New Saddle! Black Country Vinici Tex Eventer
Last week I had Patty Merli, a saddle fitter from Charleston, SC, come to the farm to evaluate Leo and talk about my saddle options. Patty is a Black Country rep but she also keeps about 40 saddles on her van for test rides. Leo has progressively been getting more sore in his withers and Emma, our vet, said its definitely due to saddle fit issues.
I searched online for saddle fitters and discovered several people recommending Patty on the Chronicle forums. Originally, I had contacted a local saddle fitter but they weren't taking any new clients. It worked out for the best though because I believe Patty is more experienced and just a high caliber fitter. She also has a background in eventing! I just had to wait for her schedule to align for a visit to Charlotte. She explained that she travels up and down the east coast on 6-8 week cycles, so even when I move to Baltimore she'll be available to evaluate Leo's saddle fit.
I have never had a saddle fitted before so the whole experience was educational. Patty confirmed that my Prestige Jump saddle didn't fit Leo. It created 2 pressure points - one at the withers and another half way back, directly under the center of the seat. My Bransby dressage saddle did fit him (whew), but Patty wanted me to use a saddle pad with extra padding at the seat to fully stabilize the saddle on his back. She recommended someday that I have the saddle re-flocked with new wool, but she didn't want to add any to the existing flocking and make it too firm.
I learned that the Prestige jump saddle was made with a synthetic tree which can have micro-movement a wooden tree does not have. So for a sensitive thoroughbred, a synthetic tree may be a problem. We discussed the Vega saddle of Ashley's that I was interested in buying, but it too is built on a synthetic tree and Patty thought a wooden tree would be better.
I also talked with Patty about my position problems and how they vary between saddles. Patty explained that the stirrup bar placement has a lot to do with a rider's leg position and the placement of the stirrup bar varies on every saddle. Depending on your anatomy, your horse's anatomy and the design of the saddle, your leg position can change radically. Who knew!
I said I was considering a Devoucoux Chiberta - but Patty (even though she had one for sale) strongly recommended against it. She agreed that the Devoucoux put the rider in an amazing position (she used to ride in them herself) but she has seen that the design can do damage to the horse's back. This was interesting because Rebecca Howard told Ashley the same thing when I overheard them talking about Ashley's saddle options. Patty explained that a major flaw in the saddle was that the billets were attached to the end of the saddle flap and not the tree itself; which is harder on the horse's back.
So Prestige was out. Vega was out. Devoucoux was out. Now I was back to square one.
I think I already mentioned this, but Patty is a rep for Black Country. I had never heard of that brand before. She explained that it is a UK based company and she herself only discovered them when she went to train in Scotland. She was so impressive with how horses and riders went in the saddles that she came back to the states and started representing them. She had 2 mono flap models with her so we decided to take them for a test ride and see how Leo went. If I didn't like them, we try out some more saddles from her collection.
To be honest, I think these saddles are ugly. There is just something about the design that I don't find attractive at all. But they ride wonderfully! I tried the Vinici Jump and the Vinici Tex Eventer. The Vinici Jump has a deeper seat / high cantle. The Vinici Tex Eventer has a flatter seat. On the flat, I liked the Vinici Jump better but over fences I preferred the Tex Eventer. Patty said in the Jump model, she noticed I raised my heel and pointed my toe over fences (quilty as charged!) and this was less apparent with the Tex Eventer. She said watching my jump, there was a subtle difference and she just liked what she saw in the Tex Eventer better.
I felt in both saddles that I was more confident in my position and could be more independent with my hands. But in the Tex Eventer, I felt like I landed more in balance.
So I ordered a Vinici Tex Eventer. My budget for a saddle was $3500 (price of a used Devoucoux) and amazingly the Black Country's are only $3500 and custom made! Patty took a tracing of Leo's back and the saddle tree will be made to order based on the measurements from the tracing. I also got to pick all my leather options and colors. When the saddle comes in (just 4-6 weeks!), Patty will come and fit it to Leo, doing any necessary adjustments to the flocking.
