Rider Testimonials

Dear Jochan Schleese and Staff,

I am very grateful for what you have done and can’t begin to thank you enough for all your patience, wise council, good humor and support.  Your team has always been reliable, approachable, efficient and knowledgeable. I have found your entire group to be professional and proficient in all aspects of your work.  You are supportive and empowering, allowing me to excel in the things I love most.   I really appreciate all of your encouragement and guidance every step of the way. As always, I am impressed with every encounter and personal service your company has offered.  I will forever be grateful for the way you have personally dealt with me, my horses, and all of my concerns.  You have provided us with such great appeal, dedication, creativity, exceptional skills and an amazing ability to connect with your clients!  The service and personal attention is extraordinary! Your timing and quality have always met my expectations and your communication is always done in a professional manner.  You have proven to be creative in problem resolution and overall consistent in meeting our expectations.  The work was above and beyond what I could have expected.  I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the level of detail that comes with your experience.  Many thanks for all you do, your help, advice, and for looking after us.  Without this we would be at a complete loss.  I am so very thankful for being chosen to win your 30-year anniversary saddle.  Our rescued horses have made such a drastic improvement since riding in your saddles! I look forward to many more years working with you.

Sincerely,
Melissa Verga Harris

I have been riding in Schleese saddles for at least 20 years.

When I bought my first horse I rode in a second hand JES and when I got a “real job” and a new horse I purchased a slightly used Wave. Having a Schleese was just the right thing to do for me and my horse, and the frequent fittings were part of the scheme of developing a horse and doing right by them.

I searched and tried many different brands, semi-custom, custom, shoulder freedom, wider gullets etc., etc.  If it looked good for the horse, it felt horrible to me, if it was comfortable for me, it couldn’t fit the horse.  Eventually I tried out an Obrigado saddle and REALLY liked it.

In cold, horrible weather, at the end of a long day at Lamplight, Julia Dixon-Curtis and Alexa Frye cheerfully let me try saddle after saddle, discussed the best options in less expensive models and talked about ways to modify my current saddle.  It really went on and on, and those two positive, helpful, encouraging women just supplied me with information, said nice things about my horse (it helps!), let me ‘hem and haw’ and ask 10, 000 questions.  I felt like an important client with a crucial but difficult decision to make.  At NO time did I feel pressured, or demonized for saying that considering the $ to my family vs what was best for my horse might be a legitimate consideration.  I now have a custom wonderful Obrigado that fits me and my horse wonderfully. It was VERY much worth the price and a saddle that I do believe I can grow old with.  It is beautifully made, with details that suited me and my horse.

Those two are wonderful representatives of your company, they are easy to work with, very knowledgeable and a perfect combination as a team.  Your company has very strongly shaped my whole adult horse riding life.  I am a very educated consumer thanks to all  my years of watching saddle fitting and riding in your [Schleese] saddles.

If anyone deserves a Schleese saddle it’s the horse. And I mean every horse. The dressage champion as much as the trail king and everything in between. I learned that last year and I will tell you how.

My friends daughter has a very sensitive Thoroughbred that she events with. George is handsome, a great jumper and… and absolute horror to tack up. He was twisting under every saddle like an eel. Gnashing his horrible teeth and- you get the picture. I recommended to look for a new saddle and that Schleese might help.

The fitting was a nightmare! George was fussing and fighting. Turns out that he has a very short back. So short in fact, that none of the demo saddles even worked. My friend decided to order a new Schleese. It was like a miracle!

After using it for a short time, George started to relax while tacking up. No more snapping and eye rolling. The muscle spasms in his back stopped, and he started to enjoy petting and scratches. He is not perfect, and probably never will be after years of ill fitting saddles, but he is better.

Why would I deserve a Schleese? My horse Radar would love it. I have a dressage Schleese that my guy loves. Now I think, he would really deserve a jumping one, to continue being a happy horse. George was our example of how this saddle works and why we believe in the brand.

Thanks

I have had Coco my Dutch Warmblood for 6 years and found it very difficult to fit a saddle for his very large shoulder, long wither and extremely short back. After years of searching buy and trying, with no luck, I finally made an appointment with Natalie Sauner from Schleese in our Alberta area. Coco and I are elated to finally have found the saddle for us! Our custom Obrigado has changed everything for both of us! I am now a balanced rider and Coco is a happy [and] who is willing to do his work everyday.

Thanks Natalie for your professional knowledgeable services, you truly are an amazing saddle specialist.

I wanted to thank you again for going above and beyond at my saddle fitting appointment. That was a truly kind and generous thing for you to do and I can’t thank you enough. I am truly feeling lucky and my horse is equally so.

I am sure your dedication and commitment to the highest standards will make a lasting impression.

I remain forever grateful to you.

I just wanted to thank you for the recent article you wrote on saddle fit and hyper-flexion. In fact, I want to thank you for ALL the publications and electronic clips you have created.  Your dedication to improving the welfare of horses through education is inspiring and a principle we try to live by here.

We work hard every day to make sure our horses are healthy and happy and that their needs as horses are always met, before ever considering what we need from them.

I am always eager to devour your articles and webinars because of the emphasis on the horse as a living being whose physical structures have specific functions, and how to tailor our own desires/wants to work WITH these structures instead of against them.

