Rider Testimonials

OH MY GOSH!!! Somebody kick me. I just received my first Obrigado saddle for demo and rode my husband’s horse. Several years ago, I trained on this horse myself for almost 2 years and finally gave up for something more comfortable, more fun, easier to ride, etc. I was TOTALLY AMAZED at the improvement in his movement and the lightness that I immediately felt in the OBRIGADO. It made me want to ride him more and that I have not wanted to do at all in years. Jochen, I am impressed! This saddle made a huge gigantic difference in this horse. He truly says Thank You!

You fitted my saddle the end of January. It was a new Obrigado and I was not sure I liked it yet, and you told me to ride in it awhile and see what happened. Well, I just wanted you to know that as of today I officially am in love with this saddle. I have been liking it a lot, but today it all really clicked. (Lucio was in love a long time ago, actually.) It is really comfortable, and also puts me in a very good position and allows me to be really close to my horse. Lucio’s shoulders are so much freer and his back so much happier that he is much easier to ride. Things got better a year ago when I switched to a Schleese. This saddle is really working and I am so happy.

Also, my younger daughter Hannah rode Lucio in it yesterday and she had not ridden in a good while, and she loved it too. She said it was the most comfortable saddle she had ridden in. She had such bad pains from her previous saddle that she would be in tears and got a lot of UTIs from riding. It is part of the reason she stopped riding. She said she would like to start riding again.

Testimonial from a client who responded to a post on Chronicle of the Horse Forums.

Hate to say it, but 99.999% of all riders/trainers/vets/chiropractors have no idea whether a saddle fits or not- and Jochen Schleese has done the research and the innovation to determine what does fit. My 3 year old started to give me the same signs as this mare [bucking] – thank God I was lucky enough to attend a lecture by JS the next weekend and I then did quite a bit of investigating what he had to offer. I took the plunge and even with a loaner saddler in the interim the results are phenomenal. No more issues with my young horse, and my older horse who I was on the verge of retiring because of cascading soundness issues is now going better and sounder every single day- and doing work which he has never been able to do before. Of course, I was able to change the saddle on my young horse BEFORE he learned to defend himself by rearing and bucking and it became a habit. A new saddle is considerably cheaper than sending her somewhere to another “fixer” trainer.

Dear Schleese team,

All I can say after riding in my new Schleese saddle is, WOW!!! I ride a 20 year old quarter horse and he was like a different horse. He moved like a much younger horse, full speed ahead. I had so much fun riding in the Eagle. As for myself, no more band aids to prevent sores on my legs. I feel very secure jumping. This horse is very difficult to get on the bit and round. My riding instructor and I noticed that he is much more willing to go round and keep round. Not bad for a 20 year old school horse that was never taught to go round in his life. I also ride a thoroughbred school horse in his twenties. I look forward to putting the Schleese Eagle on this horse. My riding instructor told me that my leg position is the best that is has ever been.

Thank you so much for designing such a wonderful product. It was well worth the expense. I know the horse thanks you too! He even looked happy

Thanks for taking the video, Balou looks fantastic!!! I am so happy with the evidence of improvement in his passage and trot extension, even just on the first ride. The Obrigado [Saddle] clearly allows him greater range of motion through the shoulder. Heis always had a good passage, but some of those steps were the best Ive seen him do! And we have a respectable GP extended trot too!

Can’t wait to ride again today…

Good Morning Miriam. You correspond and work with many people and you are fabulous!
After having my Schleese saddle remade for my young Connemara it is now like owning a different horse! His movement is now forward and he is obviously happy and comfortable. The change in my gelding is phenomenal! Also no more bucking. If you remember he didn’t canter. Just buck around the arena!

I brought home my new Wave dressage saddle late this past summer.

I just want to tell you and Jochen that my horse and I are now on a different planet with respect to her performance and movement and my riding. My trainer can confirm that this saddle has changed EVERYTHING for us! I can now ride in true balance and consequently my mare is free to move to her true potential. I never imagined we could go forward with the freedom and confidence that we now both have to give to our work!

Thank you all.