Needless to say, I'm excited! I can't wait for our new saddle! And I can't wait not to have to worry about Leo's back anymore :)
I searched online for saddle fitters and discovered several people recommending Patty on the Chronicle forums. Originally, I had contacted a local saddle fitter but they weren't taking any new clients. It worked out for the best though because I believe Patty is more experienced and just a high caliber fitter. She also has a background in eventing! I just had to wait for her schedule to align for a visit to Charlotte. She explained that she travels up and down the east coast on 6-8 week cycles, so even when I move to Baltimore she'll be available to evaluate Leo's saddle fit.
I have never had a saddle fitted before so the whole experience was educational. Patty confirmed that my Prestige Jump saddle didn't fit Leo. It created 2 pressure points - one at the withers and another half way back, directly under the center of the seat. My Bransby dressage saddle did fit him (whew), but Patty wanted me to use a saddle pad with extra padding at the seat to fully stabilize the saddle on his back. She recommended someday that I have the saddle re-flocked with new wool, but she didn't want to add any to the existing flocking and make it too firm.
I learned that the Prestige jump saddle was made with a synthetic tree which can have micro-movement a wooden tree does not have. So for a sensitive thoroughbred, a synthetic tree may be a problem. We discussed the Vega saddle of Ashley's that I was interested in buying, but it too is built on a synthetic tree and Patty thought a wooden tree would be better.
I also talked with Patty about my position problems and how they vary between saddles. Patty explained that the stirrup bar placement has a lot to do with a rider's leg position and the placement of the stirrup bar varies on every saddle. Depending on your anatomy, your horse's anatomy and the design of the saddle, your leg position can change radically. Who knew!
I said I was considering a Devoucoux Chiberta - but Patty (even though she had one for sale) strongly recommended against it. She agreed that the Devoucoux put the rider in an amazing position (she used to ride in them herself) but she has seen that the design can do damage to the horse's back. This was interesting because Rebecca Howard told Ashley the same thing when I overheard them talking about Ashley's saddle options. Patty explained that a major flaw in the saddle was that the billets were attached to the end of the saddle flap and not the tree itself; which is harder on the horse's back.
So Prestige was out. Vega was out. Devoucoux was out. Now I was back to square one.
I think I already mentioned this, but Patty is a rep for Black Country. I had never heard of that brand before. She explained that it is a UK based company and she herself only discovered them when she went to train in Scotland. She was so impressive with how horses and riders went in the saddles that she came back to the states and started representing them. She had 2 mono flap models with her so we decided to take them for a test ride and see how Leo went. If I didn't like them, we try out some more saddles from her collection.
To be honest, I think these saddles are ugly. There is just something about the design that I don't find attractive at all. But they ride wonderfully! I tried the Vinici Jump and the Vinici Tex Eventer. The Vinici Jump has a deeper seat / high cantle. The Vinici Tex Eventer has a flatter seat. On the flat, I liked the Vinici Jump better but over fences I preferred the Tex Eventer. Patty said in the Jump model, she noticed I raised my heel and pointed my toe over fences (quilty as charged!) and this was less apparent with the Tex Eventer. She said watching my jump, there was a subtle difference and she just liked what she saw in the Tex Eventer better.
I felt in both saddles that I was more confident in my position and could be more independent with my hands. But in the Tex Eventer, I felt like I landed more in balance.
So I ordered a Vinici Tex Eventer. My budget for a saddle was $3500 (price of a used Devoucoux) and amazingly the Black Country's are only $3500 and custom made! Patty took a tracing of Leo's back and the saddle tree will be made to order based on the measurements from the tracing. I also got to pick all my leather options and colors. When the saddle comes in (just 4-6 weeks!), Patty will come and fit it to Leo, doing any necessary adjustments to the flocking.
Needless to say, I'm excited! I can't wait for our new saddle! And I can't wait not to have to worry about Leo's back anymore :)
Great feedback! Thank you! Fast foward 5 years - can you tell us how it all went?
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