Pessoa saddle: made in England or naw?

[ShadowDansere]

Stepping down from a County :eek: which my trainers have told me puts me in too much of a chair seat (both Innovation and Stabilizer models…) to a Pessoa.

I’m an original Pessoa lover, from when they were made in England. My first true love of a saddle. Had to sell that one way back when because my booty outgrew it :lol: Just got one on trial that has suede flaps, marked “N Pessoa”, which I figure is pretty good bets that it is from England, but wanted to check with all you experts.

No stamps or serial numbers anywhere on the leather, besides the print of “N Pessoa” under the flaps.

Thoughts?

http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/shadowdansere/library/Pessoa

Alternatively… ideas for something that fits like a County but helps with a chair seat? Liked having the skid row panels in the County, but the Pessoa seems to actually fit okay. Have ridden in a friend’s Pessoa and trainer asserts that is does improve (but not cure) the chair seat.

Pics of my mare, for back shape:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100233378075365&l=2511907229
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100225284714525&l=4777aa9070

And for good measure, me riding in my Innovation, in case you wanted to witness the chair seat:
https://youtu.be/_lT-6UMuwSU

[Jo]

What size do you need? PM me - I know of an original Pessoa for a song!

[Winding_Down]

[QUOTE=Jo;8744977]
What size do you need? PM me - I know of an original Pessoa for a song![/QUOTE]

I have one and it’s not going anywhere. It is the last of the Made in England Pessoa’s with padded flap and knee roll.

It fits everything.

Permanent fixture. It was quite a find.

[Personal_Champ]

Yes, that’s most likely English made. Make sure to check the soundness of the tree - tree issues are why Pessoa left the English factory.

[Jo]

[QUOTE=Winding Down;8744983]
I have one and it’s not going anywhere. It is the last of the Made in England Pessoa’s with padded flap and knee roll.

It fits everything.

Permanent fixture. It was quite a find.[/QUOTE]

I feel the same way about my Pessoa A/Os that I had. My 36 year old self is kicking my college self for selling them on a whim. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The Pessoa I know of is my barn owner’s, who is 70+++ and will never jump another day in her life. She is strictly dressage and would rather sell the Pessoa to help with some vet bills she’s had.

[Bogie]

Chair seat is generally caused when the stirrup bars are set too far forward for your conformation. Sometimes you can fix it by putting a bit of rubber tubing on the bar (in front of your leathers) which moves the position back very slightly. It doesn’t always work but it can help and it’s easier/less expensive than getting a whole new saddle. I have long thighs so I’ve dealt with this issue for years!

You should also check to make sure your saddle is fitting properly. If your saddle is slightly too narrow in front, it can put you in a chair seat.

[Night_Flight]

[QUOTE=Bogie;8745403]
Sometimes you can fix it by putting a bit of rubber tubing on the bar (in front of your leathers) which moves the position back very slightly. [/QUOTE]

Or full cheek keepers!

[Foxinthesouth]

I have an EQ with the same logo under the flap and NPessoa Paris on the button on the pommel. Also has just pencil knee rolls. Purchased new in 2000 and do believe these are made in England. Have yet to find a horse it won’t fit.

[Winding_Down]

[QUOTE=Bogie;8745403]
Chair seat is generally caused when the stirrup bars are set too far forward for your conformation.

You should also check to make sure your saddle is fitting properly. If your saddle is slightly too narrow in front, it can put you in a chair seat.[/QUOTE]

Yes, saddle fit can account for the chair seat so if your saddle sits too far up in front then it puts you into a chair seat. I would try two things before you toss the County:

1. insert a rubber keeper or bit guard on the stirrup bar in front of the leather, as suggested above; and

2. try shimming the back of your saddle to lift the cantle if it looks as though it is too high at the pommel. Before doing this, however, I would check to make sure it isn’t too narrow in front, as noted above.

[Winding_Down]

[QUOTE=GoneCoastal;8745495]
I have an EQ with the same logo under the flap and NPessoa Paris on the button on the pommel. Also has just pencil knee rolls. Purchased new in 2000 and do believe these are made in England. Have yet to find a horse it won’t fit.[/QUOTE]

You would see N Pessoa (and not just Pessoa) on the outside flap and/or made in England under the flap. I believe that Pessoa moved to Argentina around 1996 or so. The quality improved markedly 2000 and later.

FWIW, there are good saddles made in Argentina with good leather etc. And there are some crud saddles made in England. We just don’t see the latter since the US is already flooded with lower quality saddles from other countries.

[Foxinthesouth]

[QUOTE=Winding Down;8745517]
You would see N Pessoa on the outside flap and/or made in England under the flap. I believe that Pessoa moved to Argentina around 1996 or so. The quality improved markedly 2000 and later.

FWIW, there are good saddles made in Argentina with good leather etc. And there are some crud saddles made in England. We just don’t see the latter since the US is already flooded with lower quality saddles from other countries.[/QUOTE]

Good to know. Mine has the same NPessoa above the stirrup leather holder and the flap over billets. This one looks like an A/O model.

[StormyDay]

I have an old pessoa from when they just transferred to Argentina. It is an excellent saddle, very comfortable and fits everything just like the english pessoas. So even if it is Argentinian, don’t let that scare you off. I am not a fan of the new pessoas at all, but love mine.
PS: It is nice to see that LWSC is still going strong I loved showing there when I was younger!

[ShadowDansere]

Thanks so much everyone! Finally got to ride in it yesterday, not 100% in love with all of it, but will give it a couple more rides before I decide

Jo - the one I have on trial is an 18, which I am finding a little big but okay (bigger seat = bigger flap = helps with my longer thigh). So anywhere from 17-18.

Personal Champ - thanks for the heads up, I had no idea. I did a basic check of the tree, but will review it further!

Bogie/Winding Down - I did actually try that trick, used a whole bunch of twine because that’s what I had on hand :winkgrin: and wrapped the stirrups bars so the leathers were set back about half an inch. Didn’t see too much difference. Also, the Innovation seems a little cantle-high already, and lifts off her back a bit. I recently had the County person out to actually add flocking to the front skid-row panels to try to balance it out better.

StormyDay - LWSC is definitely going strong! It was fun to come back to showing there post-college They even have stalls now!

[no.stirrups]

Pessoas are no longer made in England, but when they were they were made by Harry Dabbs. Harry Dabbs still makes the same saddle, it just isn’t marked “Pessoa” any more! It is available with various panel configurations as well as other customizations.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Winding Down;8745517]
You would see N Pessoa (and not just Pessoa) on the outside flap and/or made in England under the flap. I believe that Pessoa moved to Argentina around 1996 or so. The quality improved markedly 2000 and later.

FWIW, there are good saddles made in Argentina with good leather etc. And there are some crud saddles made in England. We just don’t see the latter since the US is already flooded with lower quality saddles from other countries.[/QUOTE]

I believe the saddles with the N. Pessoa printed on the underside of the flap were made in Argentina. That saddle looks too young to have been made in England.

And man, those were nice saddles. No one should ever sell an original, British-made Pessoa AO.

[2_amp_1_2_Geldings]

[QUOTE=mvp;8755649]
I believe the saddles with the N. Pessoa printed on the underside of the flap were made in Argentina. That saddle looks too young to have been made in England.

And man, those were nice saddles. No one should ever sell an original, British-made Pessoa AO.[/QUOTE]

Love this thread. I still have my original Pessoa A/O made in England and have been debating selling it. I ride cowhorses now and hate seeing it sit. But I imagine if I ever do jump back into the English world I’ll just kick myself for getting rid of it.

[Jamie2337]

Messaging you!