New Dressage Saddle!

When I bought Dee it was my first experience with truly challenging saddle fitting. She has a super short back (and I need an 18" seat), a hollow behind her wither, and then she's super flat across her loin. I tried over 15 saddles before finding my fabulous Amerigo. It isn't a perfect fit but it's close enough that with a shimmed up half pad it causes us no problems.

So much love for my expensive Italian bum-candy

I also tried a bunch of dressage saddles. Nothing even came close to fitting. They were all either too long, they bridged or slid back really bad.

Gusseted panels are a complete no-go for her. They always end up sitting way past her last rib. Turns out, most dressage saddles have moved towards gusseted panels.

Add in that I really, really want brown and I spent my entire saddle budget on the Amerigo my saddle search got pushed to the back burner.

Then my dressage instructor put a training ride on Dee (#littleasshole had been a jerk while ponying and I managed to sprain my hand so badly I couldn't close my fingers, not super conducive for a dressage ride). She commented on how I should really look into getting a dressage saddle as my position problems are stemming from doing dressage in a XC saddle.

He can be such a jerk. Thank goodness he's cute

Two days later someone posted an older brown Crosby dressage saddle on our local HT association Facebook group. She was only asking $500 and was willing to have someone bring it up to Beaumont so I could try it.

I put it on Dee and was pleasantly surprised. I couldn't see any major issues. It was a little low in the back but seemed to fit everywhere else. I gave it a quick ride and sent a picture of me in it to my dressage instructor. I messaged the seller and asked if she would take $400.

I also had my previous coach (one of our only local saddle fitters) give the fit a quick look. She was shocked at how well it fit. It seemed like the shape of the saddle was made for Dee's back.

The seller said that $400 was perfect and that's how I ended up with a dressage saddle I wasn't really looking for, but couldn't pass up.

I'm not a fan of the colour though. I love brown dressage saddles, but this shade of brown is just unappealing. I may have to consume many an adult beverages and take a page out of Amanda's book and dye it. (I looked at dyes and there are too many for brown, I'm terrified to commit to one)