I am continuing my search for a new eventing saddle and am now considering a Bates Advanta. It’s considerably cheaper than purchasing a custom or semi-custom saddle. My horse has a fairly curvy back and I’m hoping that this would fit him. Any opinions?
Historically I’m not a Bates fan, but I do really love the Advanta saddles (and the Artiste dressage). The eventer I groom for uses these exclusively, for the competition horses as well as the breakers/schoolers, which come in a huge variety of sizes and shapes! They are light to handle, the only thing I don’t like is the surface is not really sealed - everything sticks and it drives me mad trying to remove horse hairs without marking the (quite soft) leather.
I purchased my Cavelleti saddle brand new for $1600 and several Loxleys used for under 2k and brand new full custom they are under 4 k.
I know nothing about the Advanta specifically, however, Bates are notoriously FLAT FLAT trees. They’re the same as Wintecs, and A frame and flat in all directions IME.
Now, if the Advanta is built on a different tree than all the others, disregard the above.
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The Bates Advanta dressage saddle was the only one that fit my wide but very flat backed horse after trying lots of used saddles. I got it for my son. I don’t know if it’s just too big for me or what, but I personally hate it. He liked it just fine, and the horse seemed okay with it as well. If you’re looking for a saddle for a curvy backed horse, this might not be the one you want.
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