The horse was fitted by David and Leslie for the initial fitting, but they did not come back out when the saddle was rubbing bald spots in the horses coat.
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I bought a jump saddle from Stackhouse two years ago after spending almost $2000 on shipping fees from all the brands Iād tried. I have a long femur and my horse had just been diagnosed with kissing spines, so saddle fitting was a nightmare. I felt so comfortable in my jump saddle, it was amazing.
I couldnāt afford a new dressage saddle, so I started looking at used. I found a used Stackhouse on Ebay and was able to call David and ask him if he thought it would fit. Based on the measurements, he said it would. (He also ruled out another I asked him about, based on the tree shape.) He made no money off that transaction.
Fast forward one year. My horse and I have been in dressage training. He is so much stronger and more comfortable, and my position has improved. A mix of a correctly fitted saddle, better riding, and a stronger body has stopped the need for biannual back injections for my beast. Unfortunately, because things were going so well, I found that the used saddle Iād bought was half a size too big. (I used to ride in larger seat sizes simply to find something to fit my leg. I thought sliding around in the tack a bit was normal.) So I bit the bullet and ordered a new dressage saddle from Stackhouse. The used one is now for sale, and the other posters are correct, resale is challenging because I need to find someone 5ā6 ish with a long femur and a Thoroughbred-type horse, but riding I my wonderful saddle makes it easier to stomach the wait.
Lesley and David are wonderful. Their reputation relies on satisfied customers. In my mind, a properly fitting saddle is only part of the solution when dealing with horse fitting problems. If my riding hadnāt improved, if my horse hadnāt gotten stronger, hell, if the stars hadnāt aligned, even a custom fit, handmade saddle couldnāt be held responsible for a lack of progress.
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I have 2 Stackhouse saddles and like Equibrit, you will have to pry them out of my cold, dead hands!! I never knew how much I was fighting my tack until I sat in my trainerās Stackhouse. My position over fences suddenly became effortless.
I bought my first one used. I consulted David about the particular saddle before buying it and he honestly wasnāt helpful and came off pretty cocky. But also he wasnāt making any money from the sale, so I didnāt expect a lot service-wise- mostly he confirmed serial number, year, and tree size. I hit the jackpot because it fits me like a glove and even David said he couldnāt of made it any better for me. It fits every horse Iāve put it on with some configuration of half pad/riser pad (it is a narrow and most of my horses are actually extra-narrow).
I bought my second one new. It hurt to pay $6,500 for a saddle, but the customer service before AND after has been worth every freaking penny. Iāve bought 4 other ācustomāĀ brand saddles before, but after a nightmare experience in which my brand new, $4,500 Bliss was way too tiny for me and too huge for my horse, and the companyās response was āride in it and see if it doesnāt work after all,āĀ I cried uncle and did it right. They were the first and only company that Iāve seen try the actual trees on the horse. At the time I ordered it, Stackhouseās only purple option was this lavender; I wanted more of a royal so they literally went in search of, consulted with me, and started offering a new shade of purple trim. Leslie reached out on the day I received the saddle to make sure it fit my horse and I liked it. Other companies coughCountycough have dropped their good-customer-service-act as soon as they receive their money and I receive the saddle. It is the first saddle Iāve ever received that was perfect for me and the horse right out of the box (perfect to the extent that I have several horses and knew Iād need to pad it up for certain individuals). And when I mentioned at AECs this year (3 years after I purchased the saddle) that Iāve been padding it into an extra narrow, Leslie came by, checked the fit, and said I could actually ride with it as a narrow.
Not to derail, but is that really what he does?! Consistently as a policy, or in extreme cases? I am fascinatedā¦would love to hear any further details you feel like sharing about that conversation.
Yeah that is what he told me. I was in a clinic with him on one of my TBs who is super short backed. He got my issue with a longer leg (of course) but said my saddle was a bit too long on this horse. And that he gets smaller saddles for horses like thisā¦he said nothing bigger than a 16.5āĀ that his saddle sponsor build for him and rides in them. I didnāt have the courage to sayā¦yeah well you are a Man with no butt, better core strength than meā¦and far far better balance so of course you can make that work. I just acknowledged that he was right that my horse needed a different saddleā¦and called David Stackhouse.
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I have a friend that bought a custom, brand new Stackhouse.
