Schleese
Custom Heike Kemmer
Dressage Saddles
Manufacturer: Schleese
Model: Custom Heike Kemmer
Category: Dressage Saddles
Purchase: Purchased from Skylands Saddlery. Paid $6495 last year. It was very easy to get an appointment to purchase the saddle and the owner/saddle fitter spent a great deal of time. My horse was a difficult fit and I was out of options and needed the personal service. Unfortunately there is no follow up and the owner/fitter is very difficult to get an appointment with. I should have known better, Schleese is known for poor customer service 'after the sale is made' and I would have to agree.
Likes: The saddle is gorgeous. Brilliant leather, comfortable, lovely to look at. It makes you feel very secure when you ride in it. I ordered my saddle with the exterior leg blocks, it helps my one week leg and helps me stay in the saddle.
Dislikes: The problem with Schleese is there is no customer service. There is only one saddle fitter/rep in the tri-state area. It is not a good situation if you need service for your saddle. Shortly after purchasing the saddle my horse changed, like most horses. The saddle began to rock on her back and the tree became very wide. My mare became increasingly nervous about going to work and very aggressive about expressing her fears. And I have tried to contact Skylands and Schleese directly. After Skylands, the nearest Schlees rep is over 3 hours away and that is just too far. Schleese is pretty quick to offer to let you put your horse in a trailer and haul the 3 hours up to them but that is not a solution.
Quality: Quality seems great.... but again there is no follow up customer service from Schleese and it does not matter how well a saddle is made if you can't get Schleese rep/fitter to support the product. My saddle is not usable as is. I have been trying to get an appointment with Skylands for months. What good is a well made saddle that can't be used? I threw out my money on a quick talking saddle fitter with no follow up.
Summary: Schleese makes a lovely product but has no customer support. It seems that after you hand the money over, the customer support ends. I love the saddle for me but my horse refuses to trot in it. If you buy a Schleese saddle I can recommend the Poly Pad Plus Two with a Thinline pad on top of that.... For those of you who know what the Poly Pad looks like, that is about 3 inches of padding between my $6495 custom saddle and my horse. And as long as I use 3" of padding, my horse will trot in her $6495 custom saddle.
Save your money, buy a Wintec and a Poly Pad. The fit and service will be about the same!!!!!
Rating: 1
Author: Sherri
Date: 2012-03-18
Usefulness Rating: 3.07143 out of 5.
28 reader(s) voted.
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