HORSE JOURNAL

Tack Buying Guide 2000 -
Michael Plumb

Finding An All-Purpose Saddle That Doesn't Compromise Versatility
After an eight-way saddle shoot-out, we like Thornhill's approach which has a bias toward close-contact.

Thornhill Gets Our Nod In All-purpose Saddles
We expect all purpose saddles with a bias, usually jumping or dressage. But the bias we love is the one with true versatility: close-contact.

Riders like to choose a specific saddle for a specific discipline, scoffing at all-purpose saddles. Even some eventing riders - an "all-purpose" discipline- dub them "no-purpose" saddles. We disagree. An all-purpose saddle, with a bias toward close-contact jumping is perfect for hunting, riding schools or a guest saddle. And for the recreational rider, it's the cat's meow.
Each all-purpose sadd.le has a design slant toward either dressage, close-contact jumping, or cross-country/hunting which we indicate. Choose a saddle that most closely matches your own riding preference.
We examined inexpensive, wide-tree, large-seat saddles so we could address a broad spectrum of needs. By requesting a wide-tree saddle, we help the owners of large horses find what's available. But riders with a Thoroughbred who takes a regular tree can simply order the saddle with the features they like in the right width for them.
Large seats help long-legged riders, so we offer comments on seat fit for tall riders, but other riders can simply order their correct seat size. Finally, we want to help the budget conscious, which includes most of us. Therefore, we looked at saddles costing under $1,200.
We tried these eight saddles on different breeds of horses, all needing a wide tree, and with riders of all shapes, ages and disciplines. All the saddles are available in at least two tree widths and several seat sizes: contact your retailer for your specific size.

Miller's Collegiate Challenge Event
At a glance, this $725 saddle looks like a jumping saddle, but the flaps overlap the rather straight knee blocks by 1.5". This gives it a dressage bias, as we could only raise our stirrups two holes from dressage length without our knees poking past the blocks. We tagged the seat depth and twist medium. Tall riders liked the knee pads/blocks and thigh blocks to help them stabilize their leg.
All three Collegiate saddles in this test have rugged chromed billets which we liked, but they are equipped with a short, sliding buckle guard that is fitted so tightly, we found it took pliers to move it. To attach a pad loop, the front billet must be pulled out of the buckle guard and then replaced. We prefer long buckle guards attached above the billets. Also, the lowest billet hole was 4" above the inner flap, so we needed a longer girth.
The fiber panels were rounded, steep and slightly irregular. They angled down much too sharply for a flat-backed horse. This saddle in the wide-tree model, would work for the more angular horse, such as an older horse whose back muscles fall away from the topline. Dressage riders who like to trail ride and jump and pleasure riders will like the saddle. For jumping higher than about 3', we would choose a saddle cut more forward.

Miller's Collegiate Alumnus
This $595 saddle offers a simple design with a close contact bias. The flap is padded with suede at the knee, with a knee block underneath. The medium depth seat is slightly narrow in our 18" version, but the grained leather is tough and should wear well. We found the formed foam panels a bit thin, low clearance for prominent withers. The buckle guard is short, but fitted to the billets better and the billet holes are more conveniently spaced than on the other two Collegiates. This would be a good choice for a low withered, flat-backed horse and a rider with slim hips who enjoys a bit of everything.

Miller's Collegiate Senior Event
This $675 saddle's thin foam panels offer slightly more withers clearance than the Alumnus. The deep seat and high, supporting cantle are dressage biased, and the padded knee flap and knee block are set rather straight, enhancing the dressage effect. Stirrups can be raised for low fences, but the high cantle and straight flaps may hinder jumping over 3'. Same buckle guard/high billet hole complaint as with the Challenge. This saddle is for a low-withered horse with a rider who likes to hack and jump low fences.

Eisers Nice Saddle Doctor Cross Trainer
This $725 saddle has a dressage bias, as the flaps are angled straight. But the design is ambiguous as we found the seat small and narrow and the twist wide, odd to a dressage cut.
The wide (2") knee block caused confusing leg placements. The knee is supposed to rest on a pad but stay behind a block. With the unusually wide block, our knees wanted to climb on top of it. A mere two-hole stirrup raise was the maximum adjustment the straight cut would allow, which limits versatility.
The rounded, flocked panels narrow to less than 3" in the center, which resulted in bridging on horses' backs. We like the long buckle guard, but we would like to see longer billets and more than eight stitches at the billet-webbing junction. We recommend this saddle to the trail rider who likes a wide twist and narrow, flat seat and for a roach-backed horse that doesn't require wide panels for support.

