Tell me about Ainsley saddles

[Joyrider]

Hi!

I love tack. I like knowing about different brands and what their good points are and not so good points are. I certainly “know” the Ainsley brand but I don’t really know anything about them. I saw an xc type saddle on consignment today in the local tack shop and it reminded me of an old Giddens I once rode in (that I loved). So…where does Ainsley fit in the scale of quality? Obviously it is not crap like Kincaid yet I don’t believe it is “up there” with Hermes, Devoucoux, CWD, Antares, Voltaire etc. Where would you put it in comparison with say Courbette, Stubben, Pessoa and all the rest? Thanks!

J.

[Sticky_Situation]

I’m pretty sure Ainsley saddles aren’t being made anymore, but my old saddle was an Ainsley jumping saddle. It was made in England and while it was not on the level of Devoucoux, etc. (which was no where near my price range!) it was a nice quality saddle for the price, and balanced and comfortable to ride in. The one that I had had foam panels instead of flocked, but I’m not sure of that is true of all Ainsleys or not. My only complaint over the 12 years or so that I rode in it would be that the soft calfskin leather on the seat wore out more quickly than the rest of the saddle … So after quite a few years I actually had worn through the seat on each side of the twist, while the rest of the saddle was in the very good condition. At the point, having the saddle tone apart to fix the seat would have cost more than it was worth, and I wanted a more forward flap than that model had, so I retired it when I got my current saddle … But overall it had served me well!

[mvp]

Ainsleys were fine British saddles. I’d put their quality on par with the Crosbys of the 1980s and 1990s… before Miller’s folded and Walsall Riding Saddle Company started making all kinds of different saddles under several nail heads. Perhaps they were just one small step down in terms of fit-n-finish and in really fine grained leather. (I’m not sure-- I might be recalling a Warwick saddle in place of an Ainsley.)

The one thing that would make me not buy one of these would be a tree and gullet too narrow for modern horses. Otherwise, if I liked the geometry for me and the horses I rode, I’d take one. There are some tree and saddle designs done by the British of yestercentury that are still fantastic and horse-friendly. You often don’t know until you test drive them on a few horses.

[Bogie]

Yes, Ainsley saddles are still being made but the new ones are NOT the same quality as the older ones. The old style Ainsley xc saddles are terrific. The quality is very good, they are balanced and they can be had for short $$. I don’t know which model MVP has seen, but I’ve owned two Chesters and a Pro XC and the tree/gullets are not narrow. In fact, the medium tree on the Chester I own now is very generous.

I don’t like the new ones, but the original Ainsleys are tremendous saddles. The one I have is probably 35 years old and going strong. I believe that Ideal made the original Ainsleys and they still make a very nice saddle.

In terms of quality, they are right up there with the older Stubbens. And I’ve not seen an older one with foam panels – the ones I’ve owned are wool.

[beowulf]

I love my Ainsley. It’s very old for a saddle, at least 1990s. It has held up better than the sparkly new french saddles at my barn with minor care/maintenance. It is very balanced and has a wider twist and flatter seat, which I personally like. I believe it is the Chester, but I am not sure. It is a very forward flap like the Pro XC, but the seat is practically flat.

ETA: my Ainsley is a medium, but is very generous in width - and is used on my medium-wide horses.

[Bensmom]

I have had two Chesters of the older variety – the ones with the softer leather seats are the “newer” ones. I love them and they fit me well – they tend to have a curvier tree front to back, and the first one really didn’t fit my wide, flat backed horse. The second one, bought for the curvier backed Princess was way too long for her arab influenced short back, so I had to sell it too.

Good quality – and I had a Gidden as well and LOVED it, but not the softer, cushier saddles that you see more often today. I’ve never seen one torn down, but both of my horses with large shoulders objected to the tree points – never have been sure whether it was the balance of the saddle being wrong and digging the points into the shoulder (tree width had appeared to be fine) or whether the overall shape of the tree was just wrong.

But, I like a flatter seat, and a very forward flap and I liked the way it worked for me. With the right fit for the right horse, I could have been very happy with either one.

[Simkie]

I have one, recently purchased from our very own Glenbaer. It’s very nicely put together, with wool flocking and a wide gullet. Reminds me an awful lot of an old Stubben in the craftmanship. It feels like a workhorse.

[riopony]

I have two older Ainsley’s that I have loved- a Chester jump and a dressage. I got the jump saddle used when I got my first horse in 2001. It was plenty used then but held up for me just fine. I bought a new saddle when I got my new horse. I still use the dressage saddle. It was a high school graduation gift (2003) and it must have been 5-10 years old then. I remember thinking it felt like I was sitting on a pillow, I loved it so much! It looks like it did when I got it. Mine are both wool flocked. The flocking is old and getting hard in my dressage saddle and would be nice to replace but eventually the goal is to get a new saddle for this horse if he stops being lame!

[Snowwy]

I have a Pro National that I absolutely love. The forward flaps + 18" seat have been a blessing for my long legs (i’m 5’10" and long in the femur). It’d definitely been well used before i got it but also well cared for. It’s still going strong though and the leather is like butter! Unfortunately, I’m not riding in it right now because my current kid is just too wide (the Ainsley is a medium tree). I’ve thought about hanging onto it on the off chance that it will fit my horse one day down the line, but it is for sale if anyone is interested.

[beowulf]

@Bensmom;7702992

I’ve never seen one torn down, but both of my horses with large shoulders objected to the tree points – never have been sure whether it was the balance of the saddle being wrong and digging the points into the shoulder (tree width had appeared to be fine) or whether the overall shape of the tree was just wrong.

You know, my last gelding objected to the tree points too! I wonder if the way the Ainsley trees are shaped are uncomfortable for certain types? This was my guy - a rather QHish looking TB who had wide (for a TB) shoulders and a nice, sofa back… I ended up having to get him a different saddle, but now that I think back on it, we had it fitted to him two or three times before the saddle fitter (who is a great saddle fitter) declared that the tree points were too narrow for him. He was going through a phase of reluctance and difficulty and it was, to be quite frank, at a time before I had learned that a reluctant/difficult horse is a pained horse - we ended up needing SI injections down the road but I held onto that saddle, and I am glad I did… both of the TBs I ride in it now go SO well in it.

It definitely only fits a certain type of back, though. If I’ve learned anything from my ordeal with Spooky (the gelding above) it is that that type of saddle needs to be thoroughly inspected by a saddle fitter before you even think of purchasing it. We wasted a lot of $$ and time throwing sand to the wind trying to figure out why he was reluctant when it was right under us, literally! And we had HAD it fitted to him the day we got it!

[IFG]

I also have two older Ainsleys, a Chester and a XC. Great English saddles that last. My daughter is trying to steal my Chester, and the XC is too narrow for both our horses, but I am having trouble making myself sell it because it is so nice, and they really don’t make them like that anymore. If you need a saddle, and it works well on your horse, I would grab the one at the tack shop.