I was able to attend the seminar given by Jochen and Connie at Pacific Crest Equine in Exeter CA and I can’t tell you how pleased I was. I learned a great amount and was able to take advantage of the thermography the next day. My Schleese custom saddle got fitted perfectly by Matt and Deb and I got to watch the fitting process on other horses as well. It was a wonderful two day experience and I am hoping it can be repeated in the spring with Western saddles added to the saddle line. It seems there was a lot of interest from the working cow horse world. Thanks again for coming to our area!

I just wanted to give you a positive comment: I’ve had my saddle for several months now, and I feel like I have my horse back! He was so lame for so long, and now he is happy with his work, getting fit and ‘beefy’, and giving me hope that I can actually show him again. Thank you so much! I love what the saddle is doing for my horse.

I just wanted to update you on the special HK Plus that you made for my horse and me. Although I was not 100% convinced the day that we tried the new saddle out at Christiane’s, I can honestly say that we both love it now. It feels very nice for me and Devoto seems to be working better from behind. Steffen (Peters) was able to ride in it finally and he was impressed too. He felt that it was the best Schleese saddle that he had ridden in because it has some of the flexibility that he likes in a saddle as compared to his. His seat did not fit in the female crafted seat so he was not personally comfortable in it, but I can’t say that it matters to me because it fits me beautifully :-)))

Thank you for your attention to detail, and to working so patiently and generously with me to find the right solution for my horse, we both truly appreciate it.

I wanted to drop you a note and let you know that destiny will have it that all roads in my life seem to lead to Schleese! I am now trimming for Margaret Boyce and her students in NY and I did know how close she was with the Schleese team. When we discover this, I of coarse was jumping out of my skin for the opportunity to see Jochen at a fitting nearby and drop in to say Hi. I have not forgotten all of you and the opportunity that was before us last year, I think that the future will hold something for us I will hope that destiny will continue to bring me right where I belong despite my over thinking it all. As my kids are getting older, I see that there is much potential for growth and you guys are always on my mind!

I had the opportunity to ride Margaret’s horse in a lesson and I wrote a story about it I thought you might enjoy. I like to write about experiences that seem to be “Big” in my life and I truly savor the emotion and memories by writing. I thought I would share with you my little story about Big, especially since he was in a gorgeous HK that I so enjoyed riding in…and the dynamic of balanced hoof care combined with good training and saddle fitting was thoroughly enjoyed by me on this day!

Hope you are well, I can still hear your voice on the other line and replay all of our chats in my mind, and I wanted to thank you for your support and understanding during that time of turmoil for me. You never know what the future holds. I’ll be probably popping up on Jochen here and there and around in NJ PA and NY if ever he just needs a spare set of hands. I so enjoy the learning from him and all working with all the pretty horses! Schleese is a part of the explosions of learning that I speak of in this story!

Best regards to you and all of the Schleese team! (Especially Julia who I have met and adore!)

I just wanted to take a minute to tell you how very happy I am with your saddle company. I just bought a Wave saddle with the help of Kristen V. and could not be more pleased. It goes without saying that I love my saddle and how the saddle fitter fitted my horse, but it is the exceptional customer service that I have received from everyone at Schleese that really surprises and delights me.

I am on a tight budget and to say that a Schleese saddle was out of my price range is an understatement. I considered the investment anyway because of your genuine passion for horse and rider comfort. It was the total trust and confidence that I felt in Kristen’s expertise that really sealed the deal. She is the first fitter who took that kind of time and so patiently educated me and evaluated my horse. She was just as excited as I was to find a saddle that made both my horse and me happy. She is an asset to Schleese and I feel lucky to have her.

Even though I was so happy with my saddle and confident in its fit, I still lamented the money I had just spent. Did I do the right thing? All those doubts are gone now that I have ridden my happy horse in our awesome saddle. It also gave me more comfort that you can imagine when I received my saddle, generously padded and safely wrapped in its lovely cover, with such a nice saddle pad to go with it. As if that wasn’t enough, I got a check-up email from to make sure I was happy with my new saddle and tonight I received a hand written thank you note from Schleese. You may think these are small things, but please know that they mean the world to me.

Customer service everywhere is on the decline. Thank you for being so very different! This was a big purchase for me and you could not have made me any happier or more confident in my decision. I plan to start saving for my jumping saddle next. I will never buy another brand of saddle and I will sing your praises to anyone who will listen!

Thank you!