Hi all. I’m looking for some advice or experiences. I’m trying to choose between these three brands to purchase either a custom made saddle or a newer “special deal/demo” saddle. I’m looking for a dressage saddle. I have a general knowledge of saddle fit and how it works, and I’ll write a description of each saddle brand with the pros and cons. That being said, this will be a long post. I appreciate anyone who reads the whole thing and gives their two cents.
TLDR: Stubben seems questionable rep-wise in my area and there aren’t any independent fitters, Arion seems great but isn’t wool flocked or adjustable, and Prestige supposedly has poor leather quality and a plastic tree, which I’m unsure about.
Prestige: Prestige was my first saddle I ever tried. It’s been a hot minute since I sat in one. However, I liked the rep and appreciated her knowledge. She’s not fully in town until early March, but I can wait that long. However, I’ve heard that Prestige saddles are overall flimsy and don’t last super long. It could just be a loud few who say this, but before I make a full purchase, I want to be 100% sure it’ll last me at least 10 years with my horse.
Arion: I LOVED the Arion saddle I tried. The rep is a friend of a friend, so I have a solid assurance that she won’t disappear on me. I’m looking for something adjustable, though, and Arion is not that. Short tree points (I think?) and foam flocking with a mystery tree. However, they seem to have great customer service, and I think if I needed adjustments I could do a trade in for a couple thousand, which isn’t terrible for a new saddle.
Stubben: I was all set to order from Stubben and was simply dawdling so I could make some money in the mean time. However, the rep was extremely pushy, and kept telling me pricing would go up on the 1st of February. Well, it’s the 8th, and prices haven’t gone up. Also, I have a friend who bought a custom saddle from her, and the saddle’s worked great, but the rep ghosted her for months after she bought it. I do NOT want to spend over 5k to get ghosted by the person who’s supposed to help me with flocking, tree shape, etc.
I really want to hear things that confirm or deny my experiences, and perhaps some guidance. Thank you so, so much to everyone who’s read this, I appreciate any help I can get.
I can only speak to my experience with Prestige and from a jump vs dressage saddle point of view, but I have a 2013 model that’s still going strong with no significant wear. It’s a lower end model too, nothing fancy. I like that mine is wool flocked and the tree size can be adjusted a couple of sizes up or down by the rep on a heat press. I’m lucky to have a fantastic local rep who helped me solve some fitting issues last year by adjusting the tree. I had independent fitters try and correct the fit just via flocking changes but the tree adjustment was a game changer for that situation.
I’ve owned several Prestige saddles over many years. They are excellent in leather quality and I’ve never had a problem with any of them. They are by no means flimsy, and I’ve had the trees adjusted with no problem.
Another vote for Prestige quality and longevity. I’ve heard various criticisms of Prestige, but I have a lovely one vintage 2007 in excellent condition, in spite of a lot of hard wear. I do take care of it.
I was able to find Prestige styles that allow the rider to find their best position, without the saddle design and blocks forcing a certain style.
More recent Albion owners I know of have expressed a lot of satisfaction with them. I don’t know much beyond that.
Have ridden in several Stubbens. Stubben is a fine saddle, imo. They are made with a lot of ‘bossiness’ that push riders into a certain position. I think they are right when they are right for someone who fits the Stubben mold, as it were. But they can really interfere with a rider who is a different shape or riding style preference.
I’ve been very happy with my Prestige. Leather quality is great and their customer service has always been excellent. My rep is knowledgeable and great to work with, and her adjustments have been spot on for my horse.
I had a similarly bad experience with a Stubben rep while shopping and would be hesitant to work with the brand again. Seems to be a consistent problem across their sales team.
What do you mean by adjustable? Wool-flocked adjustable is great. Run from any rep who tries to sell you an “adjustable” tree.
If I’m reading the OP correctly, she said Arion, not Albion. Different brands 
Why? Fairfax saddles, Kent and Master Saddles are great saddles.
I love my adjustable tree saddles that are wool flocked and so does my independent fitter.
Most of the major wool-flocked saddle brands can have their trees widened or narrowed a size or two by the rep. Not a red flag at all.
I walked away from the Prestige when I had a fitting with that brand. Yes it put me in a great position and the leather was nice. My concern was for my horse when I looked at the saddle from the front view and saw that narrow pinched A framed pommel. While the tree was wide as my horse is, there was no way it was going to work for him with that narrow pommel arch. The panels also seem to attach high in the front, so he got a wither squeeze while the fitter/rep was raving on about how great it is. Horse said no. When I found out the “flocking” was fake fibers, that clinched it.
That is fascinating to me that the Prestige did not work for your horse!
I was able to get a used one for a week’s trial during a months-long period of saddle-shopping. I had trialed several brands at home. The Prestige was the only saddle for which my horse made a clear statement “get this one, this one feels good”.
