Since Suzie Coffey has officially retired :(, any suggestions for “independent” saddle fitters in the Baltimore County area?
I tried Wendy from Harrison Saddle fit. She was very nice and seemed knowledgeable, but pushed for the custom Ryder/Hastilow brands (which I am not sure I’m ready to go that route). I was also dissatisfied that she was not able to recommend other saddles for me to try…and did not bring any demo close contact saddles, just dressage.
Gina Perilla goes all over MD and is amazing.
I like Tara Miliziano of Forward Motion Equine. She has a pretty wide area. I see her posts on Facebook about being in MD, PA, CT and NY. She has a few brands that she works with plus some used.
The last horse I was getting a saddle for she asked me my size. She brought both close contact and dressage because I expressed in interest in both.
In my case I am a long standing client so I sent her pictures of the horse’s back first. She recommended a few saddles at Rick’s Heritage (local tack store with a big used selection and a good website) for me to try and if I liked them to have available when she came for the appointment. None of those worked.
Two of the CC saddles and 1 dressage saddle that she brought with her I liked and I bought one of those.
I used Wendy for my latest saddle and saddle fitting. I thought she was good and didn’t push any brand. She did bring out Hastilow and Ryder as well as several other saddles for me to try that were in my price range. All were CC as that is what we discussed prior to my fitting.
A couple of the other folks in my barn have had Gina Perilla do their saddle fittings and have good things to say about her too.
When I had Suzie out the last time I asked her if she knew of any other independent fitters in the area. She mentioned/recommended Katie Shapiro of MDSaddles LLC . She used to be the County fitter for the area, but has since left and started working independently.
I haven’t had her out yet, but a friend did and loved her! Reasonable prices (similar to Suzie’s), flexible schedule, and willing work work with what you have like Suzie was. Downside… she doesn’t really travel with many saddles (if any at all). I chatted with her when my friend had her out last and she was lovely! Didn’t try and push any particular brand, and had solid knowledge of what would and wouldn’t work. I’ll definitely be using her when I need my saddle checked out in a few months.
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