Saddle Hunting

I don't believe I've mentioned it here, but after a few months of marketing, I sold my dressage saddle before leaving for France. I'd received several offers lower than what I was willing to take, but in the end I sold it for what I think was a fair price for both myself and the buyer. It was a very nice saddle, a two-year-old Laser Rendezvous in fantastic shape, still what I would call "demo condition." I really liked it, but unfortunately it was becoming more and more clear that while it hugged my bum and thigh nicely without much wiggle room when I was svelte and in shape, it was not kind to a slightly blubbier version of my body. I realized that as someone who's weight tends to "yo-yo" a bit, I needed a slightly larger saddle to accommodate that, perhaps with a more open seat.

illustration by Jared Lee

I've been scouring the internet for saddles over the past few weeks, and haven't found a whole lot. The trouble is that I am in a seemingly constant financial ebb, and so although I sold my saddle for decent money, I need that money and can't spend it all on a new saddle. I have a budget of $1500 with very little stretch above that, and it seems that nice 18" wide dressage saddles in that range are somewhat few and quickly snatched up, understandably.
However, I've had the luck to happen upon a lovely County Competitor for only $800. It's in good condition, better than the Competitors typically seen in that price range.
I was the one to snap this deal up. I figure that if County's famously wide, curvy tree type doesn't fit Rileigh, either by virtue of being too curvy or too wide (more likely the former), it shouldn't be terribly hard to resell the saddle and at least make my money back. Hopefully though, it fits him excellently with only minor, if any, adjustments, and is a joy for me to ride in. Wouldn't that be nice? Everybody cross their fingers!

I had a fabulous time in France. We happened to arrive just as spring had sprung, which unfortunately made for some slightly slushy "mashed potatoes" skiing on the lower slopes, but aside from that the weather was just lovely, I was skiing in just a tshirt at some points. Perfect for traipsing around town.


I've not had such a nice time since arriving home; I've been sick with the flu for most of the week. Today was the first day I managed to make it out for a ride, and even then it was a short one, since I'm still not feeling 100%. I'm sure over the next few days I'll recuperate completely though.