Cactus
Charmayne James
Barrel Saddles
Manufacturer: Cactus
Model: Charmayne James
Category: Barrel Saddles
Purchase: My husband bought this saddle for me brand new for Christmas 2006. He purchased it on e-bay. It came from a small tack shop in Missouri and he paid just around $1100.00, including shipping.
Likes: The Cactus is solid, attractive and fits the 'standard' quarter horse frame very well. This is the first saddle I've had with the suede covered neoprene foam instead of wool. It is really beginning to grow on me. I initially felt it was a bit stiff, but have since changed my mind and see it as a great alternative. The saddle is comfortable and has a great hugging type seat.
Dislikes: I need a 14 inch seat and when I first sat in it I swore it was at least a 14.5...so sure that my husband called Cactus. They were very helpful and looked up the serial number to verify the tree was a 14. I then spoke to several people at races who reported they felt the seats ran a bit large. There were a couple small cosmetic issues...the snap broke on the hoof pick holder almost immediately and there were a few spots on the hoof pick holder that were cut too deep. Unlike my Crates, which is a bit more versatile, this saddle really just fits a larger framed horse.
Quality: The leather and other material is high quality. Overall this saddle is very well put together and feels like it'll last forever...not to mention it is very attractive.
Summary: I am very pleased with this saddle. My non-horsey husband did a lot of research and polled a number of my barrel racing competitors and came up with this saddle as one of the best. He was also able to find what we felt was a good deal. The people at Cactus were friendly and ready to help when we had a question. I expect this saddle will stay with me for the long haul and were I forced to sell...it will hold it's value.
Rating: 5
Author: L Bartlett
Date: 2007-12-10
Usefulness Rating: 4.96875 out of 5.
32 reader(s) voted.
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