Sprenger duo D-ring snaffle for $20 at Rolling Hills General Store. I had no use for it, but couldn’t leave it there. Ultimately sold to a friend and split the difference with full disclosure.
I love my older used monoflap CWD jump saddle from Middleburg Tack Exchange. I had just gotten my first really nice horse and walked into Tack Exchange to look at high end saddles. I was too naive to realize how hard it is to pluck a saddle off the rack and have it fit your horse. I think I got it on trial, talked myself out of it, and then went back after I talked myself back into it. I loved it! A year later when I had a saddle fitter out for getting a dressage saddle, she asked to see the fit of my jump saddle and I held my breath until she commented how nicely it fit the horse. Totally luck on my part! I actually still have the tag on the saddle, tucked into the flap, as a bit of a superstitious good luck bit and also to remind me that the $2200 I spent on it seemed so extravagant but ended up being one of my best purchases.
Other things- a $15 leather monoflap girth that was exactly the size I needed after looking for a while, used breeches bought on a whim that ended up being my favorite pants ever, used tall boots at a price point that I could justify having a schooling pair in addition to my show pair.
As @StormyDay commented, Middleburg Tack is super knowledgeable and you won’t really find an under valued hidden gem. BUT it’s really good for finding specific or unique items at reasonable price points. Love just browsing around there and I always find things I want. The staff really know their stuff.
Another Turn Tack in Purcellville is also very good with top notch customer service.
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I think the custom items that are going to be a size are always going to be cheaper. Also, I know some people go in there and say they want the items sold fast so they purposely ask for them to be underpriced.
Love this thread!
Not exactly consignment shops (they know too much to score good deals these days, especially in this internet era!) but a few of my highlights: a gorgeous, brand new Pessoa (circa early 00’s) fancy stitch bridle from the Fidelity Pawn Shop in Warrenton, Virginia; a $50 SaddleRight leather half pad at the Calabasas Saddlery tack swap; a $5 Beval half pad; and the crown jewel: a Crosby Prix de Nation in pristine condition for $25, the latter two both from a tack swap in Northern California.
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So many, but the first two that come to mind:
A Vespucci double bridle for $50
My brushed leather DeNiro dressage boots for $300
I’ve found many good deals, but most recent at a nonprofits semi-annual tack sale: Equiline breeches for $10 and a custom colored Grand Prix techlite show coat for $30.
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I buy most things on consignment, but the one big bargain I can think of is a pair of Pikeur stretch corduroy breeches for $15. They were like new and they’re my fave winter pair.
If anyone is looking for a bargain on a great older dressage saddle, my old Barnsby Raven is selling for $300 on consignment. Anyone??? Please???
A gorgeous Kentucky dressage coat on Ebay for $70. I love it and even though it no longer fits, I can’t bear to part with it. I used to wear it to work and received tons of compliments.
A hand beaded leather belt (like a browband) for $5.00 brand new.
A Nunn Finer breastcollar for $20
A pair of new Romph breeches in my size for $15.00
So many other things I’ve forgotten.
My own saddle that had been stolen!!!
It was stolen out of my truck while it was parked in downtown of the city i lived in. I called the police and they assigned me a case number. I posted on Facebook that it was missing and for anybody to keep an eye out (its a unique two toned brown Prestige that I’ve never seen anybody else have)
Weeks went by
Then a good friend who is an EMT in a completely different city was driving the ambulance around and her partner randomly suggested they walk into a random pawn shop way out by the airport.
Lo and behold, she sees a jump saddle in there. She texted a picture of it to a DIFFERENT friend making a joke about the butt sweat marks and how whomever owned this thing sits crooked (ahem.rude.lol). That other friend had seen my facebook post and said “i think that’s luvmycabanaboys…”
I rushed over there and called the police on the way.
