[AutumnAttic]

I am interested in buying a saddle off of tack trader.

She says it is new with the tag and the tags say:
"Collegiate Graduate Close Contact. 17.5" Wide Tree"

She also states the serial number is ART 6533.
I have tried googling the serial number but the one site I found states that the "art" means regular tree

Does anyone know about this?

I know newer saddles are not as well made, but is this a pretty decent saddle? Also, Will it fit horses with a curvier back or flatter back better?

Thanks!

[jumpfordreams]

I think the Graduate line of saddles from Collegiate were discontinued a couple years back?

[Tack Collector]

Does it also have "RD" on it, Ruiz Diaz, Argentine saddlemaker that now makes Ovation? That would be a saddle from Miller Harness Co., prior to when it folded and Weatherbeeta got the rights to the the Collegiate name. When was that? Maybe 2002 or 2001? I can't remember.

I'm pretty certain sure that ART is the regular tree, b/c I bought a Collegiate dressage reg. tree and it was ART. We think that the regular trees are marked ART and plus the model number, and the wide tree has just the model number. That's based on Crayon's purchase of a wide tree Collegiate that just had a model #. I posted a couple of "Collegiate model number" threads on here.

[crayon]

If it's ART, then it isn't a wide tree, whatever she says. I've also had experience buying a saddle the opposite way. The seller advertised it as a medium, but all that was on the flap was 6522. So I bought it and it was wide, like I wanted.