i don’t know a lot about high end saddles but I will be needing a show quality one soon. Looking at a Bates Caprilli jumping saddle for my high withered 17hh ottb. It’s 450 and looks like really good condition. Should I go for it?
I tried one recently and it had the HARDEST seat ever. So very uncomfortable. I couldn’t walk right for days after riding in it once.
Only if you can try it first. It’s not a bargain if it doesn’t fit you or your horse.
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I have a Bates Caprilli dressage saddle. It’s fine. Not amazing, but fine. My only real complaint is the leather is kind of slick, I put tons of leather balm on before lessons and shows to help give it some grip.
I would classify Bates as a mid-range saddle, similar to HDR, Collegiate, Toulouse, Pessoa, etc. Not the fanciest, but certainly not bad…if it fits your horse. My experience with Bates saddles is that the clearance in the pommel becomes an issue with high withers.
What you might want to look into are older Pessoas with a wither cutout. I see them floating around every so often in tack stores. Here’s an example (but note that this is a children’s saddle): https://www.crozettackandsaddle.com/old-saddle-page?lightbox=dataItem-ihsj3whc
That being said…how familiar are you with fitting saddles, either to your horse or to you?
OP, I had a Bates Caprilli back when they first came out. They were made in Australia, not Korea, at the time. I bought mine, in part for the adjustable tree and the gusseted panels so that I could rip out the CAIR air bags and reflock with wool.
I got this saddle to fit the mutton-withered WB I had at the time. It was fine for him. I felt that the balance of that saddle for me was weird.
I would not buy a saddle with air bags in the panels. When those fail, it’s bad. But if you can reflock with wool and it fits you and the horse and it’s a deal plus you like the quality, why not?
