Prestige
Meridith
Jumping Saddles
Manufacturer: Prestige
Model: Meridith
Category: Jumping Saddles
Purchase: I just gave up my County ProFit as it was black in color and I couldn't show hunters in it...coming from that saddle, which was extremely close contact and fit a variety of horses - I must have tried 20 saddles this past year. I spent a fortune on return postage and the last saddle I returned (An Amerigo Vega) left me in tears. I have recently acquired this saddle (April 2010)for under $2000 from EBay/Green Valley Tack and HAD to write a review on it as soon as I rode in it.
Likes: A friend of mine has the a Prestige saddle and strongly recommended I try one. I despise blocks and bulk so I had my doubts as I had tried saddles from low to high end that felt wrong. I sent for this saddle as the price was great and I felt if it didn't work, the re-sale value would be good. Well, from the second I sat in it I thought "THIS IS IT!!!" The leather was soft and tacky, the overall feel is even more close contact than my County and I didn't even notice the blocks because of the way they are placed. Saddle is superbly constructed. Lastly, the saddle is very light weight - a great attribute I feel.
Dislikes: The color is the only thing I don't like as I am old school and like the light caramel saddles. This saddle will look awesome on my big bay, once he is broke to ride but I don't care for the contrast with my chestnut mare.
Quality: The construction is outstanding and I have a feeling the leather is going to last for a very long time. Leather has a broken in feel to it and is so so so tacky!
I was told the 16 fits like a 17 and the 17 fits closer to a 17.5+ but I bought the 17 anyway (I had just tried a 17 1/2 in another saddle and it was huge) and am so SO glad that I got the 17. It fits like a 17 - in fact it fits better than my 17 County fit me! I wouldn't recommend those who normally fit in a 17 go any bigger.
Summary: I am about 5'6" and in my 40s - and I hate blocks and pads which I now have on this saddle and I don't even notice they are there. I have a longer leg - the blocks on other saddles just didn't feel right but not with this saddle. I could see this fitting someone who was petite as well.
SAVE your money as this saddle is worth the investment. I keep reading blogs and posts from people complaining about not having enough cash - well, I saved for two years for this saddle and I'd do it all over again if I had to. I'm big into equitation and my leg position is perfect automatically and this saddle puts you in great position - not behind the motion whatsoever. Also, the 34 fit is what I call nearly "universal" in my world for the variety of horses I ride - and I agonized over whether to buy medium or medium wide as most mediums in other brands are limited. Buy one!
Rating: 5
Author: Emily S., GA
Date: 2010-04-16
Usefulness Rating: 2.91034 out of 5.
290 reader(s) voted.
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