My 3 Italian Saddles! :D

[Showjumper]

The last time I'll say that for a while! But it's an amazing feeling having 3 generations of saddle from the same company sitting in my living room so I just have to share :)

My new Freeform arrived today and my old Freeform is off to its wonderful new home tomorrow. The Fitform is going nowhere but I can't have it feeling left out! So a few piccies of the gorgeous saddles...

The Fitform
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/dollymare5/00009-1.jpg

My first Freeform
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/dollymare5/00003.jpg

My new Freeform
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/dollymare5/00006.jpg

Aren't they gorgeous!! :D

[~Perdita.M~]

They are rather! I must say I like #2 best. What are the differences between them all showjumper?:) Have they got a really nice pony one out now to fit a very short back? I can never work their website very well, so many options its all too confusing:o:D

[Showjumper]

The Fitform is sadly no longer made. Everyone I know that sold one regrets it so mine is going nowhere! It's an awesome saddle and has been on everything from 11hh Dartmoors to 16hh Cleveland Bays and they've all gone nicely in it. It was the first saddle that Dolly managed not to outgrow and has tons of sentimental value :D

The black Freeform was bought to give me more security which it certainly did! We learnt to canter and jump in that saddle and I adore it. It also led me to become an agent for Freeform as I adored it so much and raved about it.

However recently I realised that when I showed it off to people, I'd say, "The new ones don't have xyz and now have abc instead" which confuses them. I also want to do more fast work and jumping with Dolly Pony so decided to upgrade to a new Freeform with bigger knee rolls and a seat with poleys. Enter saddle 3 which arrived today :D Once Dolly decides to come sound for longer than 24 hours, I fully intend to get on and walk her down the lane in it - she'll wear it tomorrow for photos but not for riding.

As to what to get for a short backed pony, it depends how short backed. Neither of my Freeforms fit my friend's gelding - he just doesn't have enough space on his back. As long as you have over 21" of weight baring area, a SB Freeform will fit - you'd just need to get the padding right. Any smaller than that and you'd be into Junior territory. Perfect for littlies but the flaps are too small for big people.

[horsesforever]

I love the new one you have! Gorgeous. They're all lovely though. Might I ask, is the freeform very expensive? Just that it looks perfect for what I need in that its capable of faster work etc. I was looking into buying a "regular" treeless one but would probably end up replacing it next year when I want to jump...

[Showjumper]

It's not a cheap saddle, however it is one of the cheaper upper end saddles. They're very well made saddles and now that you can customise, there's just no end to what you can do :D Here's a link to the pricing page (http://www.goldfinch-equestrian.co.uk/pricelist.html) :)

As soon as Dolly comes sound, expect ridden pictures, and next summer, jumping ones! :D

[notpoodle]

ooh you look after them so well :D

(note to self: clean your saddle, julia!)

i like the newest one best :D

Julia
x

[No_Angel]

It looks lovely:D

You will have to let me know what the bigger knee rolls and poleys are like:D

[horsesforever]

Thanks for that link :D Ah no, not cheap but it looks great quality and you're right, there's no end of options for it! And to be honest I think I'd rather buy one of those which will last me all through next year when my horse is fit and sound and we start faster fitness work rather than buying a slightly cheaper treeless now and then wanting to replace it next year because of lack of knee rolls....

[horsey1992devon]

They are gorgeous saddles! I love the second one :D
I always thought that you couldn't jump in treeless saddles? :o

What are those like to jump in? Can you go very high in them?

[No_Angel]

yes you can jump in treeless saddles:)

I had a freeform, but didn't jump much in it, I think the highest I jumped was at a le trec competition, the second day I had the saddle and that was about 2ft6.
The older ones (showjumpers second saddle) had very small knee rolls, and while you could jump in them, the knee rolls didn't really do much.

[Showjumper]

lol notpoodle! I do try and keep them clean but most of it is I don't like riding in the rain ;)

From sitting on the new one on my saddle horse, the knee rolls and poleys are awesome! Can't wait to try it on an actual horse! Please send "Come Sound" vibes to Dolly! :D

They're awesome quality - I have no idea how old the Fitform is (I bought it secondhand 4 years ago...) and it's still in fabulous condition :)

I've jumped 2 foot in the Fitform and 2'6 in the black Freeform although when Dolly did particularly silly cat leaps I'd find my knees would slide off the front on landing (shouldn't have this problem with the new one! :D) I plan on jumping whatever Dolly's comfortable with in this saddle and will keep you posted on how we get on with it :)

Got some photos of her wearing it this morning. Excuse her peeved expression - she wasn't impressed that all her friends had gone out and she was tied up modelling a saddle lol!

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/dollymare5/100002.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/dollymare5/100005.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/dollymare5/100004.jpg

I love the way the tan leather is such a similar colour to her paler bits :D

[Sam (aka SLW)]

I would love a treeless as my SJ is constantly changing shape. Money as ever is a nightmare for me so I will be sticking with my trusty Ideal GP for the time being. I can't use jumping saddles on my SJ as he has such massive shoulders, the jumping saddles being forward cut just pinches them all the time. We are happy with my gorge GP, but a treeless would be lovely.
I like all the above pics :D

[horsesforever]

:eek: That saddle really does look stunning on her. Beautiful. Please do let us know how you find it for riding too! :D

[Zingy]

Ooh, your new one is rather gorgeous :) And I love that furry pad on the second one :D;)

[Showjumper]

lol Zingy! Hope you don't mind that I attached it to the saddle - managed not to keep it though! :D

[Zingy]

Not at all. Nice to see what it looks like :D

[Est]

Gorgeous saddles, gorgeous Dolly-bird! :D If Ri or Mess are ever ok for ridden work again (the thought horrifies 'em :rolleyes: ) then I might go for a Freeform. The knee rolls and poleys seem a good idea :)

[4eva bankrupt]

sorry to hijack your thread, but I am becoming very disheartened with treed saddles for my 15.1hh TB, she is a little under-muscled and has a little muscle wastage on her withers, however when her muscles improve i will have 2 sort the saddle out again. So I was thinking about going treeless, but i am a SJ at heart, and will be jumping a max of 1.1m courses, can u get proper jumping treeless saddles.

If i were to get a treeless now, would it still fit her ok when her muscles have filled out.

Sorry hope that all makes sense

[Showjumper]

lol Est, I'm half wondering if Dolly's pretending to be sore to get out of riding!

4eva bankrupt, the Solution Jumper (http://www.totalsaddlesolutions.com/saddlerange.shtml#Jumper), Mondial Jump (http://www.bettersaddles.co.uk/acatalog/Mondial.html) and the Trekker Bascule (http://www.equinewhispers.co.uk/trekkerbascule.html) are the only treeless saddles designed especially for jumping although many of the others will work but aren't recommended for lots of/big jumping.

And yep - that's the joy of treeless. Firstly it allows the horse to fill out, and then when they do, you adjust the padding to suit their new shape :)

[JULIA G]

Hi Showjumper, LOVE yr new saddle. Just looked at the price list details, which model is yours exactly ? Is it the Freeform Classic Plus ?

[Showjumper]

My new one is a Short Base Soft Option with Plus Knee Rolls and a Classic X seat in nutmeg :)

[No_Angel]

whats the difference between the soft base and the normal base?

[Showjumper]

The soft base is ever so slightly more flexible - will tell you if I can feel a difference when I get to ride in it :)