It was a bunch of years ago that I ordered my custom Stackhouse. Like, I think it was probably the first monoflap they made. And they have improved the way the billets attach to the saddle since then. Maybe something Iāll ngvwas up in Davidās life then, but my experience was not good. Never disastrous, and the saddle is well made, except for the billet attachment, but when a noted clinician looked at me in my saddle a year later, his immediate comment was "That really doesnāt fit you, you know. "
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. When I met w David and Leslie, I brought several horses, and said I was looking for something which I could event horse A at Prelim in, and which would work on a couple of the others if possible.
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. I brought the Devoucoux which I loved, but which I recognized had a narrower gullet than worked for my herd. Told them that for me, making the flap about a centimeter shorter would be perfect.
. When the saddle came, the flap was about a centimeter longer than on my devoucoux. I had pretty much a knock down drag out fight w David about that, and he agreed to shorten the flap a bit. He was ugly and dismissive about the effect a too long flap could have for a 5ā3 rider, but he did shorten it a bit. Still longer than my Devoucoux, but itās all he was willing to do.
. The saddest thing to me has been I still own all but 1 of the horses he originally allegedly built it for, and no saddler since then has been happy with the fit.
. I think Iām usually pretty easy to work with, and I am a decent communicator. Many people clearly love their Stackhouses, but a definite population of us have had very unsatisfactory experiences. I wish I knew what the defining difference is! Iād love to be one of the happy people.
. I still use the saddle, mostly w lighter beginner riders and a riser. Iāve replaced the billets 3 times, but otherwise the saddle has held up very well. I hope others have a better experience than I have!
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Another happy customer. I have 4 of them that Iāve collected over the years and I wonāt ever let go of them. I rode and competed for 30 yearsāquite a few of them at Prelim and aboveābefore I got my first one. The initial ride I realized I had never ridden in a saddle that truly fit me. Iām another one with super long femur. Both David and Lesley have been a pleasure to work with and I wouldnāt hesitate to recommend them.
I am actually up to 4 now Ć°ÅøĖĀ¬ and adore my saddles (besides my horses, my prized possessions!). David and Leslie are absolutely wonderful to work with and have amazing customer service. My upper level horse had a perfectly fitted, custom ordered County dressage saddle (and lots of other vet work done) and he was very spooky whenever I put it on his back. His first Stackhouse was a jump saddle and he was so comfortable with it on, I finally ordered a Stackhouse dressage saddle. He completely changed. It was amazing. So much better. David and Leslie fitted two of my horses and the same saddle tree fit both. When I bought a third horse this year, they measured him and he was a totally different size. I couldnāt imagine riding in anything else, so cried a bit and ordered new saddles for him. They called me a few weeks later and said they wanted to double and triple check the fit, so drove out of their way on a trip to stop by and re-measure. Amazing! No charge to me and it confirmed what they thought. Theyāve been happy to watch pictures and video to see if I need any tweaks. The only negative Iāve found is sometimes clinicians will judge a book by the cover and assume because they are pretty, they arenāt high quality. They also do very limited/no sponsorship, so most pros ride in saddles from the more prolific sponsors instead of paying for a Stackhouse. So, that does alter perception. I agree that they do price a lot of folks out but I personally do think it is absolutely worth the money. We adore the saddles and the customer service. Plus, they are absolutely beautiful. 
Happy to answer any additional questions!
Yes. Worth it. As someone who never sat in a saddle that fit until one was made for her, and whose Stackhouse cost more than her engagement ring, I give a ringing endorsement. I need a new trailer before I need another saddle, but when itās time, I will be a repeat customer.
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Yes, but I am pretty sure you wonāt get your $5K back if you spent in on a Stubben. Those saddlesā resale is pretty bad. I think thatās largely undeserved.
His seat might be a 16.5 but I bet the flap is some sort of monstrosity to accommodate his leg. In a perfect world we have a saddle that fits each part of us, and not just the part that affects us the most.I would probably ride fine in a 16.5 seat but Iād need a custom forward short flap to fit my leg thus I ride in a bigger seat.
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I got the impression that the saddle just didnāt fit and he made do.
