After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the...
Dreamy was seen by the saddle fitter Nancy Shedrick this past April. Of course, our current dressage saddle, a Duett Fidelio, was just not working for her anymore. I knew that, but I wanted to see if she could do something with it before I gave up. The nice thing is that while the Duett no longer fits Dreamy, it does fit Reva quite nicely! :)
So since April I have been searching for a new saddle. I knew I only had a limited budget this time around, since I was not going to sell the Duett, which was $1650 new two years ago. I could not spend that much again unless I was planning to resell the Duett.
That left me with either buying a new cheaper saddle or a nicer but used saddle. I opted to go with a used saddle, as none of the "cheaper" saddles I tried really fit her anyway. :P And plus I wanted a NICE saddle, not a cardboard one. If I could afford it, I would have loved to buy a Custom from Nancy, but that was not going to happen unless I decided to not buy hay this year.......LOL yeah right.
So I tried:
I LOVED the Stubben. A Juventus is actually a children's saddle and they come from 14-17". I, of course, need the 17" seat! But I am only 5 feet tall so all the dressage saddles "normal" length flaps are wicked long for me. My boot barely goes over the edge! But the Juventus has shorter flaps. It has a nice deep seat, great knee rolls, and a narrow twist, which is exactly how I like my dressage saddles I have figured out. It rode very well and Dreamy was super happy with it on, so I figured this was it. I had wanted to try to arrange to get Nancy out here when I had saddles to try, but that never happened, OF COURSE! I just dread her telling me that the Juventus does not work! :(
This is what the Juventus looks like....it almost looks like an all purpose in this pic, but it totally rides like a dressage saddle. It is super comfortable to me. It does have a small superficial scratch on the cantle, but I am assuming it was a kid's saddle and the kid(s) probably did not take super care of it like I do with saddles. And it has a funny Havana colored stripe on the front. At first I kind of hated it, but I think it looks OK now. Sort of unique. :)
So I happily sent back the Albion and now have a new Stubben Juventus, 17" seat, 31 cm tree! Well, new to me. LOL! I wrote to Stubben today and asked about the serial number to see what I could find out. Seems Stubben tracks all their saddles and the US guy, Buddy Baird, is pretty serious about it. Good old Buddy wrote me back in 18 minutes flat. LOL! Here is what he said:
I love how he said it was "born" and not made. LOL! I think Buddy loves his Stubbens! :D So my saddle was born in Stans, Switzerland (which Buddy tells me is near Luzern, like that helps.......LOL. My Switzerland geography is not exactly um....existent!?) and sat in the Troy, Virgina, USA showroom for two years. So even though my saddle is technically six years old, it has only been used for four years! I got a great deal!!!!
I registered it with Stubben today and supposedly I will be sent a care package for it. LOL! I have always heard Stubben was a great company.
So now I am waiting to hear back from my saddle fitter so I can set up an appointment to be sure it is perfect for Dreamy's back. :) Gotta take care of my pony!
So since April I have been searching for a new saddle. I knew I only had a limited budget this time around, since I was not going to sell the Duett, which was $1650 new two years ago. I could not spend that much again unless I was planning to resell the Duett.
That left me with either buying a new cheaper saddle or a nicer but used saddle. I opted to go with a used saddle, as none of the "cheaper" saddles I tried really fit her anyway. :P And plus I wanted a NICE saddle, not a cardboard one. If I could afford it, I would have loved to buy a Custom from Nancy, but that was not going to happen unless I decided to not buy hay this year.......LOL yeah right.
So I tried:
- Dover Circuit
- County Competitor (I used to have one, my dad bought it for me new 100 years ago, but I sold it! :(
- Collegiate Mentor
- Klimke
- Albion Original Comfort
- Stubben Juventus
I LOVED the Stubben. A Juventus is actually a children's saddle and they come from 14-17". I, of course, need the 17" seat! But I am only 5 feet tall so all the dressage saddles "normal" length flaps are wicked long for me. My boot barely goes over the edge! But the Juventus has shorter flaps. It has a nice deep seat, great knee rolls, and a narrow twist, which is exactly how I like my dressage saddles I have figured out. It rode very well and Dreamy was super happy with it on, so I figured this was it. I had wanted to try to arrange to get Nancy out here when I had saddles to try, but that never happened, OF COURSE! I just dread her telling me that the Juventus does not work! :(
This is what the Juventus looks like....it almost looks like an all purpose in this pic, but it totally rides like a dressage saddle. It is super comfortable to me. It does have a small superficial scratch on the cantle, but I am assuming it was a kid's saddle and the kid(s) probably did not take super care of it like I do with saddles. And it has a funny Havana colored stripe on the front. At first I kind of hated it, but I think it looks OK now. Sort of unique. :)
So I happily sent back the Albion and now have a new Stubben Juventus, 17" seat, 31 cm tree! Well, new to me. LOL! I wrote to Stubben today and asked about the serial number to see what I could find out. Seems Stubben tracks all their saddles and the US guy, Buddy Baird, is pretty serious about it. Good old Buddy wrote me back in 18 minutes flat. LOL! Here is what he said:
This specific saddle has a unique past.
Born on 06-01-2004..it was in our showroom as a proud addition to our facility until 06-07-2006. Then it was pressed into service by a Tack store in Va. that no longer is in operation.
Enjoy the ride
Buddy Baird
Stübben North America
I love how he said it was "born" and not made. LOL! I think Buddy loves his Stubbens! :D So my saddle was born in Stans, Switzerland (which Buddy tells me is near Luzern, like that helps.......LOL. My Switzerland geography is not exactly um....existent!?) and sat in the Troy, Virgina, USA showroom for two years. So even though my saddle is technically six years old, it has only been used for four years! I got a great deal!!!!
I registered it with Stubben today and supposedly I will be sent a care package for it. LOL! I have always heard Stubben was a great company.
So now I am waiting to hear back from my saddle fitter so I can set up an appointment to be sure it is perfect for Dreamy's back. :) Gotta take care of my pony!
I love the look of your new saddle! Especially the little brown stripe...I think it give it character!
ReplyDeleteI'm having this same problem right now with Johnny as I am attempting to sell my current jumping saddle and buy a really nice used one that actually fits him. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my current saddle, but if it doesn't fit the horse then it just won't work!
Good luck with your awesome new find!
How neat! I didn't know Stubben could do that--where is the serial number located on the saddle?
ReplyDeleteI've got an old Stubben that was a gift (many years ago) from a friend, and I'm sure we'd both love to know whatever history it has.
Aarene - The serial number is on the flap sort of across from the billets. I want to say it was on the off side. Buddy's email is buddy@stubbennorthamerica.com
ReplyDeleteWe have a Steubben dealer here in our state. She takes her Steubbens very seriously as well. I have learned what a great company they are from her. Hoping someday I will own one of their saddles. Hope this one fits your horse.
ReplyDelete