You might like a County Eventer. I don’t think they are being made anymore as they never were fashionable so you should be able to find one under $2K
My problem with Schleese (other than the fact that they put me too far above my horse) is that using anyone other than a Schleese fitter voids the warranty…and their fitter gets within three hours of me about once a year. Finding a good fitter is hard enough, and being restricted to using just one and then having to haul a couple hours…when an adjustment may be needed before they show up next year…just doesn’t work for me.
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If you buy your Schleese for $2 k at the consignment shop the warranty is long gone and anyone can work on it.
For less bulk I really like my 2001 Passier Optimum. It’s not 1980s pancake flat but it’s got an open seat and modest knee rolls.
Most brands don’t warranty a saddle worked on by someone other than their rep.
The best saddle brand is the one that has the best, most knowledgeable and most proactive rep/fitter in your area. And that’s very area specific.
For a short back, I would absolutely not recommend Trilogy, sadly. Lovely, comfortable saddles, usually very knowledgeable and well educated fitters, but those suckers are long and built for big horses.
When I changed to a smaller horse with a short back, I had to give mine up. I tried Custom and N2, but they were not for me seat wise.
I ended up with a Bliss Loxley, (which was not an expensive saddle-- the local N2 fitter carries it as her less expensive option,) on their warmblood tree. It fits us both nicely and the block isn’t intrusive (because it fits.) And it is a very nicely made saddle.
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Agreed both Trilogy and Custom wouldn’t be ideal for a short back. For that the Prestige D1 and D2 would be my pick, but I’m heard great things about Loxley and Frank Baines too.
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I agree with Prestige for shorter backs. The upswept panels are a big help, and I’ve had good luck with them.
If not too long, you may be happy with a Wintec (Pro or Isabel) as they are quite close contact, fit a flat back and are easily adjustable without a fitter if you get the set of gullet plates, measuring device and shim set.
I disagree with the poster above that called them starter saddles. If they’re good enough for Isabel Werth, they’re good enough for starter to Olympics 
I rode in them many years ago, went away for $$ leather saddles and ended up coming back because of the close contact with security of the faux suede seat. I recently toyed with the idea of changing again, but my pony had words about that. “This is not my brand. Not this one either. Wtf are you doing? Get this other thing off me before I am forced to put you into orbit. You have exactly 10 meters to make the right decision.” These trials were all saddles that fit (fitter approved, fitter present) but apparently Madam has preference for air bags and synthetic tree over flocking and traditional trees. Whatever. Cheaper for me!
The other point of this post is to say try multiple saddles and trust your horse’s feedback on them!
Editing to add that the blocks are Velcro so depending on leg length and horse body shape )ou can move them around or take them off entirely.
And, steer clear of anything with a Schleese plate on it.
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I think for dressage, there’s less of the need to have the right brand than for hunters (not dissing hunters!) so I can’t think of any dressage brands with the same price/trend vs quality issue that a few hunter brands went through. I strongly recommend working with a saddle fitter that has consignment saddles to try. My fitter reps for a certain brand, and has worked with a few companies through the years, but she listened to my budget and brought out 4 options for me and my horse (saw him before) and the cheapest one was the one that had the angels sing;) Horse was a tough fit, but an older Albion Original Comfort worked. On my new horse, a nice County was lovely. I definitely learned how I felt about blocks, etc. Good luck!
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Does Isabel Worth really ride exclusively in a wintec? Somehow I don’t believe this if only because they obviously don’t fit every horse. Also honestly a top pro can tolerate issues in a saddle without affecting performance as much as it would for an ammie.
Second, Schleese reps do over rely on adjusting the wither gullet in a press, which strains the tree and should only be done once or twice in the life of a saddle preferably never. They will do it multiple times a year. So by definition second hand Schleese saddles can have compromised trees because of this.
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I will second this. I went with a knowledgeable fitter in my area with a stellar reputation for making sure the saddle works for both horse and rider. I let my horse choose the saddle from a selection we had narrowed down that worked for me.
I will also add that coming from h/j it will take time to develop your dressage seat. The dressage saddle that works for you during this transition is probably not the same one that may work best in a few years once you have really developed a dressage seat.