When I first learned principles of saddle fitting, I learned only about the line of the panel following the horse’s back to ensure there was full contact and no bridging, about 2-3 fingers of space between top of wither and bottom of pommel, and the classic idea (at the time) that the pommel and cantle should sit level if the saddle was in balance on the horse’s back.  Thinking back on that makes me sad that I may have made horses uncomfortable because of what I didn’t know…

Through my own education endeavors, and with a strong assist from your seminars, I now understand about the saddle support area, not having a saddle riding the scapula (or causing it to jam against it with every step), not having a saddle too far back, and the importance of aligning the seat of the saddle with the optimal carrying spot at the base of the horse’s withers.  I understand that a saddle can ‘fit’ but the horse may not like the feel of it, and to look first at fit and comfort when a horse starts developing ‘attitude’. I’ve learned that a saddle can ‘fit’ in the barn but you have to confirm the fit with a person in the tack- because weight in the saddle changes things.

Given we are all animal lovers, we want what’s best for the horses, even if that means they need a different job in order to be happy.  We are proud that our herd looks healthy and happy and that not one horse is ring sour.

Reading your recent article, I was struck with a need to express my gratitude for the horse person you have helped me to become.  I wanted you to know about the profound impact your words and philosophy has had, not just on me, but the horses, clients and trainers I have worked with, numbering collectively in the hundreds.

Thank you again, I look forward to future articles.

Ten years ago I purchased a lovely three yr. old Friesian cross to train for dressage, not realizing the size he would attain for my small frame.  He quickly outgrew my extra wide saddle and my other hoop tree saddle was so very painful for my hips that I actually was diagnosed with torn labral cartilage and subsequent further OA degeneration of both hip joints.  I then began to ride in my other trail saddle with panels that “sort of” fit the broad back/mutton withers but completely destroyed attempts at a effective dressage position and continued to be very painful for me.

Having spent a summer with a driving instructor and realizing that was not for me, my only choice seemed to be selling my now beautifully trained and well loved horse and finding a “skinny little one” I could perhaps ride after the recommended bilateral hip replacement surgeries.

By now you can probably see where this note is going; yes, I signed up for a Schleese evaluation last summer, rode in a loaner until my custom was made and now, after several weeks in my new Schleese, even the severe and chronic tendinitis has mostly healed and finally at age 74, I’m working with a Centered Riding instructor, attending clinics and riding better than I ever have on Mr. Propane Tank.

So, thank you for the extensive time and effort you have taken to develop saddles that enable us little older women to continue to enjoy what we have devoted so many years to attaining even with our imperfect joints, and in my case, to avoid drastic surgeries.

I rode that second level test last weekend (my bucket list).  No it was not the best test ever, but I did it and did not make a mistake one.  I could never have done it without the [Obrigado] saddle.  Made such a difference for both my horse and myself.  And gave me the confidence to try, which I would never have done.  I figure not too bad for an old lady such as I.

Thanks again,

I imported my Casanova from Germany 2 years ago.  He is a lovely mover, sound and bombproof.  But as time passed, I noticed he was not mentally and emotionally engaged.  He has a scar across his tongue, large spur marks, some arthritis on his neck and scar tissue on the sides of his mouth, which are gone now.  Took off my spurs, the double bridle and have done a lot of ground work. One of his problems was he would not stand still at the mounting block.  Changed saddles several times.  Everybody told me to swat him and make him stand still.  I did not. This lasted for almost a year, until I put my new Obrigado on him.  He stood still!!!!  And he stands still for me to mount every time!!!  He was speaking loud and clear until we found the answer.  Never a dull moment with our wonderful teachers and companions!

I just wanted to let you know that today was the first real ride I had in my new saddle on Q, my chestnut.  I could not be more amazed! I tend to do a lot of work in the walk before moving on to the trot and especially did that today to let him know how much different he would feel. My normally sluggish and slow to move ‘beastie’ was ready to rock and roll! He had the most relaxed and ground covering trot that I had feared I’d lost!

Most recently, I’ve been fighting major crookedness in both him and me. When making circles and turns to the right, he continually fell through the left shoulder and I’d struggle to stay on my right seat bone. NO MORE!!! We stayed balanced and relaxed equally in both directions.  I cannot even begin to tell you how extatic I am! We can finally begin to move forward in our training and I have you and Schleese to thank!

Hello!

I just wanted to write a note and say that I just purchased a used Schleese dressage saddle after having YEARS of trouble trying to find a good fit for my purebred Arabian gelding. He has needed massage, chiropractic work and pain medicine regularly….until now.

He now can move freely in his shoulder, his back is loosening up, and he generally has a much better work ethic and attitude (although he has always been stellar in this department).

So really I just wanted to say, thank you. Thank you for making such a great product. You will never know how much it means to me (and my horse) to have a saddle we are both happy with. I will forever buy Schleese saddles and will recommend them to any and all of my equestrian friends.

Thank you

SSG Katie Ferencik joined the U.S. Army in the summer of 2001, and has served two tours overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is currently assigned as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) with Alaskan Command. Katie is attempting to become the first Soldier to compete internationally since the 1952 Olympics. Her partner, Horatio, is a 2004 Trakehner, and together they plan to debut in the Spring of 2018 at Prix St. George. Check out what Katie had to say about her Obrigado.

“Congrats to Schleese Saddlery Service for 30 years (Jeeze, that’s almost as old as I am!!) of wonderful service to horses and their riders.

I’m proud to ride in Schleese, and can’t wait to get my new Obrigado! You are constantly taking Horatio and I to the next level, and I’m so thankful that you’re in my life. How weird is this?!? I’m pretty much expressing my love for a saddle maker/fitter(s?) in public.