All the Saddles

Another really awesome part about Rolex is ALL THE SADDLES EVERYWHERE.  If you want to sit in a bunch of saddles to see which ones with which options you like before you schedule someone out or purchase one sight unseen,  Rolex is the place to be.  Here are just a few of the saddles I sat in and my impressions.  I did confirm from several saddlers that I've had some trouble fitting saddles in the past because I have a long hip to knee measurement but short legs over all and a small size.  Which explains why forward flap saddles are too forward and regular flap saddles let my knee sit over the flap.

Bliss Saddles  have to be my favorite.  I sat in the Paramour last year and fell in love.  Like I felt like I could bang out a 4th level test and take a nap at the same time love.  The Paramour has this drop away option which lays your entire thigh right on the horse so you can feel ultra super close.  You also get lots of options like blocks custom designed for your leg in whatever size you want and plenty of color options.  Plus they had no issues when I explained I wanted a wide saddle and a narrow twist.  Sure, no problem!  They did have other saddles in their more affordable option.  I liked them but would list them as "average" as far as how I felt in the saddle.  I got to be realistic with my budget though.

Voltaire  The best part about Voltaire were the tall skinny hot French guys hawking the saddles.  Enjoy them explaining taking measurements of your leg in the saddle every two inches as they gently touch your thigh while softly muttering "bien d'accord merci"  $5,000 you said?  Here's my credit card.  They had a lot more jumping saddles than dressage and I'd describe the feel to me as "average."  They had the ability to completely replace the panels if you bought a new horse which I thought was a really cool option.

Stackhouse  I love the design of the stackhouse.  It's just cool looking.  Every saddle is custom made from scratch to each rider and horse and is adjustable.  Which I thought was great for buying new but harder if you were hunting used as you didn't know what the previous rider looked like.

County  County is a great option because they are everywhere and have some pretty standard options without going full custom so you can buy used, and they are more than happy to help you find a used saddle and fit it for you.

Custom  I initially liked the looks of the Custom saddles and have heard good things.  My biggest problem was that I found the twists to be too wide for me.  When I asked about the twist they said there was nothing they could do about it and the wider the saddle the wider the twist.  Which marks them off my list.

Southern Stars

I sat in a Southern Stars pony saddle a few years ago and really liked it.  The saddle below was their only option at Rolex and it DID NOT FIT ME AT ALL.  The knee block was at least 6 inches in front of my leg on a 17 inch saddle.  I asked the sales rep if there were custom options but that appeared to not be the case.  Disappointed in the service but at least I was able to write these saddles totally off my list.

There were several more saddlers there but I couldn't sit in all of them.  What are your thoughts?