The saddle was bought by the pawn shop for $90 and he was selling for $200 (it was probably worth ~$2000 at the time). The officer said he could take it in as evidence, but it would get thrown around in their warehouse and I may not get it back for months or more. OR, I could pay the pawn shop guy what he paid for it and have it back right then. I chose the latter. The pawn shop gave the officer all the details of the guy who sold it to him, and hopefully he got caught (i never heard…)
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That is both wonderful luck but also really shitty. 
Regarding pawn shops, I had to buy my stuff back from one. The local police had an arrangement with the pawn shops: PD would notify them of stuff stolen in local robberies and the shop would let them know if they ended up with any of it. The quid pro quo was that the victim had to pay the shop for their stuff. I was reimbursed by my HO insurance. They caught the guy but I don’t remember if it was via the pawn shop, fingerprints, or some combo.
At Equine Affaire a few years ago, a therapeutic barn vendor was selling a handful of consignment items to benefit the program. It was mostly older blankets and tack. Then I saw them—a pair of Tucci tall boots. The foot size fit my tiny feet perfectly, even though the calf was too small by an inch or two. They were $100, so I snagged them anyway. Had my local cobbler add a panel in the back for another $100, and now I wear them every day!
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I got a really great condition Phoenix West Trunk from a pawn shop for $100! The vinyl was a decent color and I only had to replace the front panel with my own monogram for $120. Great great find.
Bonus was the trunk was full of Triple Crown custom coolers and scrims. Great for use around the barn!
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My Craigslist find was a practically brand-new Wintec AP saddle, just a little dusty, that I picked up for my daughter for $40. It came with a cover and a full set of gullet bars, too!
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Another one I found at a garage sale was a pair of very good condition Ariat Volant boots, Ariat boot bag, and Herm Sprenger spurs. Paid a total of $75 for all. I sold the boots for $250 and the boot bag for $75 and gave the spurs to my trainer. Not a bad return on investment. I think this guy used to buy storage unit contents and sold it at these huge yard sales. He clearly didn’t know what he had.
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You’ve just reminded me of the time I stumbled across Calabasas Saddlery during one of their swap meets while vacationing out there! (As in, we saw it from the highway and made a quick lane change over to the exit ramp). My mare didn’t have a job that required tack at the time, though, so the opportunity was a bit wasted on me. But it was SO much fun to wander around!
3 pairs of gently used, newer model Kerrits winter weight breeches (in my size)….$1.99 per pair!
Found in a thrift store that sometimes gets pet supplies!
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From Middleburg tack exchange: Charles Ancona coat for $300, several pair of Pikeur tan euro seat for less than $100, New with tags equiline breeches for $80
Another Turn: Voltaire anatomical girth for $100, Jacks Whirlpool boots for $125, Equiband system for less than $100
Oncourse Consignment: never bought personally but they have a lot of cool stuff come in but they go fast! (airplane boxes, wall boxs, high end riding brands, etc)
From facebook marketplace: FREE rambo supreme medium weight and sheet! Dyon hackamore bridle for $100, Custom colored equifit dteqs for $150
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An Electrogroom vacuum (the big, rolling one with two levels of suction) for $150.
These used to be $799 new and are now $999 new, plus shipping. But they have tortoise-length lives.
And I have looked for a used one for decades. If you could find one of these for $350-400, it was a score. But you never could because they got snapped up.
So in December of 2018, I stop bitching about the bad horse market I was in and moved to Aiken, SC. A pro having a barn sale in March of 2019 was selling hers. She set the price. I asked if she was sure she wanted to part with it. She said all her horses were clipped and she didn’t use it that much. I wrote her a check on the spot.
I considered this vacuum (and also a guy who sold me the right piece of land because I found him on the assessor’s website and wrote him a three sentence letter), the sign from God that I had made the right decision.
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I remember the way you could see Calabasas Saddlery from the freeway. More than one horse girl has crossed more than one lane of traffic to get there. Of course, this is L A, so that’s not considered bad driving.
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