[Tack Collector]

Made in England, or the Whitman / Campbell / Coventry lines made in USA: Those will be best quality. I haven't seen the Intec saddles in person, so can't comment on them. Zamada, Collegiate, or RD are the better Argentine ones I've seen or ridden. RD is Ruiz Diaz. They made all the Collegiates, and sold as RD and I believe under some other label as well. Those brands seem to have a decent sturdy tree. The Borelli, Rossi Caruso, Equestrian, Simco, Big Horn, etc. from '70s through 1982 have some flimsy softwood trees and the near side stirrup bar pulls loose, plus the tree sometimes cracks at the cutback.

Hey, SaddleUp, how'd the saddle fitting go? If your horse takes a standard cutback tree, ebay 150251626378 is a 21" brown regular seat Thornhill that probably won't sell for much. Ebay 150249126812 was the same thing in 20" and sold for a low, low, $135.50. That's sad. Cheap India import cutbacks are $199, lol.

There's a better head-on pic of the Thornhill 20" that you can see tree width of, and the underside. I'm not sure where Thornhills were made. Not USA, maybe England, maybe Argentina. They sold in the ballpark of $800 to $900 new in late '90s to early 2000s, when a Whitman adjustable bar saddle was $1350, to give you a comparison. I sat on a used 21" black flat seat in a tack shop and it was soft & comfy but felt long. Felt more lke 21.5" seat. I think Thornhill sold more deep seat saddles to TWH people.
http://www.saddlefitter.com/thornhill_saddles.htm

Jrchloe, do you know anything about Thornhill's cutback? Their hunt seat saddles are all respectable.

EDIT: Those Thornhills are "Jorge Canaves for Thornhill" Agentine imports, and economy saddle. The good Thornhill cutback was one of their Pro Trainer series. The Canaves saddles aren't bad for $100 to $200. They probably sold for $450 new. They are kind of like Borelli except the leather is nicer and the seat has padding. They still beat India and Pakistan saddles.

[Jrchloe]

TackCollector I was just looking at that saddle the other day and thought it looked very similar to a Whitman. I have never heard of Thornhill's but it looks like a nice saddle just needs some love. The article on Thornhills say that they use English leather with Argentina craftman and thats how they help keep prices down.

Saddleup do you know what size saddle you need personally (from the article)? Do you have a short or very long thigh or just average?

[Tack Collector]

Joseph Sterling in another decent brand. Sold by sstack.com and probably made by Barnsby. Haven't seen the buffalo one, but the bridle leather ones are very nice.

[alison2888]

I have Morgans too! I used to ride English Pleasure and Park. Remember, cutback saddles, you are going to take a bigger seat. Standard is 20" and 21" I'm 5'10" and ride in a 22"

As far as quality goes... you are looking at Whitman, Shively, Blue Ribbon, Barnsby, Campbell, Crump, etc at the top.

Middle is anything with a good tree and decent leather. Maybe like Colligiate, Rossi and Coruso, etc.

Low end saddles are the no-namers (they are usually listed as Lane Fox saddles). they fit funny, have poor leather quality, and are unsafe to ride in. A friend of mine had a stirrup bar rip out while on her English horse... almost an ER moment!

Basically, just use your judgement to pick out a good saddle. I would shop used and eBay for them. Great saddles come on and go for really cheap. For a pretty nice cutback saddle, you could set your spending limit to $200-$300 and walk away with a good one. The double bridle and clothing is the REALLY spendy part! Shop ebay for those to, or just add a bradoon hanger to one of your more refined hunter bridles and find a pretty caveson (try www.lasalleharness.com or www.ehorseequipment.com )

[Jrchloe]

Oh my saddle seat habits are a whole other thing haha. SaddleUp if you need to talk about habits just say the word.

I swear TackCollecter should write an article or book on cutbacks but I have stated this many times on other forums haha.

[SaddleUp158]

Originally Posted by Jrchloe

Oh my saddle seat habits are a whole other thing haha. SaddleUp if you need to talk about habits just say the word.

I swear TackCollecter should write an article or book on cutbacks but I have stated this many times on other forums haha.

Lol, I know the clothes are always the fun part! Luckily I have a suit to wear, it's a friend of mine's who does not show. Eventually I will want to purchase a formal, but that is down the road a bit!

[SaddleUp158]

Originally Posted by alison2888

I have Morgans too! I used to ride English Pleasure and Park. Remember, cutback saddles, you are going to take a bigger seat. Standard is 20" and 21" I'm 5'10" and ride in a 22"

As far as quality goes... you are looking at Whitman, Shively, Blue Ribbon, Barnsby, Campbell, Crump, etc at the top.

Middle is anything with a good tree and decent leather. Maybe like Colligiate, Rossi and Coruso, etc.

Low end saddles are the no-namers (they are usually listed as Lane Fox saddles). they fit funny, have poor leather quality, and are unsafe to ride in. A friend of mine had a stirrup bar rip out while on her English horse... almost an ER moment!

Basically, just use your judgement to pick out a good saddle. I would shop used and eBay for them. Great saddles come on and go for really cheap. For a pretty nice cutback saddle, you could set your spending limit to $200-$300 and walk away with a good one. The double bridle and clothing is the REALLY spendy part! Shop ebay for those to, or just add a bradoon hanger to one of your more refined hunter bridles and find a pretty caveson (try www.lasalleharness.com or www.ehorseequipment.com )

That is really encouraging that you can find nice brands for so cheap! Right up my alley! lol. I may be able to purchase one before the end of the summer after all. hehe

[SaddleUp158]

Originally Posted by Jrchloe

TackCollector I was just looking at that saddle the other day and thought it looked very similar to a Whitman. I have never heard of Thornhill's but it looks like a nice saddle just needs some love. The article on Thornhills say that they use English leather with Argentina craftman and thats how they help keep prices down.

Saddleup do you know what size saddle you need personally (from the article)? Do you have a short or very long thigh or just average?

I am not sure. I haven't had time to look at the article since I have been wrapping up an intersession class and working. I will check on that today!

[SaddleUp158]

Originally Posted by Jrchloe

TackCollector I was just looking at that saddle the other day and thought it looked very similar to a Whitman. I have never heard of Thornhill's but it looks like a nice saddle just needs some love. The article on Thornhills say that they use English leather with Argentina craftman and thats how they help keep prices down.

Saddleup do you know what size saddle you need personally (from the article)? Do you have a short or very long thigh or just average?

Well, if I go by the measuring guide they give I would need a 22"; however, I can't help but think that a 22" would be too big. The one I showed in (yes I have shown in a couple of classes, just havent ridden it other than that. it was for a friend who was too tall for the horse and needed someone shorter to show it, since they were trying to sell the horse) and that one was a 21".

I am 5'6" and weigh 122lbs. The measurement from heel to the top of my hip bone is 40.5 inches. So most of my height is in my legs. The two ladies who ride in the saddle I showed in are both taller than me, one of them all her height is in her legs.

[Jrchloe]

A 21" will probably work just fine. While an adjustable bar would be ideal if you can only find a regular bar you should be fine as long as you work on your equitation so you can just be strong, balanced and centered. My 5' 9" trainer who weighs more than you rides in a 21" MMX (Barnsbys measure slightly big but a 21" should work just dandy for you).

Do you have any pictures of you showing SS?