Does anyone have a recommendation for a saddle fitter in Southern California? The only ones I have found on the Internet seem to be awssociated with certain brands…does that mean that they won’t fit other makes? It seems that Christy Poulos is the most well-known–anyone have any experience? Thanks!
I have used Christie several times and like her a lot. She will do other saddles other than Custom Saddlery.
Where are you in so cal? I am in the LA area and use Terry Zambrana (used to be with Dominion, now doing Trilogy). I used Christy when I was in San Diego and she was with Trilogy, but Terry is very good and I have been very pleased.
SADDLE MAKER
SUPERIOR SADDLERY. LOCATED BALDWIN PARK CALIFORNIA, CALL PAUL 626 338 2666, 28 YEARS OF BUILDING SADDLES, MAKER OF 12000, YES 12000 PLUS SADDLES, ORIGINALY FROM ENGLAND, VIA CANADA WORKED FOR MANY OF COMPANIES ALBION,COUNTY,LOVETT AND RICKETTS, THOUROUGOOD,SCHLEESE ECT, ECT,ECT. A TRULY CUSTOM SADDLE MAKER. NOT A SELF TOUGHT SADDLE STUFFER OR FITTER.
I second Paul at Superior Saddlery. The very best!
Schleese Saddlery has saddle fitters in Southern California quite frequently, and they will fit any major brand saddle, not just their own brand. The contact person for So Cal is
Lynn Binkley
Bus: (951) 677-0624
lbinkley@schleese.com
Lynn is super nice and really helpful! Good luck!
best saddle fitter
[QUOTE=ZIL;2909832]
Does anyone have a recommendation for a saddle fitter in Southern California? The only ones I have found on the Internet seem to be awssociated with certain brands…does that mean that they won’t fit other makes? It seems that Christy Poulos is the most well-known–anyone have any experience? Thanks![/QUOTE]
the most honest saddle maker and fitter in s cal is a saddlery called superior
Just be careful - a saddler is not necessarily a saddle fitter! I know many saddlers who haven’t a clue about fitting properly - and it’s not just about taking the measurements - it’s knowing how to analyse them and make the correct suggestions.
I have heard nothing but good things about Superior (a lot of the dressage riders at my barn use his custom saddles, but he also fits other brands and sells saddles out of Broken Horn). I used Schleese (because I got a used one on e-bay for cheap, lol!) and they also do other brands.
The benefit of Superior is that he’ll come to you for a minor service fee if you use his services, while Schleese sets up clinics and you have to go to them (unless you can get several people from your barn to sign up for a clinic). My fitting through Schleese was pretty pricey, but I ended up with a beautiful saddle for what I considered a relative bargain nevertheless.
If I had the $$ though I would have gone for the fully custom Superior saddle like my friends at the barn are getting. Seriously, he starts out having you sit on a bare tree to find the right shape for you, putting bare trees on your horse, etc. Two friends are currently in the “purchasing process” and I’m so jealous!
Jochen Schleese is one of the only real ‘hybrids’ out there - he’s a certified master saddler (trained at Passier), a former nationally ranked German three-day event rider, and an excellent saddlefitter (who constantly works with veterinarians and other equine professionals to keep his level of knowledge state-of-the-art!)
I’d NEVER worried about length before, because my horse is huge, but he told me that my horse has a short back and he could see that he’d been ridden in “too long” saddles (he’s developing a bump), so he swept up the panels in the back. It makes the fit “look” different, and it’s easy to rock the saddle if you try, but once you girth it up and sit in it the pressure is right. Since I need an 18" seat, the swept up panels are necessary.
Totally sold me on saddle fitters! I consider it money well spent.
I have those ‘swept up’ panels as well. Jochen explained to me that it was necessary to allow enough room for the back to come up when the horse is fully engaged. Looks funny to the uninitiated (lots of people tell me my saddle doesn’t fit properly!) but absolutely makes sense! Especially when you have a short-backed horse.
