Any recommendations of jumping saddle models for someone who is 6’ 1" and all thigh (28" to front of knee when seated)?? Especially considering XC needs with shortened stirrups. Thinking a long and very forward flap. Thank you!
I believe Pessoa’s have several flap options.
This Antares looks extremely forward, but not a long
https://marystack.com/used-antares-f…xoC1S0QAvD_BwE
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Someone on this thread said they are 6’ and the Bates Caprilli in long and forward and it works for them.
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I am much shorter, only 5’5", however I have a very very long thigh. I ended up with a County Innovation that I love. I got the flap configuration that is “high, forward flap.” It is “high” allowing for shortened Stirrups xc, and extra forward which accommodates my length from knee to hip. Before I got this saddle my knee was always hanging over the flap.
I would think that with all the options Saddles have nowadays you should be able to find something that works!
This sounds familiar but the BC Tex Eventer or some of the BC saddles with a forward flap or Baines Enigma. It really depends on the shape of your horse as well.
Most of the custom saddleries will have an extra long extra forward flap option. It’ll be harder if you’re looking used, but be patient and something may come along.
May I make a radical suggestion? You may not need your stirrups as short as you think on XC. I know different trainers have different philosophies but I’ve been recently introduced to riding longer with your legs more securely under/in front of you, rather than jacked up. Just a thought.
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I have a pessoa that works pretty well for me with a moveable block. My measurements are about the same as that although I’m a few inches shorter (long legs and especially long thigh). But, I don’t ride exceptionally short xc and if I did ride much shorter I don’t think it would work.
Try CWD though. I don’t have one anymore (mine was smaller and from when I was a jr so I out grew the flap) but Will Coleman rides in them and his legs are longer than mine so I’m sure there is a flap configuration that would work.
I’ve tried most of the brands but found while I could get the flaps fwd enough, the balance points didn’t work for me. I ended up with custom Stackhouse saddles and they work the best for me.
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The real problem with a long thigh is not that you don’t have any flap in front of your knee. Everything doesn’t get solved if you find one that’s got a longer and more forward flap. You also don’t absolutely need the flap under your knee unless you are actually in two point. Look for pictures of William Fox Pitt sitting in a jumping saddle for reference. When you have a long thigh it changes the balance point as bfne says. The balance point is determined by the positioning of the the stirrup bar in relation to/on the tree and where the center point of the saddle is. You need to talk to a saddler that not just trying to sell you a saddle and who indicates it not just about getting a flap that “fits.”
I too solved this problem with a custom saddle which has just been amazing. I’d eat peanut butter and jelly for a year if that’s what it took to come up with the money. After riding for decades I realized it was the first saddle I ever rode in that actually fit me.
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Good points made by others.
I have found that Barnsby Schokemohle generally have long forward flaps. They also tend to fit TB types best mine recently outgrew the tree and I had to go on a new search. I found Jeffries and Harry Dabs tend to have more forward flaps. I ended up ordering mine to be extra long and forward so I have lots of space to switch between flat and XC length. These saddles also tend to provide a more neutral balance point as opposed to the French/Italian forward balance points which tended to tip my leg forward too much.
I have an old school Albion origional XC saddle that fits my leg and I am long hip to knee as well. I also was able to fitin the passoa monoflap jump/XC. I have a 17.5 that I bought for the new mare, but I got my Albions flocked to her recently. If you can find a conquest long flap it will likely work as well.
^^ Yes!
I have two saddles. One is a 18" Black Country Quantum with an extra, extra foward flap. It has fairly padded knee rolls and other nice bells and whistles. The issue? It actually puts me in a chair seat because the seat is technically too big and the padded knee rolls push me back just a bit.
My other saddle is a 17.5" Black Country monoflap also with an extra forward flap (not that it really matters). The slightly smaller seat size puts the stirrup bar in a better balance point for me, and the monoflap design allows my knee to slide forward totally unencumbered by a knee roll. The fact that there’s leather there under my knee is really inconsequential.
I learned all of this by accident when I borrowed my friend’s BC monoflap and discovered that the balance was amazing. All these years I’d been riding in a saddle that was too big in order to accommodate the freakish femur.
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Check out the L’Apogee cross country saddle. I have one and LOVE it. I’m only 5’8" but have a very long thigh and torso. I have an 18.5" extra-extra forward flap. I love the balance of the saddle but I do believe I would like an 18" or 17.5" better as long as it had the same flap. On the other hand, I’ve never felt like I’m swimming in it, unlike when I test rode an 18" 3AAR Devoucoux.
It’s a monoflap with great leather. I got it for a steal of a price on ebay.
I’m shorter, but all my height is in my thigh. I had no idea how unbalanced I was in other saddles (just thought I had a terrible leg) until I got something that actually fit. I think there is an article somewhere by Jimmy Wofford about the effects of a crappy fitting saddle…
Anyway, I ended up in a custom County Conquest with a high forward flap and a different stirrup bar placement. I think it’s further forward, but not sure. You might see if you can sit in a few custom configurations of various brands and then snag a used one with the same options. I would have gone that route if the pony wasn’t also an odd fit.
Good luck!
Have you considered a Berney Bros Dublin Jumper? Very forward flap, great for the long-femured, and super secure XC.
No help, but holy carp,that’s the length of my WHOLE leg!!! :eek: :lol: 
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I am 6 feet and my legs are disproportionately thigh. I have found very few that are both forward/long enough to accommodate my leg and have the right point of balance- I love my Devocoux Chiberta (and so does my horse). It is the first xc saddle I have had that really fits
That is exactly what happens. You end up in a saddle with a bigger seat size to accommodate the length of thigh. I typically rode in the 18" off the rack and one that was a 19". My custom saddle actually measures a hair over 17".
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Resurrecting this old thread to ask if anyone has new suggestions for long thighs? I am so tired of the chair seat my 17.5” Stübben Roxane puts me in (my thigh is 24” and even with a spacer on the stirrup bar and a riser pad I’m fighting to get out if the seat and stay balanced) (good grief - just measured my 6’ tall husband’s thigh and it’s 23.5"…)
I’d like to avoid foam panels and calf on a saddle. Had the Stubben fitter out and a Zaria Optimum felt the same as the Roxane. Four other models I tried were worse. I sat in a Bruno Delgrange Partition 6 months ago that felt great but foam/calf I think?
6 footer here…i have an off the rack 18" prestige eventer model that i love - nothing special about the flaps and it’s forward enough for me have my stirrups short enough to jump around prelim and also not look too silly while seated.
