Best Stubben Dressage saddle?
The one that fits your horse - then fits you! Seriously, Stubbens are not very wide in the tree - even their wides. If you are going to try to fit it to a very broad back horse, you might want to look at other brands.
I disagree, Stubbens are great. The thought that the channel is too narrow is just a fallacy. I have a Genesis and my horse has not been happier. There is not a better quality on the market. I tried just about all of the Stubben models and other brands before I fell in love with the Genesis. I do agree that you need to try different models. Even though they all have the spring tree (which is the unique and important part of Stubben saddles) there is slight variations with each model. I highly recommend Stubben.
[QUOTE=Strictly Classical;4697395]
The one that fits your horse - then fits you![/QUOTE]
yup! thats all that matters. whether you spend several hundred or several thousand your horse will not care as long as its not hurting him.
luckles - no one is knocking Stubbens - they do make a nice saddle. I would not say that they are among the “top” manufacturers of dressage saddles. Its great that they work for you and your horses. I do know, and will stand by what I said about the widths of their trees. I have put quite a lot of time and energy into finding the best saddles to fit my horses. I am quite familiar with a lot of brands on the market: Schlesse, County, Albion, Custom Saddlery, Passier, Frank Baines, Amerigo. Stubbens do tend to run more narrower than other brands. That is the only point I was trying to make.
The OP needs to try several different models of Stubben - and even other brands - to know what works best for her horse (first) and then herself.
I am aware of fitting saddle to horse, then rider. I was just offerred a couple of saddles by Stubben and wanted to know peoples thoughts. If they did not fit my horse, I would sell them.
For years I rode in an old, old Stubben. It worked very well on several horses of different body types. Then I went through a “DQ” phase and the Stubben was no longer fancy enough for me. Ten years later, many dollars down the drain and I’m back to another Stubben. This one is a bit newer, and it shows the same ability to fit many horses.
I don’t know how they do it (Stubben saddlers), but my current saddle has not made either of my horses sore. One horse has a wide, flat back and the other is wide, but has a good set of withers.
Gestalt: I agree I have a close contact stubben saddle that has fit multiple horses:)
Honestly, what does it matter what other people think? If you were offered several saddles by Stubben, they fit the horse you intend to use it on, and it fits your conformation then what else is there to consider? Real dressage is not about a “fashion show”. If you are a serious dressage rider then you want the tack that will provide hands down the best fit to the horse. Optimum fit = optimum performance.
I liked the Maestro
I tried a Stuebben Maestro - I think that was the name – and loved it. Sitting in that saddle was like coming home, but to a newly renovated, re-engineered, better home. 
All my parts just seemed to align on their own in that saddle. Decided one of Stuebben’s AP saddles would work better for my riding plans, but still think about how that Maestro felt…
Be warned - the back of my new saddle (carefully fitted by a Stuebben rep who took a zillion measurements) was way perched up off my horse’s back when I first got it, and I was horrified, but my trainer told me that every single new Stuebben she’d ever seen did that. It did settle down nicely.
I’ve also heard that the newer Stubbens are narrower in the tree. Maresy’s old owner rode her in a 30 cm tree Stubben Lohengrin and the newer Stubben Edelweiss I have for her is a 32cm. She is a “MW” tree in most other brands. (The Edleweiss is a jump saddle.)
I tried her in a Stubben Scandica for dressage as it was recommended for shorter riders/horses and we both hated it!
Stubbens have a well-deserved reputation for being very hard-seated, but the newer ones are not as bad.
Unfortunately, there is not consistency between different manufacturers sizing in trees. For example, a wide in a County saddle is not the same as say a wide in a Stubben. Further complicating matters, a wide in a Keiffer may be different still. That is why you just have to try so many different saddles on your horses to find the best possible fit.
After tree fit comes panel fit. Panel shape needs to be fitted to the horse’s back conformation. Some horses need the broader, flatter panels like you see in the newer Wintecs/Bates; some horses do better with panels that are more “curved” (for lack of a better term at 6:30 a.m. lol!)like some of the County’s, Baine’s, or Black Country.
While proper saddle fit is important in all disciplines, it is especially critical in dressage saddles due to the fact that in correct dressage riding, the rider is fully seating in a three point seat, with their weigh evenly distributed over the horse’s center of balance. There is no forgiveness from riding in two-point position. That is why we should fit the horse first, then fit the rider’s conformation to the saddle. The rider should not have to fight the saddle to stay in the proper position. Nor, should the rider be locked into position with uber deep seats, and hugh thigh blocks. We need to be able to move a little up there.
In my experience, Stubben’s tend to fit best the more thoroughbred type horse. That is not an all inclusive statement - just an observation.
Personally, I like the look of the Maestoso by Stubben, but it is not a good fit for my horse.
This is why saddle fit is so darn hard and confusing at times - and can unfortunately make saddle shopping a nt so pleasant experience for harder to fit horses.
I have ridden in several brands Prestige, County Warmblood, Wintec Isabelle, Albion etc.
I have an old old Stubben Romanus that I still love. Last year I bought a Stubben Roxane Dressage and a Stubben Standica. Love them both but the Roxane is my favorite. It fits me, My Andalusian and my Trakhener perfectly!
I have a four year old Cob that is just geting started and he is narrower than the other two. I am looking at another Stubben for him.
They don’t have the snot appeal of some other brands but are super workmanlike and my horses love them. Great value for the price.
I just sold an older Tristan that I loved - but it was too big for both me and my horse. For comparison, Pi is right on the line between a medium and medium wide gullet in the Wintec changeable gullet system. My Tristan was probably 20+ yrs old and was a 31.5 - and too wide for Pi. Between the saddle being too wide for Pi and sliding forward, tipping me forward, and the seat being a 19" (I fit a 17.5" with my legs, but bought BIG for my butt LOL … TOO BIG) I was constantly fighting a chair seat and feeling like I couldn’t keep my thighs on the saddle. I usually have very solid legs that don’t flop around and I felt like I had NO leg in the saddle - but that was all about fit 
I’d buy another Tristan in a heartbeat, though. I liked the close contact feel and prefer the harder seat to the “sofa saddles” that are so common today. I want to feel his back!
I sat in the Stubben Maestoso Biomex seat in January and it is on my list of saddles to test ride. Very comfy and per the literature is suppose to be back friendly.
“Promotes good posture. Greatly reduces a rider’s back pain. Partnered w/ leading Ortho/Sports Med Hosp in Switz.”
My BO recommended a Stubben -also a Tristan- and we love it. It has fit a variety of horses well, even wide ones. Have never heard that Stubbens do not fit wide horses. I do not think that is correct.
I have a stubben Maestoso and I absolutely love it!
Fits both my mare and I perfectly and is so comfortable to sit in.
:dead::lol:
