FWIW we have a dover in my home town. I am less than impressed with that bridle.
Wellfleet!! Great leather that darkens nicely with no purple/Havana.
I just got an Ovation wide nose bridle and I am very pleased with it! I was skeptical at first but the leather quality is remarkably good, especially for the price, and it’s a beautiful bridle.
[QUOTE=Nickelodian;7667768]
I had a beloved Jimmy’s stolen 3 years ago. As a replacement (hate the new Jimmy’s) I tried the Pessoa first, and oiled it. It literally did not change color. Hated it. Tack shop took it back.
Bought the Ovation and have LOVED it ever since. I am a total bridle snob, and wanted a flat noseband for my big guy. I thought the Ovation would be a temporary solution until the insurance reimbursement came. Planned to buy a more expensive higher quality bridle. After oiling it and using it at 3-4 shows I saw no reason to buy my planned 600 edgewood. That’s how much I like this bridle.
I put this on the “colored” yarn thread as well, but the black horse is wearing the Ovation.
Gray horse is wearing a non fancy stitched edgewood.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for the photo! The bridle looks great on your guy. Lovely horses, BTW. I could have a very similar “family portrait” with my larger headed mare and my cob headed Domiro gelding 
I have the Ovation. Bought it last year, used it lightly between now and then. The reins are what I’m a little iffy about. I figure eight and clean my bridles after every ride, and hang them up at home, yet there is some weird leather wrinkling going on already towards the buckle of the reins. It looks purely cosmetic at this point, no tearing or anything, but it irks me a bit because the rest of the bridle is really quire nice.
This is my old guy in it: http://i.imgur.com/3CNYOFe.jpg
I have the Pessoa, love the way it looks but the leather is not nice, stiff and kinda cheap feeling.
[QUOTE=Nickelodian;7667821]
FWIW we have a dover in my home town. I am less than impressed with that bridle.[/QUOTE]
Boo hoo. It looks so pretty in the pictures!
I don’t think the Pessoa is enough a step up in quality over the Ovation to justify the difference in price. ERS does a really great job with their Ovation line, in terms of issuing a quality product at a relatively reasonable price.
I will say that I also don’t love Ovation reins, however. I would maybe look on eBay for a pair of used Edgewood laced reins to use instead. I’ve purchased several pairs, in various widths, both raised and flat, for about $60 or $70.
For my own personal use, I bought an Edgewood noseband separately for the Edgewood bridle I already owned, but I know a lot of people actually prefer the Aramas to the Edgewood. If I were looking specifically for a complete wide noseband bridle, my first choice would also probably be Aramas or Americanca.
I have the Pessoa wide noseband and it nice for the price.
[URL=“https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/316797_981004317687_533270925_n.jpg?oh=9f6777539da8d5504d36378cf192e761&oe=5455634A&__gda__=1413079745_97c9454e6a3af2b64d62728f1f75c7ae”]https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/316797_981004317687_533270925_n.jpg?oh=9f6777539da8d5504d36378cf192e761&oe=5455634A&gda=1413079745_97c9454e6a3af2b64d62728f1f75c7ae
[URL=“https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t1.0-9/183774_784218592857_4035986_n.jpg”]
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t1.0-9/183774_784218592857_4035986_n.jpg
A kid at the barn had the Wide Noseband Ovation and it wasn’t nice. Leather was hard and if I remember correctly, it started peeling.
. It took oil very well but did stay slightly red, as a poster did warn. It is for my bright red chestnut, so that doesn’t bother me. I’m very pleased with it for what I spent… I do think I will get the ovation for my dark bay in the future, after hearing the positive reviews for it here.
Here is Queen of the Suitcase Heads in her new bridle:
[IMG]http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r519/HuntersRidge1/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsa644b468.jpg)
Thanks again!
![[IMG]http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r519/HuntersRidge1/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsa644b468.jpg)](http://s1169.photobucket.com/user/HuntersRidge1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsa644b468.jpg.html){kind=link}