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I have a dressage and xc saddle. I honestly donāt know that I would go that route again. I really like the dressage saddle, and it fits me and my horse really well. The jump saddle not so much, the balance isnt great and it bridges a lot. I have called and talked to Leslie about the fit and she said it just needs to be broken in more. For the fit and feel of the jump saddle i feel i could have gotten something much cheaper and padded it to fit.
I won a rather large bet many, many years ago, and as a result, I was able to get a couple Stackhouses. David and Leslie came out and measured me/my horse, and I got both a jumping and dressage saddle, custom to both me and my horse. I LOVE these saddles. They put me in the right place when doing XC, helped me balance, and I know my horse was more comfortable.
I had been sitting on them for four years at every Rolex before I was able to to purchase one, so I had a good idea what I wanted and how they felt. I still have them, and Iāve used them with other horses, though they donāt fit my current horse, alas (much too thin, something hard to fix). I am saving pennies (and considering new bets) to get one for him. 
All in all, my experience has been great with them. When my horse got fitter, they were able to re-flock to fit his ānewā physique. And they are simply delightful to interact with. Iāve not ridden in a saddle I like as much as my Stackhouse. I know they are pricey, but for me, it made a great difference in how I was able to balance while XC/jumping.
Iāve bought 3 and sold 1 after the horse I bought it for had to be retired, and it didnāt fit my new horse (tree was too narrowā¦no way to fix that). I sent that one to a tack store in VA that moves a lot of used SH saddles. They didnāt have any problem selling mine. Of course I didnāt get what I paid for it, but I didnāt expect to as no used saddle is going to sell for what a new one sells for. I still have the two I bought for horse #2, though I donāt have horse #2 anymore. Luckily the saddles fit horse #3. David and Lesley were in town and came out and put the trees in those saddles on the new horse and also checked the actual saddles on him, and they said they fit great, so no need to buy new ones. If I ever do need to buy new saddles, I would definitely go with more Stackhouse ones.
I loved mine and was so sad when it didnāt fit my new horse. But I had no trouble selling it; David and Leslie even helped the buyer confirm that the tree would fit her horse. They are incredible saddles that are worth every single penny!
David & Leslie just left my barn this AM on their way to another fitting. I am in the market for a jump saddle and was hoping to buy used. Except Iāve been looking for 6 months now with the help of an independent saddle fitter and having issues finding anything used that is āhunteryā in look, and wide enough with the right tree shape. David & Leslie have a customer that has a saddle sheād like to sell (does not fit the current horse) and have another made. We learned this AM that her saddle does not work. A barn mate has a Stackhouse dressage saddle a friend had made, which actually fits my horse wonderfully. And, to that point, they pulled out that same tree, and voila! Itās a perfect fit on my horse.
Iām really struggling with this because I was hoping to spend half as much on a high quality used saddle, but I think Iām probably going to go ahead and have them make me saddle. Price wise, itās not too far off from what it would cost to have a ācustomā saddle made by someone like County, Antares, etc. I hear nightmare stories too about ācustomā saddles that do not fit. I REALLY rather buy a used one so I can ride in it a few times, and know exactly what it feels like and how it rides. Unlike some of the PPs, fitting me isnāt a huge deal (Iām actually in the āneed a shorter flapā category), but itās been a struggle to fit my horse. The non-event jump saddle market is flooded with French saddles right now and those wonāt work for me. I love my horse, heās 6 this year, and I have no plans to sell him, so Iām in this for the long haul.
I have spent some time talking back and forth to David on the phone. I can see how he can be snippy, but I get along with him fine. Leslie does seem lovely. Once he knows what tree fits your horse, he was up front if I wasnāt interested in having one made, if I find one at The Tack Box in Middleburg (who deals alot in his used saddles), or elsewhere, he can tell me if the tree is what I need. With that being said, as others mentioned, they are so custom that I noticed the resale value isnāt great. So Iād be going into this knowing there is no way I could recoup close to my investment, but if itās really a fantastic saddle that rides great, I wouldnāt be looking to resell it anyway.
Thanks to all of the PP above about their experience. Honestly I came on this forum to see what others might be saying before I make a final decision. Iām super nervous about it. Itās only money rightā¦and yes, itās more money than my engagement right, and pretty much what I paid for my used first car. AGK!
Do they make the latter? Cuz sign me up!
Pulling this thread back up as I am considering a Stackhouse for my new girl. What is the ballpark cost for a monoflap jump from them?
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