeking experiences about the Hastilow saddles. I have the option of trialing one and it is next to impossible to get any information from their website beyond the most rudimentary information. I have a large Warmblood with a big moving shoulder. I have always ridden my other horses in Schleese saddles, and I think they are great saddles, but the fitting can be really hit and miss and buying one new is like buying a new car: you drive it off the lot and it goes down 30% in value and when you try and trade it in, you get even less. So I am sadly moving away form Schleese. So my question about Hastilow saddles: what kinds of experiences have people had? Why is the exterior aesthetic aspects of the saddle so clunky? How do they hold up over time? I would like to hear all comments, good and bad. I realize that there is more to a saddle than the visible aesthetics, but I wonder why they insist on these heavy rough cut flaps with no finishing on the edges. The last time I saw this was on an Argentine saddle in my youth.
I had a Hastilow Impression and it was beautiful leather and very comfortable. Certainly on par with Black Country or Frank Baines in terms of workmanship, fit and finish. There were no unfinished edges, stitching was close and tight, and it was a pretty saddle. I can’t explain the saddle you saw unless they’ve taken a dramatic turn for the worse.
Thank you for this information. The one I am looking at is the Berkeley Dressage saddle. The fit is good for my horse but I was hoping for a softer leather.
I always get confused because there are 2 Hastilows: Hastilow and Sons with the blue nail head and Hastilow Competition Saddles with the red. I think. I never can keep it straight. My saddle had the red nail head. Maybe the H&Ss version is less finished.
I have a Hastilow (I think the “and Sons” is just the newer version of the company) with the red nail head. It’s a very nice saddle that fits my big shouldered beefy uphill horse really well, and works beautifully for me - although that is obviously very specific to each person. The adjustable tree has enabled me to easily keep up with my horse’s top line as he bulks up (I think I was going first level when I bought it, and I’m now schooling 4th and working in the double).
The quality seems very nice and it has worn really well over the years I’ve had it.
I feel you- I have a Schleese Obrigado and LOVE it. But man do I have a hard time with the Schleese reps. That’s a story for another day, I’m just commiserating with the “hit or miss” fitting and how over priced they are.
I ride in a few Hastilow saddles owned my clients. (The red nail head- I have no knowledge of this blue nail head thing.) I like them okay. The leather doesn’t seem as good quality and I agree they are clunky. BUT the fitters are great and the horses like them. The ones I ride in are all fairly new, so I don’t have much to comment on how they hold up over time. But for the price point and the knowledge in fitting I recommend them.
I’ve had two Hastilow dressage saddles and still have a jump saddle. I don’t think there are two companies, just different branding that might have something to do with their retail sales model, but not different saddles. They have a shop in PA with fitters, not sure about other locations.
The newer Hastilows are comparable with Fairfax, Black Country and some Albions in terms of quality, I think they are all UK saddles. Some of the newer Hastilows come with an adjustable gullet that uses the same bars as Fairfax. I trialed one that had fairly nice leather, maybe not drool worthy but it wasn’t shlumpy either. I am personally not a fan of the way UK saddles feel: a wide twist, straighter flap, slightly bulky pommel. It’s just a very different ride from a Hennig or a Schleese. If resale is your issue with Schleese, that won’t improve with Hastilow, but at least you will spend less money up front.
If you are near the south-central part of PA, I would definitely try Annette Gavin for fitting. She is really well qualified, easy to work with, and she will show you all the UK brands.
From my understanding, one of the Hastilow sons (Andrew) created his own business (Hastilow and Sons, blue nail head), and I believe his father and his brother (Ian) run the original business (red nail head).
I have two Hastilow performance saddles: a dressage and a monoflap jump saddle.
They are both lovely, leather quality is very good but I think they are “newer” (I got the jump saddle about two years ago, and the dressage saddle about a year and a half ago, both very lightly used so got good bargains!)
They both have the flexible tree, which my horse really likes - and they are very comfortable. The twist on the dressage saddle is a little wider then I would ideally like (being a smaller person) and the seat is deep, but they are well balanced and well fitted to the horse. I use Emily only - and love her 
These are the third and fourth saddle(s) I’ve bought from them, starting with a Thorowgood AP as my “starter saddle“ when my mare was 4 and 5, then graduating to the first Hastilow Dressage saddle which she went well in for two, three years and then just decided she didn’t like anymore. (I had a used County jump saddle that I jumped her in for a few years, then upgraded to the monoflap.)
The adjustable tree came in very handy when my horse changed shape as she grew, she’s gone back-and-forth from a W to an XW.
I recommend them to all of my LL students who are looking for new/used saddles - though it’s sometimes hard to get an appointment since they only come to Northern Virginia from PA a few times a month. They are one of the few “non-brand rep” independent fitters who have a wide variety of saddles to choose from, not all their brand since they do take consignments - and they know their stuff 
(I personally prefer Emily to Annette, but opinions vary.)
Jaspar has the Hastilow situation correct. Ian Hastilow designed the saddle I bought from them for my wide round short backed witherless arabian mare. While the leather may not be butter soft, it is still very nice and will last much longer than the butter soft leathers will. The adjustable trees are the same as the Fairfax/kent and masters/thorowgood so if your horse fits those great, if not don’t bother looking at their adjustable saddles, just look at the fixed trees.
