Saddle help - Prestige vs Pessoa tree

[AllAboutTheBay]

Bought my first event pony last month and now am in search of a saddle. He’s a 14.1 hh POA with low withers and a wide, flatish back. Tried a couple boarder friend’s saddles and they fit him and me horribly. Tried a friend’s Prestige Roma Jump saddle with a wide tree (35cm) and it fit both of us pretty well (besides the seat being too big for me). I would still like to try another saddle to compare the fit and ride too and was going to trial a Pessoa GenX Natural with the XCH gullet plate. I need to decide which tree size to get put into the trial saddle, I was going to go with a wide, but looking at the actual measurement (found on the SmartPak site) the wide only measures 22.5cm.

I’m new to saddle shopping and quite overwhelmed by all the fitting options to choose from. Can someone please explain the difference between the tree/gullet sizes of the Prestige Roma and the Pessoa? I know each manufacturer has a different way of making their saddles, but a 10+cm difference between two Wides confuses me and I’m wondering if the Pessoa would even fit him

Thanks!

[pattnic]

You cannot directly compare tree widths in the way that you are trying to do. There are MANY factors that affect how a saddle fits - even just as far as the width goes. The length of the tree points and how “open” the tree is at the top of the arch are two factors that affect how wide a saddle fits.

Read here --> http://saddlefitter.blogspot.com/2010/04/whats-point.html
And here --> http://saddlefitter.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-word-about-widths.html

That said, a 35cm Prestige is, as you noted, considered a wide - for that brand. It’s not necessarily going to run the same as the Pessoa, which, I think, is on the narrower side of wide. For comparison, my horses, who are in the 35cm-37cm range for Prestige (depending on which of them you are talking about) and in the wide-XW range for County (again, depends on the model and which horse), will not fit into saddle fitted with a “wide” Pessoa XCH plate. If you really want to try the Pessoa, I would guess you will need at least an XW XCH plate, and likely even wider.

But really, if you liked the Prestige, I would stick with that (not that you asked).

[LadyB]

Agreed you can’t compare the numbers between brands, every brand is very different. The only thing you can do is measure it dot to dot to figure out which would fit.

I personally love my Prestige Saddles. I had a Roma Jump, sold it for me Passion K and also have a Venus K dressage saddle. Absolutely love this brand, and the tree has a lifetime warranty. The saddles costs are amazing, considering how lovely they are, you definitely get great craftsmanship out of a Prestige. It’s not a custom saddle but its still amazing. I absolutely love mine, and they fit my TB like a glove.

[AllAboutTheBay]

Thanks! I didn’t realize that manufacturers might have vastly different definitions of their tree sizes, but I guess that makes sense. I’ve only been saddle shopping since the beginning of Feb and tried two of the boarder’s saddles (the ones that didn’t fit me or my pony at all) I also went to a local tack shop and sat in a bunch of saddles, but I don’t have the experience to know how it would feel once it’s on the horse’s back. I’ve only brought in one saddle to trial so far, but it didn’t fit my horse.

Riding in my friend’s Prestige, my trainer said it was the best fit so far for both of us. (But considering how bad the other 3 saddles were, it’s not saying much) He might need a small half pad to lift the front, and I would have to get use to riding with calf blocks. I’m taking a lesson tomorrow in my friend’s Prestige so maybe I’ll get a better feel for how it is. I know the quality is much better so I am leaning towards the Roma, but I would also like to compare it to another saddle that actually fits me/pony to make sure it’s the right one.

[LadyB]

Welcome to saddle shopping, it’s the love hate relationship we’ve all been through. Love the end result, hate the stress of the shopping part. Its hard to fit a rider and a horse, it normally takes more than just a month, unless you’re going custom. It took me about a year to find the perfect match. Now I know this brand fits my horse, so if I’m ever to change, it’ll be within the Prestige family. Which I’ve already done once, and LOVE it.

Again though, it’s a long process. Some are lucky quick, but it can easily take up to 6 months to find the one that works for you and your horse.