Don’t even ask my horse’s opinion of that spidery-legged nonsense that was an alpaca coming at us full peel. It’s possibly one of the most unnatural looking things you’ve ever seen.
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Granted, my western riding experience is limited to pushing cattle & attempting to run the barrel pattern at a friend’s house. I’m still not so sure that the saddle rules are just a matter of tradition, though. English & western saddles are designed to distribute rider weight differently, among other things. I’m having trouble envisioning most horses being able to bend & supple & lift through their backs & step up under themselves with the heavier weight & wider surface area of a western saddle. Personally, I don’t think I could effectively send the horse forward into the bridle riding in a western saddle. That could just be me 
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oh…i’ll bet you could get away with white/cream colored yoga pants tucked into your boots. If it were not for the aroma involved, i’d wear my yoga pants and go straight from my riding lesson to tai chi. My ‘Lesson Day’ is dressage at 10am, Tai Chi at 3pm then yoga at 4:30.
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HC, per the USEF rules, does not exempt you from the rules as written. In a schooling show management may wave further particulars
I had a slightly off breed dressage horse and had to resort to a customized Schleese. The front panel was cut back to provide space for shoulder relief the billets repositioned for the girth space and position. The stirrup bars positioned for my optimal position. The first time I sat in it I knew I was sitting in a saddle unlike any I had ever sat in .
finding a saddle is possible but it does require a very experienced fitter and possible some extra investment in a custom job.
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we have a large flock of sheep and they are accompanied by guardian llamas. 3 guardians all told. I currently have the flock and my four most recent, as yet untamed, mustangs sharing quarters and pasture. Big barn to run-in. Every morning when i go down to feed etc, there are these four big mustangs and anywhere from 10 to 20 sheep all together. When it pours rain…there are like…50 or so sheep and all the llamas crammed in and around and almost underneath the horses (standing room only). They all get along fine. None of them like the dogs though. Sheep run from them, llamas are wary and horses are offended.
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I know folks who train their English horses in western saddles (English bridles) because they actually feel they can get them bendier and more through their backs in their western saddles than in their close-contact saddles! I don’t get it, but it seems to work for them and their horses are lovely.
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OK…about western saddles in dressage tests. I don’t see why not. I wouldn’t …but that’s not to say i LIKE dressage saddles. If it were up to me, i’d train and ride in a flat AP saddle. I want as little as possible between me and the horse. Heck, i think bareback dressage would be awesome. I’ve ridden each horse i’ve taken to my coach for lessons bareback at least once just so they could feel in full-body contact what i’m trying to tell them through a few layers of leather. I would like to see relaxed dress code for tack and rider. The whole monopoly look is kinda off-putting. In fact, i think the thing i like about dressage the least is the starched/buttoned up constipated look of horse and rider. it’s unfriendly…the people look mean.
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I actually appreciate that the look in dressage is so standard that one can spend exactly 0 minutes debating turnout. I also have come to realize that English riding gear is meant to impose an illusion of neat tidy tucked in when you are in reality sweaty stinky and terrified.
Since I ride in English saddles these days, alternating jump and dressage, every day even casual ride or trail ride I am already in full seat breeches (darker colors), a tucked in polo shirt, tall boots or half chaps, gloves, and a helmet. When my hair was longer, a pony tail. Dressage test gear is just different colors (white) top and breeches, add on a jacket, and make the hair tidier. So it’s just a crisper version of what I wear every day.
People are nervous and concentrating at any competition, which can make them look somber in photos.
Contrast this to Western Pleasure or Halter outfits which cost a fortune and are (to me) Las Vegas level efforts at Bedazzling. They may seem more “fun” than basic black and white English, but I dislike the whole look, the nonfunctionality, and the competitive display.
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i dislike the western look too. Unless it’s a very nice turquoise adornment of some sort. Don’t like fringe, don’t like the bright colors or sequins etc. Heck, i don’t even like country music. (actually i hate it!). But i’m basically a dirty little heathen. I manage a huge farm, and clean is pretty much the ‘best’ i get LOL. I wore suits for my entire business career…but tossed them all into a cedar closet when we bought this farm 20 years ago. The me now, isn’t into crisp and tidy as much as rough and ready. BUT, i’ll give it a try y’alls way (except for a gray bridle…which somehow or another i will find a way to put my mare in IF she bounces back from EPM)
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You do know that you can train and ride in a AP saddle - hell, you can show in a AP saddle through fourth at minimum and depending on the cut of your AP saddle, you might even be able to get away with showing FEI in it. The rules for FEI tests states “A Dressage saddle which must be close to the
horse and have long, near-vertical flaps and stirrups is compulsory for FEI tests.”
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Seriously! I used to board at a place that had alpacas and dang, they were so intense to say the least
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I don’t see why any saddles can’t be permitted, or why rules must be so restrictive. As others have pointed out, it’s hardly a competitive advantage to ride a big extension in a Western saddle. I think the OP has a valid question.
Maybe open your minds a bit.
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Is it really that restrictive in an English discipline for the rules to state that an English saddle (of any type) must be used? It just seems like an odd question, the same way it would be odd if I wanted to enter a Western Pleasure class in an English saddle. That’s what the HUS classes in AQHA are for. And that’s what Western Dressage is for.
Maybe it’s judged differently there, but the WD classes I’ve scribed for here are judged pretty consistently the way regular dressage is judged, and a big moving horse would certainly not be penalized.
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I can’t tell you know many custom dressage saddles I’ve had including one fitted by Jochen Schleese himself. Stubben x3, Albion, Laser,Hermes, Passier and more. My saddle is a working cowboys wade meant to ride in all day long without soring horse or rider. It allows me to sit in the perfect position and I can move and adjust my balance as necessary. I took a lesson in it from a Cadre Noire instructor several years ago and he loved it. He asked for a picture with me and has it on his desk in France. Wish I could post a pic, but coth doesn’t have a button for that😑
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Maybe turn the question up side down. Why no dressage saddles in western disciplines? Puts the rider in a balanced position, allows the horse to move well…
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Except my horse is KWPN
There is a button! When you open a reply window, at the bottom right there is an up arrow over a rectangular bar that will allow you to upload pictures. 
No membership required, as it was in the days of old.
You might explore working equitation, where different styles of tack are allowed? It’s slightly different but I hear nothing but good, fun things about it.
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you CAN post pics. See this little up-arrow icon? It’s the upload button
It allows you to choose a photo, (from either your own files or from the web) then you have to select the upload button at the bottom.
Then wait. (and wait and wait). When the photo is 100% on here, u should be able to see it…and then you are then able to hit the Reply button and VOILA~!
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I can understand your desire. I found an ancient A-fork Western saddle (no swells) and I was right above my stirrups, I could move around (until I gained 20 more pounds), and I could even 2-point in it without losing my balance even while I was avoiding getting the very high horn into my abdomen. It was great! My horses, all trained in jumping saddles, also seemed to like it fine (except one mare–“It SQUEAKS!!!”)
I do not think that the saddles that the Spanish Riding School and Cadre Noir use for their public exhibitions, the traditional dressage saddles going back a few centuries, would be acceptable either, at least I do not remember seeing any pictures of them being used in dressage competitions. If they were accepted that could give you yet another saddle to try among that long list of trying to find a saddle that works for you and your horse.
You have tried a LOT of saddles!
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If you really are interested in finding a English dressage saddle, you might want to investigate an EQ Saddle Science saddle. They have completely different panels than all the dressage saddles you list that you’ve tried and I think you may find they are more similar to how your western saddle distributes pressure.
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