Raymond Blevins
Show Swept Front Barrel #54
Barrel Saddles
Manufacturer: Raymond Blevins
Model: Show Swept Front Barrel #54
Category: Barrel Saddles
Purchase: I found this saddle makers website while browsing for a good saddle for my son to begin speed event training. Purchased it from the maker's website. Total cost $565.00 I'm not sure if I am allowed to list all of the companies that sell his saddles under their names but the list will impress you.
Likes: The Price was what initially made me make the phone call. This is a nice deep seat barrel saddle with enough tooling and silver to double as a western pleasure saddle. It is well balanced, positions you properly for optimum runs on timed events and is just overall comfortable to sit in. Very pretty to look at. It's a saddle people stop in the tack room to look at and ask about.
Dislikes: I've been riding it a month now and have no complaints. If I had thought to do it I may have asked for a longer horn but I think that is my fault not Mr. Blevins'.
Quality: It's a hand made saddle of quality leather. The silver kit is well attached. The hand tooling is done one tick at a time and is a work of art. nothing is loose, quality all the way around! The rigging is secure, the stitching is sound. The horse moves freely and can flex well.
Summary: I can't say enough good things about this saddle or the man who made it!
I spoke with Raymond Blevins himself who answers his own telephone. He wanted measurements of the horse as well as pictures of the horse with and without a saddle on his back and pictures of my son in the saddle. In short, because of all of this the saddle fits the horse and the rider. This was important because my son is 6'4" and we have had stirrup length and other issues before. We did some modifications to the saddle which is the nice thing about ordering a custom saddle. The bottom line is that this is truly a handmade custom saddle at an unbelievable price. I think I bought the most expensive saddle he sells so anyone on a budget can get a top of the line saddle from Raymond Blevins. Communication with him was easy and he kept me up to date on everything. He ships for free on most saddles and I had a very short wait time. So short that had I not altered the saddle design pretty extensively I would have thought they pulled one off the rack and shipped it. I can afford any top of the line saddle out there. I doubt I will ever purchase a saddle from anyone else again.
Rating: 5
Author: Jamie Baughman
Date: 2006-12-30
Usefulness Rating: 5 out of 5.
7 reader(s) voted.
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