This week, I found myself in Boston, Massachusetts. I had to travel out for a business meeting on Thursday. In the original plan, I was to fly out to Boston on Wednesday for a meeting on Thursday. The meeting was suppose to take all day on Thursday and then I was suppose to travel home on Friday. So, there was going to be no time for me to enjoy myself.

Thankfully, things didn't work out according to plan. The meeting on Thursday only lasted for half a day. And, since I had traveled by myself, I found myself with half a day of free time and my own rental car. So, how did I decide to spend the day? At a tack shop of course!

I used the GPS in the rental car to lookup Dover Saddlery and away I went. I used the feature to take the least amount of freeways. This turned out to be a very good decision. I got to travel along some of the back roads thru some of the smaller towns around Boston. It was a very scenic and relaxing drive to Dover Saddlery in Wellesley.

Once I arrived at Dover, I spent the next couple hours looking at all the goods. I looked at boots, breeches, helmets, gloves, chaps, jackets, brushes and saddles! The salesperson found out about my recent string of misfortunate events and took it upon herself to put me in every saddle I had ever wanted to try. By the time we were done, I had looked at almost every saddle they had and tried out the ones listed below.

I started with the Bates Innova. I was drawn to the saddle because of its extremely generous knee roll. Its a new design the Bates just recently put on the market. The knee rolls are suppose to help riders sit horses with larger strides - such as warmbloods. I liked it because it felt like I would have a better chance sitting thru any "performances" my horse may decide to put on without my consent.

Next, I tried the Stubben Maestro. I have never had the chance to try a Stubben but, for some reason, I've always like them. However, when I had to sit in one, I must confess, that I was disappointed. It felt as if it would be difficult for me to find the right position. And, the seat didn't seem deep enough. I felt as if I'd be lifted up and off of the horses back. For more experienced riders, I'm sure the thought of giving your horse plenty of room to move thru the back is a good thing. But, I'm not an experienced rider and I'm more concerned about remaining ontop of any situation. So, I didn't feel secure in the Stubben.

I tried the Passier Grand Gilbert and found it to feel very similar to the Stubben. Although, while I did feel as if I were sitting closer to the horse, I still felt as if I had very little to help me stick with the horse.

On my way out, I spotted a Jaguar XKC and asked the salesperson if I could also give it a try. She happily pulled it down. While it didn't have the same oversize knee rolls of the Bates saddle, I still felt as if I was securely fastened to the horse. And, it felt very comfortable.

So, when I get ready to purchase a saddle, I think I'll be looking at either the Bates Innova or the Jaguar XKC.

Bates Innova Dressage Saddle.	Jaguar XKC Deep Seat Dressage Saddle	Stübben Maestoso Dressage Saddle	Passier Grand Gilbert(Nicole) Dressage Saddle
$2,695	$2,999	$1,999	$2,599

Before leaving, I purchased a few trinkets to remember my trip to Dover. I picked up a new mane brush, a pair of fancy looking boot socks and cookies for the horses. Yes, they were real cookies for horses. They were made of corn, oats, molasses, carrots and apples. I don't know how tasty they were, but the horses definitely loved them. I almost didn't make it out of the barn with all of my fingers. :-)