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Yes. Make sure you can ride in shorter stirrups which means avoiding huge blocks. Don’t buy anything that presses your leg back. You will want to start out with stirrups equivalent to the “hacking” length in a jump saddle and work on keeping your butt in the saddle at canter. Then at sitting the trot. Eventually you will enjoy longer stirrups as appropriate for your own body and your horse.
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I completely agree with this, Bogie. I had a really hard time finding a saddle to fit my horse. An independent saddle fitter suggested a Kent & Masters. I certainly had never considered it, because I had never heard of that brand. Not the most expensive saddle, but my horse seems happy in it, and it seems to fit him well. He has body work and the saddle fit checked on a regular basis, so I know he is comfortable.
I’m realizing I should have phrased my original post a little differently and I just want to clarify - I’m “new” to dressage in the sense that I only started doing it about a year ago. I’ve been riding in my trainer’s saddles (one is a Custom, not sure what the other is) and am comfortable with long stirrups, sitting the trot (for the most part 
), etc at this point. Not that I’m amazing and don’t have any improvements to make or any huntery-habits to keep working on - but I think I may have made it sound like I’ve never sat in a real dressage saddle before 
I started part leasing a horse and just need to get my own saddle now. I’m just unfamiliar with different brands and how they tend to fit, and being on a budget means I’m limited in my ability to just go try anything and everything, especially if it has to be shipped for a trial.
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The frustrating thing about fitters is every single one has a different opinion of what fits or doesn’t. So you need to find a fitter who has a host of happy customers. Yearlong customers, not just someone who used them six months ago and is happy. Someone who has had the same rider/horse pair for six years without playing saddle musical chairs.
In my area we have a lot of fitters and on a surface level people seem happy with them. But if you do some digging you’ll find that many of them have left quieter, unhappy customers in their wake when the custom saddle or nearly-five figure saddle stops fitting after 6 months. Those customers don’t tend to blast this on social media, so you need to dig and ask people when they recommend you a fitter “how long has the saddle they fitted for you worked?” Six months is meaningless but six years is something.
I have the opposite experience of Scribbler — I’ll start with the caveat this is probably area specific. I’m in a horse rich area and we have lots of consignment shops. I’d like to say I have a basic understanding of saddle fit. I’ve taken several seminars with big brand names and been involved in my own fitting sessions. And yet, no matter what, the fitters here always seem to not like the lineup I’ve pulled and want something from their truck tried.
I once had one fitter go through six saddles I’d pulled from consignment and/or friends to borrow and say not a single one fit - even though these saddles were specifically picked because at a previous appointment she said those brands would work and she’d bring them. So sometimes I think it is more about the fitter wanting to have you buy something from their truck versus work with what you have. It’s more common than you’d think - I’ve had it happen with almost every fitter I’ve used in Area 1 except Tony Cooper.
And don’t even get me started on what’s worse — you getting an expensive saddle and then the next fitter you use saying “uh, this doesn’t fit”.
A long reply to say, your fitter is more important than the brand of saddle you pick. And don’t even bother using a saddle brand rep. If they aren’t a certified fitter they don’t have any business touching your horse. Just my two cents.
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Sounds like you need to sit in lots of saddles. Although I’ve found the horse also influences the equation. My trainer is very generous about letting clients try her collection of saddles. I’ve ridden in some that felt fine on one horse but didn’t work for me on another.
My local independent fitter is happy to evaluate any saddle you bring to try. If you have someone like that in your area you could gather a small collection of saddles in your budget to try and have the fitter evaluate.
I had a few on loan from friends and trainer and the fitter had a few used ones and we went from there.
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Also this. Buying the saddle is just the first step. You’ll want a fitter who will stick around to make sure it’s still working for you a month later, six months later, a year later, and be able to make any adjustments needed over time. Or who has a reputation for making things right if the initial match turned out to not be the right one.
Wintecs and Bates exclusively, yes.
