Opinions on Regal Dressage Saddles

[adelmo95]

Hi all,

Please share your opinions/experiences with Regal dressage saddles. I am currently in a Dominus dressage saddle which doesn’t fit myself or my horse well so am looking for a solution before it bothers his back as he is such a willing baby, but is only 3 so is going to change so I would ideally like to find something with some adjustability as he grows and changes so that I can just stick with one nice saddle.

The saddle I am considering is one of the wool flocked ones and it is in lovely used condition.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[horsepoor]

I had one, and it was a wonderful saddle. I just adored the fit of the DK dressage saddle for me but horse hated the air, so I picked up the Regal which sat like a DK for me but the wool flocking made my horse happy. I was under the impression that Regal might be out of business now (at least the website seems to have disappeared), but it wouldn’t stop me from buying a used Regal, as long as I had someone local to me to do the adjustments.

[Ibex]

Regal actually made DK. I’m not sure what the scoop with Kevin is at the moment… I know he hasn’t been available for servicing lately. They are nice saddles however and can be serviced by anyone knowledgeable.

[adelmo95]

Thanks for the info. I had a DK and loved the feel of it and then ended up selling it when I sold my dressage horse as it made more sense to have a nice jumper saddle when I was working with pony hunter prospects. However shortly after selling the DK I discovered just how much of a dressage queen I was when I converted the pony hunter pony into a dressage pony and bought a cheap replacement saddle. I am now back to a warmblood who although bred for jumping is one that I would like to do dressage on and I need to find him something so it is good to hear that they feel like a DK to ride in as I really liked the feel of the saddle.

[Forte]

[QUOTE=adelmo95;7544759]
Thanks for the info. I had a DK and loved the feel of it and then ended up selling it when I sold my dressage horse as it made more sense to have a nice jumper saddle when I was working with pony hunter prospects. However shortly after selling the DK I discovered just how much of a dressage queen I was when I converted the pony hunter pony into a dressage pony and bought a cheap replacement saddle. I am now back to a warmblood who although bred for jumping is one that I would like to do dressage on and I need to find him something so it is good to hear that they feel like a DK to ride in as I really liked the feel of the saddle.[/QUOTE]

Love, love, love my Regal saddles. I have one that was custom made for me and my horse around 10 years ago. Since then it has been refit by Kevin to several different horses. It’s still in fantastic condition, fits me like a dream and the leather still looks great even though I often use it on several horses a day. I also have a Regal jumping saddle which I bought used and love. My only complaints is that it is a lighter caramel color and it shows scuffs more readily than my black dressage saddle. Kevin is extremely knowledgeable and great to deal with in person, but he is a hard guy to get a hold of my phone or email.

[dbliron1]

I have four custom made Regals, and they are all wonderful. Kevin is really busy, he builds all the DK saddles as well as his own Regals, but the Regals can be successfully serviced by knowledgeable saddlers. I have a large number of clients who also have either custom built Regals, or ones they’ve purchased used and had Kevin customize for them.

I’d echo Forte - the Regals can be adjusted to fit nearly any horse, in fact, it’s why I went to Kevin in the first place.

[Jchambers]

I would still be riding in my Regal if it fit my horse. I have owned three different Regals through the years - I liked the oldest one the best. It had a narrow twist, no huge thigh blocks and a regular seat. Kevin still services Regals and builds for DK. They are essentially the same saddle as far as I can tell.

[Dbliron]

Kevin still builds Regals, and yes, he builds the DK saddles as well. I had him here this past Thursday, and he did measurements for 5 new Regal saddles, and fitted 14 more. His website was taking too much time to maintain, so he took it down, but he can be reached at 250 474 3370 at his shop in Victoria, BC.

[bcmom]

Thanks for the info! I was also wondering how you can tell that it’s a Regal…is it stamped in/on the saddle somewhere?

[Lucy_in_the_Sky]

The photo that bcmom posted does not look like any Regal saddle that I have ever seen – but I am not an expert and maybe I just haven’t seen one similar to this model. The dead-giveaway for me is that it doesn’t have a hole through the flap to thread the tail of the stirrup leather through to the back – rather bcmom’s photo has a keeper to thread the leather through.

I am a Regal fan and LOVE my Regal dressage saddle – it was custom made by Kevin for me and my mare about seven years ago, is in constant use, and has only ever needed very minor adjustment/fitting over the years.

[bcmom]

I guess I will see when it comes!

[Dbliron]

It looks nothing like a Regal dressage saddle, and in fact it looks nothing like a dressage saddle…

[Scribbler]

@bcmom

So, I am gonna go with not a Regal (the stirrup leathers are regal) …any idea what it might be? I don’t see a name anywhere.

Is this the same saddle you thought was dressage? It looks like a nice jump saddle to me with the forward flaps!

[bcmom]

Yep…thought it was a dressage.

[bcmom]

My replies keep getting cut off here…annoying

[bcmom]

I could do a chargeback because it isn’t the model that was advertised but, I am thinking of just keeping it because it was only $110.00 shipped…what do y’all think?!

[Scribbler]

Did you see photos before you bought? If so, did they ship you the wrong saddle,? Or were you just unaware of the difference in English saddle types? If so go browse some saddle websites like county or Stubben to get an eye for the basic differences.

If you have the saddle now, can you search it for any makers mark, serial number, logo. Anything stamped on the flaps. Design of studs. Most saddles have some brand name somewhere.

Check to see if the tree is broken.

Most importantly does it fit your horse and do you know how to tell if it doesn’t?

$110 is shockingly low for any saddle in good used condition. If it isn’t busted, doesn’t fit your horse, or isn’t what you need, I am sure you can recoup your cost by selling it on locally for more than you paid.

Especially if you can find a brand name.

If the tree is broken maybe try to return, but otherwise I’d keep and resell.

You might have a real bargain.

[bcmom]

I looked for a name but, couldn’t find one…I believe the seller knew nothing about saddles. It was just listed as English saddle. The tree seems intact and the flocking seems firm. I think that I will keep it even though it isn’t a Regal. This is my first very own horse so, I haven’t had to purchase tack before…plus, pasture, shelter and found pen…my husband calls him money pit! He sure is pretty though!!!

[Scribbler]

Very pretty! Saddlebred?

Flocking shouldn’t be too hard! If you can, try to find an independent saddle fitter to help you through saddle fitting, since a saddle that hurts the horse will lead to all kinds of trouble down the road.

[bcmom]

He’s a saddlebred named Bradley Cooper!!! Thanks so much!