# Collegiate saddles, are they ****???



## charlie55 (2 April 2010)

Someone up the yard is interested in one and asked me about them, i honestly have no idea, ive never even heard of them, but am i right in thinking they are not english leather?

Its a dressage saddle shes seen.


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## teddyt (2 April 2010)

They are made abroad, i think in argentina but not 100% sure. Yes, i think theyre c***! They have a very similar, if not the same, tree as the wintecs- banana shape. The panels arent brilliantly designed either. At first glance they look ok but once on the horse the fit is very poor.


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## charlie55 (2 April 2010)

Brillient, thanks teddyt


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## Mabel98 (2 April 2010)

Oh thank you for that, I was considering bidding for one on ebay and wanted to know what the quality was like


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## jumptoit (2 April 2010)

I have the collegiate bridles and they are good quality but definitely not as good as the Bates saddles which I also have, I would without a doubt pay the extra for a Bates as they have lasted fantastically, had one 7 years and the other 3 3 years and you honestly cannot tell the difference between them .


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## galaxy (2 April 2010)

I have a collegiate dressage saddle with the changeable gullet.

Actually I completely disagree that they are similar to wintecs!  I hate wintecs(the fit as well as the saddle to ride in) and my collegiate fits my horse with a very temperamental back very well.  Had a couple of saddlers look at it (various reason, none to do with worries about the saddle) and they were all pleased with it.  He changes shape very easily, so the gullet system works well.

He is also very big moving and some saddles I've ridden him in have been awful. but the collegiate is fine.  Had it for 2 years and cleaned up it still looks like new.  Never had any problems with the quality...  No it's not english leather, but its soft and good wearing.


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## Llanali (2 April 2010)

I've just today taken delivery of a Collegiate dressage saddle, and have to say, for £259 I'm incredibly pleased with it. The leather is soft and supple, the panels are wide and weight bearing and it's not massively built up= perfect for me as I don't like massive amounts of saddle underneath me.


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## Llanali (2 April 2010)

Oh, and two independent saddlers told me its a similar tree to a Albion or Barnsby actually.


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## teddyt (3 April 2010)

Llanali said:



			Oh, and two independent saddlers told me its a similar tree to a Albion or Barnsby actually.
		
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Sorry but i think they are totally wrong! The collegiate saddles have the same changeable gullet system as the wintec saddles, neither the albion or the barnsby have this. You actually use the same gullets as the wintecs- probably because collegiate saddles and wintec saddles are also part of the same company (weatherbeeta).


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## Llanali (3 April 2010)

Nope, not all of them do, mine isn't a changeable gullet system, so maybe it's just the Mentor dressage that is based on Albion/Barnsby....at any rate, it fits my mare who is Albion shaped, but not Wintec shaped. Though of course, this means nothing in the delightful guessing game of saddle fitting LOL


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## royal (3 April 2010)

Have to disagree with alot that has been said. I have a dressage saddle, without the changeable gullet and I love it! 
Its looks great, the quality is good (I am pretty sure the leather is english? or at least its def not Indian leather), its a great fit for my standard medium fit mare, fits me very well and is comfortable to ride in. 

If you have £1000 to spend on a saddle obviously there are better one's out there, but if you are on a budget, they are a great saddle.


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## galaxy (3 April 2010)

Collegiate, Wintec and Bates are all distributed by Weatherbeeta, but are not owned by Weatherbeeta.  They are all foreign companies in different countries.  They are completely different companies.  They all have totally different trees in them, just use the same gullet system, Wintec originally owned the patent which has now run out, hence thorogood, GFS and many more makes are now designing saddles with this system, but they do not all have the same shaped trees!!

Collegiate saddles sit totally differently on a horse than a wintec.


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## not_with_it (3 April 2010)

I bought one for my youngster last year. As far as saddles go I have seen a lot worse. Mine fitted the horse and was comfy to ride in as well as looking smart. I have since sold the horse but kept the saddle.


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## teddyt (3 April 2010)

galaxy23 said:



			Collegiate, Wintec and Bates are all distributed by Weatherbeeta, but are not owned by Weatherbeeta.  They are all foreign companies in different countries.  They are completely different companies.  They all have totally different trees in them, just use the same gullet system, Wintec originally owned the patent which has now run out, hence thorogood, GFS and many more makes are now designing saddles with this system, but they do not all have the same shaped trees!!

Collegiate saddles sit totally differently on a horse than a wintec.
		
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The collegiate, wintec and bates saddles all use the same gullets, hence thats why i think they are the same trees. Having taken a collegiate and a wintec apart they look to be built the same too. Yes, other makes use a changeable gullet _system_ but they do not use the same gullets because they use different trees. For example, you cant put a wintec gullet in a thorowgood saddle and vice versa. But you can put a wintec gullet in a collegiate saddle.

I dont know every model of wintec and collegiate saddles but the collegiate saddles i have seen (GPS) _do_ sit the same, the back of the saddle sits off the horse. 
Hence i cant be 100% sure but in my experience the gullets are the same, they look to be built in very similar ways and i have seen a common thread in the way they fit.

At the end of the day, as Llanali said, its what fits the horse and if it fits then it doesnt matter.


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## burtie (3 April 2010)

Llanali said:



			Oh, and two independent saddlers told me its a similar tree to a Albion or Barnsby actually.
		
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Interesting as my saddler advised me the Barnsby and Albion tree are very different and suit different horses. ummmmm


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## TheMule (3 April 2010)

I really like my collegiate dressage saddle, it fits my horse very well and I actually find it very comfy. It puts me in a nice position


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## Worried1 (3 April 2010)

You get what you pay for - it's a budget saddle and as long as it's well fitted then they are a decent saddle for someone on a budget.

I bought one for Finn, it's no Albion or Amerigo but it is comfortable, has been properly adjusted and sits nciely on him. It puts me in a nice position and we trundle around quite happily - he works up to medium and competes at Novice with no problems at all.

Not everyone can afford £1,000 + saddles and these have been manafactured for the lower end of the market. The leather is not English in the sense that it's not made in 'England' but the leather is good quality Argentinian leather and let's face it they know a thing or two about cows


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