“Since 1989 or 1990, I ride every day, all my horses in a Bates. A Bates or a Wintec saddle, we have both saddles and I have no other saddles. I am not sick, and I am not disabled, I just like to ride in those saddles. I got phone calls in the beginning, oh, do you have troubles with your back that you use a Wintec? I said, no, I just feel really comfortable in their saddle, and I think it is a top saddle. Later we developed the leather Bates, just to have both materials. I am completely happy, and so are my horses, for around about 30 years! They are my oldest sponsors…”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2020/06/isabell-werth-dealing-with-each-horse-as-an-individual/
IMO, they are fabulous and if you spend the time tweaking along the development road, horses do exceptionally well in them. My pony’s REMT asked me once, “You did THIS is a Wintec?” ‘This’ being the development of zero musculature into a back that she took photos of to share correct development on social media. Many people dismiss them because of them being synthetic and a low price point. The Wintec’s “sister” saddles Bates are leather though and pricier lol. I think it’s a shame because they are damn fine saddles.
All that said, a horse with a serious banana (sway) shaped back due to the shape of the spine, might be damned near impossible to fit properly even with all the shims and the patience of a million monks.
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Yup. I’ll give a little of my personal situation here too – I went through a few fitters in the last couple of years because my favorite fitter of all time moved South. 
I tried a ton of fitters, none are as good as her. I made a post on my local eventing page asking for recommendations, narrowed it down to a couple.
The first fitter came out, looked at the saddle and said it didnt fit. I was surprised because, this saddle had been on this horse for two years now (including being seen by my #1). Ok, maybe he changed shape? Fine. Trotted out my entire tack room (after 20 years of horses, I have a lot of saddles) and fitter didn’t like a single one of them. She begrudgingly reflocked my saddle but left when she realized I wasn’t going to buy something on her truck.
The second fitter essentially performed highway robbery on me. She told me I needed a custom for this horse and then took my money and ran. I could not get her to make it right, and she blamed it on everything but the saddle itself. My riding, my girth, my arena, etc. I made one vague, non-specific comment on COTH about this and another user PM’d me and accurately guessed who the fitter was and shared that this fitter (who came highly recommended to us both!) had several lawsuits against the saddle company she represented because this was a common theme with her and her parent org, Stubben.
The third came to me so highly recommended - I made a FB post in my local event group over the summer and was floored by how many people recommended her. I used her and she seemed great, but it has been a bear to get her out again. She has been so busy that months will go by before she answers my text - and I am actively trying to buy a saddle with a healthy (4k!!) budget using her.
All of that to say… it’s a tough world out there for fitters and us people that rely on them. I’m so fed up I’m seriously tempted to take up classes myself just so I’m not reliant on fitters anymore.
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I rode in a wintec Isabel for years. I loved it. Looking back it was good for my position as well. Of course that was one of the older models so I’m not sure if that would be different today.
I sadly sold mine when I sold the horse that it fit. Later on I got one on eBay. I had my fitter out and it fit my horse perfectly. She said it looked in decent shape but she wanted to open it up and check the tree points just in case. She said they were cracked and just given the age she was worried about the tree eventually cracking too. So I threw it away sadly. She said she’s not a super big fan of the wintec quality wise.
The way I see it is maybe I would not get one used or at least not very old. But I would personally consider one again with the idea it might not last as long (but maybe it will with proper care.)
There is only one truly independent saddle fitter in our area or at least that I know of. She used to be absolutely awesome. I had heard of people giving her budget of like $500 and her coming up with something that would fit.
Nowadays, I really feel she pushes certain brands a lot more and focuses more on new saddle sales. The last few times I’ve used her she didn’t pull anything off the truck that was used. Which was a shame because my budget wasn’t super big at the time, like $1500.
I ended up a Kent and Masters. Two actually, one dressage and one jump. I LOVE the jump saddle. But honestly as time goes on I’m not sure that the dressage one fits me very well for my body type.
She also sold a friend a Fairfax that was ordered for her. And now that she has it it’s clear that it was just really not the right saddle for her at all. And looks too small for her. And a completely different type of saddle than she was using before. Granted she thought she would like it but I wish the fitter would have guided her a little better. There is also someone else in my barn I was sold a K and M that fits the horse but she cannot ride in it and is selling it only 2 months later. This seems to be a common story I’m hearing with a certain fitter more and more. Sadly. She’s a good fitter I just feel like she’s rushing a lot more or something.
I think the K and M brand is good for the quality. And like I said I love my jump saddle. But I hate being pushed onto any type of brand instead of searching the consignment section a little more.
