Bates Australia
Caprilli
Close Contact Saddles
Manufacturer: Bates Australia
Model: Caprilli
Category: Close Contact Saddles
Purchase: I ride in a club, but I do not have my own horse. Thus, I wanted to buy a general-purpose saddle , which can be appropriate for several horses. Initially, I had thought of Wintec, for his reputation of quality, are report/ratio price quality and especially his characteristics - comfort for the rider and the horse. But I was afraid of the contact with synthetic material, and I preferred leather, even if it is more expensive.
I bought it in the Padd shop of Paris, last October, at the price of 1160 € euros.
Likes: First of all, it is very comfortable for my poor back: sitted trot is almost a pleasure!
Then, it is appropriate for the various horses that I ride, even without needing to change the gullet.
Without being a saddle of great luxury, the completion is very beautiful for the price.
The elastiflex tree seems much more resistant to me than a wooden tree.
And it is, to finish, a very light saddle (because of the Cair panels), and thus easy to raise and transport.
Dislikes: It is impossible to find Newmarket stirrup leathers of the Bates brand in France : I found some by chance on Ebay.com (they come from the USA!).
Once sitting on the horse, it is very difficult for me to regulate the stirrup leathers because the bars are a little too tight and because Bates leather is too grippy.
Lastly, the loops of the strap and the girth-leathers form a thickness which harms the fixity of the leg : I would have preferred a low girthing for a saddle known as closed contact.
But it is only of small disadvantages !
Quality: Specificities of the Bates saddles are :
- Cair panel system, that gives more comfort to the horse,
- the easy change gullet system,
- the elastiflex tree wich is guaranteed against breakage for the lifetime of the saddle,
- the quality of leather, specially the double grain surface pattern creates a grip.
Specificities of Caprilli Close Contact :
- adjustable Flexibloc system to provide a more secure position for the rider.
Summary: To resume, even if the purchase of a saddle were not essential, since I ride approximately 1h per week in a club, I am very satisfied with this very comfortable saddle, of an excellent quality-price ratio, but whose brand does not seem very known yet in France ... what a pity !
Rating: 5
Author: Agnes
Date: 2005-01-25
Usefulness Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
4 reader(s) voted.
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