 Thornhill's Berlin By Jorge Canaves
This $685 saddle is the widest of the wide. For the truly hard-to-fit flat-backed horse, this is it. Plus, it thoughtfully offers a built-in crupper hook and comes in seat sizes ranging from 15" to 19". This is a heavy saddle with dense, wide fiber panels.
Thornhill says the biggest market for this saddle is in the West, where big Quarter Horses show English. The suede flaps, knee pads and blocks underneath are probably fine on a medium tree but add almost too much width for us between the knees on the wide model. We found the laminated/machine-stitched billets too wide (1 1/4") for some girths, but the front billet is quadruple-stitched for extra strength, which we like. (Saddle oil can break down the glue on laminated billets causing the billets to split, but since these are stitched their life should be lengthened.) Since the seat was a medium depth and the flaps more straight, we tagged it as a dressage bias, but fine for low fences and pleasure/trail riding.

Thornhill Pro-Trainer^TM Event
This $875 saddle was stable on a variety of horses, the cutback pommel with low-medium clearance, medium depth seat and slightly forward flaps give it a close-contact bias, a plus for many riders. We found a good four to five hole range in the stirrup adjustments, due to the generous cut of the flaps and the positioning of the knee and calf blocks. The calf block is set low, so it sits right behind the knee with dressage-length irons.
The outer flap is padded fore and aft, but the inner offers only a block in front of the knee. Long legs may seek more padding under "gappy" knees, but we were pleased with the differing body types that found this saddle comfortable. The panels are rather tick layers of felt, fiber and foam, which offer medium withers clearance. But rather than taper down to the inner flap, the square-shaped panels end in a thick blunt edge. At longer stirrup lengths, this felt like a "shelf" under the thigh. We'd like the panel edges tapered. The medium-grained leather is a good compromise between instant comfort and minimal break-in. we like this saddle for the widest variety of horses, riders and disciplines.

Thornhill's Germania Two-Phase Event
The $1095 fine grained German bridle-leather saddle was comfortable and "grippy" from day one, but it showed early wear. Premature wear is a trade-off for comfort, but for a second saddle or "guest" saddle we like the saddle.
This model offers more leg stabilizers than the Pro-Trainer: thick dual padded flaps, with knee pad and large, high block and prominent thigh block. The gussetted fiber panels set well on our horses', but the extended panel arms and maximum knee pads make a wide wing on a burly-shouldered horse.
The overall seat depth (Medium) and cut (fairly forward) place it closer to a cross-country bias, although it is close to close-contact.
The billets are 1 1/4" wide as opposed to the normal 1", too wide for some girths. It was difficult to push the billets through the and to tighten the girth while mounted.
We found the seat width skimpy. It measures only 10.5" across the widest part, a full inch less than most saddles in this category.
Women felt their seat bones on the edge. The tester who liked this saddle best was a thin male with long, bony legs. The narrow seat was not an issue, and the soft padded flaps were a plus. Also, the overall padding and long panel arms are nicely supportive on a slab-shouldered horse.

Miller's Crosby Bruce Davidson Event
This $1250 saddle is slightly over out price ceiling and is the least versatile, but we decided to include it for comparison. It offers a more sophisticated cross-country design for an experienced rider. The long seat and forward flaps invite high stirrups, offering the rider a range of positions for effective cross-country.
The rugged leather should take a beating but will need break in. The simple design has no blocks but only a small knee roll built into the panels in front.
The seat is medium depth. The pommel is low, but the well stuffed fiber panels offer plenty of clearance. (This is a change from the traditional Crosby foam panels, but this saddle is built to three-day event champion Bruce Davidson's specs.) The billets (laminated, careful not to oil!) are set close and forward and are triple-stitched at the webbing junction for extra strength.
The points are angled forward to accommodate the extra forward flaps. The curved stirrup bars are angled up, which prevents the leathers from accidentally releasing if the rider pushes backward on the iron for support. This saddle is well made at a reasonable price for serious upper-level competitors.

Bottom Line
As expected, each of these saddles has a market niche. Choose the one that fits your needs as far as bias, horse and rider. We chose as our winner the saddle that we found to fit the most horses, riders and disciplines: The Thornhill Pro-Trainer. We feel that this is a true all-purpose saddle, one that allows a varied stirrup length and is functional for dressage, jumping or trail riding.
The best buy award goes to Miller's Collegiate Alumnus. At under $600, this saddle impressed us with its excellent price and rugged, simple design that will go anywhere and last.