Cob Jockey

Remember this?

How could you forget, I posted this on Tuesday.

And this?

The horse, not my mom, but this picture is awesome.

Turns out Louie's owner Anna has been hunting for a Dressage saddle for a long time too.  And it turns out my new Devoucoux is her and Louie's unicorn.  It's best-yet-but-still-not-perfect-but-fine-with-a-half-pad on Connor, but it's perfect on Louie.  And with the two of us being the same height and about the same weight, it fits both riders perfectly.  I told her to give it a try, I had a feeling that would be the case after I saw it.

But!

I am both unwilling to deny a friend an amazingly priced Devoucoux unicorn magically dropping into her lap and hoping for at least a six month break from saddle shopping for myself.  So Anna and I made a deal that she will pay me half of what I paid for it and we would share it until Rolex, when I hope to march into the vendor village and march out with an honest-to-god-fits-us-both Dressage saddle.  And then she'll buy out my half when I buy a new saddle.

Anna and Louie at our February 2016 schooling show.  A few hours after this picture was taken we all almost died in a freak snowstorm and then unexpectedly stayed the night with a fellow eventer because we couldn't make it home in the snow.  Let's just say me and Anna bonded that night!

It's great for both of us.  We almost never ride at the same time, and if we do, we both have jump saddles to fall back on.  And between what I made off my Thorowgood and what she's going to pay me, I will be at precisely $0 spent on the Devoucoux.  There may be something to this French backs thing, since Louie's jump saddle is an Antares, Connor's is a CWD, and the Dressage saddle that fits them both best is a Devoucoux.

Now that we're sharing it I may have to rethink the whole "French bachelor" analogy...

So.

I had totally given up on the saddle search.  It was too hard to find something that fit a wide native pony breed that should have a flat back and doesn't, and my short legs.  It's so so SO much easier to shop for a used jump saddle as a tiny person than it is a used Dressage saddle.

Then I'm sitting in the chair watching football the other night and my eBay Saved Searches sends me an alert.  One of the alerts was for a 17" wide short flap Devoucoux Makila, and the asking price was really low - about the same as a pair of custom tall boots.

"Oh interesting," I think.  "I wonder where in the country that is."  They weren't offering trials, and I'm never buying another saddle without one given how hard he's been to fit.  Turns out it was 40 minutes from my house, and the seller was willing to do a local trial!

One mad dash run to Indianapolis and then the barn later, and this happened:

Wrinkled seat, but the tree is in good condition.  No worries, I checked.

It's not perfect, but my trainer pronounced it the best she's ever seen on him.  It's a bit too wide, but perfect with my Supracor pad.  If I can't get it adjusted, it'll be a super easy flip for profit after a dye job.  (It's not nearly as glossy black IRL as it is in that photo).  There's actually already a girl in line for it at my barn.

And it's absolutely perfect for me.  My trainer taught me a mini lesson in it, and it wasn't exactly easy to ride in, but that's because the saddle was trying to get me to properly open my hips and I was trying to curl into the fetal position.  Hopefully the saddle wins, in the end.  I can feel myself becoming a monoflap convert already.

I think my ass is French.  Also, review coming on that sunshirt.

Maybe, just maybe, we're done with the saddle fitting circus for a little while?