Crest Ridge Saddlery
Elite Guffey
Trail Saddles
Manufacturer: Crest Ridge Saddlery
Model: Elite Guffey
Category: Trail Saddles
Purchase: Based on reviews I read on horsetackreview, I visited the Crest Ridge Saddlery website at: http://crestridgesaddlery.com/index.shtml and ended up buying a "show casualty" for about $100 off the regular price of $1,193.
Likes: This is a beautifully made saddle. It's very comfortable and I feel very secure in it. But most importantly, it fits my Morgan mare! I am truly impressed with the customer care shown by this company!
Dislikes: I like everything! As a former english rider, though, the heighth of the fork is taller than the other saddles I've ridden. So, the horn is pretty tall, as well. While this keeps the saddle far off the horse's withers, it will take a little getting used to. On the other hand, I'm very secure in the seat!
Quality: The saddle is made out of thick leather with real sheepskin lining. The seat is deep and well-padded. This is a "gaited" horse saddle, which means it's cut to not interfere with the horse's shoulder and has round skirts. The cinch rings are bolted to the tree. Overall, I'd say it is at least as good or better quality than my fairly new Circle Y Park and Trail.
Summary: I have tried many saddles on my Morgan mare. If the gullet is wide enough for her shoulders, the angle of the bars drops the saddle on top of her withers. Also, her back isn't shaped like a QH (based on past experience, I'm not sure most QH backs are shaped like QH bars, either).
I do alot of research based on the reviews on this website and saw the Crest Ridge Saddlery information. I had seen custom saddles for twice as much, so I thought I'd give the Crest Ridge a try.
I followed the simple directions on their website and did the gullet/wither measurements. Then, I took a couple of picture of my horse's back and emailed them to Debra.
She directed me to an Elite Guffey on their Show Casualties page and I ordered it. She even let me use my own FedEx account, so I could get it faster and didn't charge me a handling charge.
When I got the saddle, I put it on my Morgan mare with a white towel, but no pad and rode long enough for her to sweat. I took a picture of the dirty sweat marks on the towel and emailed them to Debra. She told me how thick a pad to use. I did and tried again (while riding, a friend asked if my stirrups were too short and they were). Once again, I emailed the picture of the dirty white towel to Debra -- she wrote back and said it looked like my stirrups were too short. She's like a tea leaf reader for saddles!
I haven't had the saddle long and have only ridden once since the white towel test (was busy shaping the fenders). My trainer just rode in it today -- and we found out my mare is gaited! My trainer said it's probably because she finally has a saddle that doesn't interfere with her shoulders.
In summary, this is a quality saddle from a very caring and competent company. And, best of all, it fits both my horse and me!
Rating: 5
Author: Pam McClure
Date: 2005-10-02
Usefulness Rating: 4.12857 out of 5.
70 reader(s) voted.
Other Reviews You May Find Interesting
Circle Y Just B Natural Treeless Saddle Trail Saddles
Circle P Leather All-Around Saddle Trail Saddles
Dixieland Gaited Saddles 1 Butterfly/1 Endurance Trail Saddles
Dixieland Gaited Saddles English Plantation Trail Saddles
Allegany Mountain Trail Saddles Cascade Wade with gear Trail Saddles
Big Horn Cordura Trail Saddles
Freedom Saddle/Casa Dosa Freedom West Saddle Trail Saddles
James Saddlery Champion Cox Poley Australian Stock Saddle Trail Saddles
Imus 4 Beat Endurance with Fenders Trail Saddles
Fabtron 7152-F (B-Full QH Bars) Trail Saddles
Dixieland Endurance round skirt w/ horn flex tree Trail Saddles
Dixieland Gaited Saddles Light Rider Saddle Trail Saddles
JT international/ king series saddles old timer....but all apply Trail Saddles
Down Under Saddle Supply Kimberley Synthetic Stock SAD 280 Trail Saddles
Jay Bauman Buena Vista Trail Saddles
Abetta Round Skirt Trail Trail Saddles
Fabtron Cross Trail 7752S Trail Saddles
High Horse by Circle Y El Campo Gaited Trail Saddles
Buffalo 3458 western trail/pleasure saddle Trail Saddles
Dixieland gaited saddles The lite rider Trail Saddles