People and horses are so individual …
I don’t have experience with Prestige or Arion but I can chime in on Stubben. The saddles themselves are nice, it was the rep that wasn’t so great. I was looking to buy a jump saddle and a dressage saddle. Hindsight says stick to your gut and make it clear when you feel you’re being railroaded into something you know isn’t right. By the time the saddles came in I was disheartened to find the jump flaps not forward enough and the seat on the dressage saddle was too big so I was fighting to stay in a good spot. The rep? Ghosted me the moment the saddles were delivered. After trying to make them work for several months, and hating the ride in both because of the sizing issues, I sold them.
Prestige saddles are wonderful. And last a very long time. I have 4 Prestige jumping saddles. Two different models, plus slightly different sizes. Between the two models, sizes, and somewhat different pads, they fit all my horses, and ones I used to have. Totally different conformations. If saddle is too wide or too narrow, can send it in to be widened or made less wide. Which works perfectly. The most I have needed to do, even to my two really old ones, is have to have them re-stuffed. Which didn’t cost all that much. Granted, I take good care of my saddles. But they are quite durable. I found out about the brand, when a friend showed me their 30 year old Prestige, which still did the job.
Those are three very different saddles with different shapes. How do they look on your horse? Do you need the longer tree points that most Stubben saddles have (good for horses with prominent withers)? How does the shape of the tree work with your horse’s back?
If you want 10 years of use (hard to know if your horse will stay the same shape as the day you buy the saddle), I would not purchase a foam paneled saddle as the only way to adjust the fit is to have new panels made.
Many of the Prestige saddles are made with a tree that is adjustable (I believe) using a special infrared machine that heats the resin. You cannot have them adjusted using a press. I have a Kieffer saddle with the same type of tree and it’s very helpful to be able to change the width. While almost all saddles can be adjusted slightly using a press, you are not supposed to adjust them more than twice. the Prestige/Kieffer trees can be adjusted more frequently.
If you have an independent fitter near you, they might be able to help you which saddle works best for your horse.
They can generally only be adjusted once or twice, and quite honestly every saddle I’ve seen that’s had a tree “adusted” ends up uneven.
Very true. You need to be extremely careful about who adjusts your saddle. I think the resin trees are perhaps easier to adjust but the saddler needs to have the correct equipment.
Had one Prestige saddle made wider, and the other made smaller. Two different places did them. There are a very limited amount of tack shop folks who have the “official” machine that adjusts Prestige trees. I had zero issues with both saddles being adjusted. Last place was Olsen Tack, in Washington. Great service. Prestige saddles have a “synthetic fiber tree”, whatever that means exactly. But I have zero idea about adjusting any another brand of saddle. Guessing that could go south fairly easily. Or not. No clue. And yeah, pretty sure you can’t adjust a Prestige tree more than once or twice. But at least for me, once was plenty.
Take this with a grain of salt, OP, but these are the experiences that I’ve had with Stubben/Prestige-adjacent:
Stubben: I know people love them for TBs in particular (prominent withers). Mine hated the jump saddle I trialed (don’t remember the model) even though it fit him fine judging by all the visual markers. My trainer (upper-level eventer) was also supposed to be sponsored by them but the custom models that she received for her horse were wrong fits, twice, and she was essentially ghosted by the rep so she washed her hands of them.
Prestige: I don’t have a Prestige and have never sat in one. I do, however, have an Erreplus monoflap jump saddle, and that brand was founded by the former R&D director of Prestige and (unsurprisingly) shares a lot of characteristics with Prestige. I also know multiple people with Prestige saddles and they all love them. If I wasn’t an Erreplus convert I’d probably be looking at Prestige when I finally have the money to get a fully custom dressage saddle for my horse.
I wouldn’t be afraid of the adjustable trees so much as I’d be afraid of reps who don’t know what they’re doing. I flat in a Kent and Masters dressage saddle and my horse loves it. Our fitter is certified by the Society of Master Saddlers though, so much more reliable than a lot of your standard sales reps from different brands. I’m actually about to have my dressage saddle checked by her as we speak, lol.
On the East Coast, I know Patty Barnett has the equipment (East Crow Saddlery). I would absolutely trust her.
You should go with the tree that is right for your horse - flocking only does so much. I have a Prestige Eventer that’s got to be 24 years old and it doesn’t look that great anymore but it fit a lot of different horses and it was very comfortable to ride in. Longevity doesn’t seem to be an issue!
My current horse goes in the Prestige Lucky (the kids dressage saddle) - If I gained 20lbs it might be a squeeze but he’s 15.2 and doesn’t have a lot of saddle space so it works for him really well. The adjustability of the tree is what the others said - some kind of moldable material that can go wider/narrower but the tree shape will not change so that’s what’s super important to get right.
Prestige (and other brands like Amerigo) tend to put you more forward on the “sitting area” for lack of a better word. Some saddles put the rider further back, so that should be a consideration. My friend rode in a Frank Baines (rider further back) until her horse was getting close to PSG and then she had to change to an Italian saddle that put her much more forward to accommodate his new way of going.
Having a great rep is also important - like buying your tractor from the best dealership where you can get service so for that the Arion seems like your best choice if the horse likes it.
