Beval
Devon 2000
Close Contact Saddles
Manufacturer: Beval
Model: Devon 2000
Category: Close Contact Saddles
Purchase: I bought the saddle at the Beval store in Gladstone, and paid about $1900. It was on sale because it had a few oil marks on the seat that faded with time. I didn't yet have the horse I own now, so I got a medium tree that wasn't specifically fitted to my horse. My trainer loves this saddle, so I went with it.
Likes: The seat is cushy, I'll give it that, but there's really nothing else to like about this saddle, really.
Dislikes: The leather, even two+ years later, is still hard as a rock. Another girl in my barn bought the same saddle at the same time, and the same thing is an issue for her. The gullet (channel down the "spine of the saddle") is also quite narrow as compared to many other saddles, so it pinched most of the horses I rode in it. This was confirmed by my pro rider, who rode a number of horses in it one day ans noted that it fit only 1-2 of them correctly. It pitched me forward substantially, and made it incredibly difficult to sit in a secure position.
Quality: The new Devons are not made nearly as well as the old Devons. My saddle is permanently discolored from one rainy horse show, and the leather, as I mentioned earlier, hasn't truly "broken in" in the 2 years I've had it.
Summary: Not a big fan. If you like the way the Devons fit your horse, and you like the balance of them, I would suggest spending some extra $$ and going with the Beval LTD. Same tree/construction, but much nicer leather.
Rating: 2
Author: HGL
Date: 0000-00-00
Usefulness Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
6 reader(s) voted.
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