Dover Saddlery in Parker Colorado!!!

Steve and I headed up one day to the Denver area to run some errands, get some beer brewing supplies that he was out of and then on the way back we swung by Dover Saddlery in Parker, CO!  I'm so excited to have a Dover Saddlery local to us since some of the items they sell I have not seen locally.  There is a lot more western style riding gear in Colorado Springs so I'm psyched to see Dover here.  This Christmas, anyone who asks what I want for Christmas the only thing I'm going to say is a Dover Saddlery Gift card.  Who knows, if everyone listens I could end up having a new saddle paid for before I even get my horse!  Of course I'm not buying the actual saddle until I have the horse since I want to fit it to him or her.

So we headed into Dover, I glanced at the shirts and jackets.  I so want one of those nice quilted looking jackets.  Some have a diamond pattern while one I saw had little horseshoes on it.  I thought it was very cute.  Steve commented about how there is not much clothing for men.  That's an interesting thought, where are we going to find riding gear for Steve?  There was a whole rack of helmets.  I eventually want to get another helmet at some point, one that is casual and more low profile, something that would work for trail riding.  I like the brown leather look Troxel helmet.  I love the one I have but I like variety too! 

The first saddle I get for my future horse will be a dressage saddle since I know I'll be doing a lot of arena work and I can still use the saddle for trail rides.  Eventually though I want to buy an Australian Stockman's Saddle from Down Under Saddlery, a local shop in the Denver area.  I just want to be cautious since a lot of times the Australian saddles throw your leg forward because of how you need to sit in them and I don't want that ruining the seat I'm working hard to obtain for dressage. 

Anyhow, Steve and I looked at all the racks of tack.  We pulled down a several saddles to try out.  I was interested in seeing the Wintec saddles in person.  I like the idea of a low maintenance saddle (no leather!) and the two Wintecs I've ridden in have been pretty comfortable to me.  I grabbed the dressage saddle I was liking from online, the Wintec Dressage 500.  It's made of Equileather, so it has a nice smooth surface instead of the mock suede that I've read tends to pill after use.  The twist was narrow and made me feel very secure and comfortable.  I liked it a lot.  I'm not sure if I would get a 17.5 or 18 inch size, I think the people at the store could help me determine the proper size.  The saddle is equipped with Cair which is supposed to be an equally distributing base so that there are fewer hotspots than with a normal stuffed/flocked saddle panel.  I also tried out a couple of the other Wintec saddles, the more expensive models and found them to be wider than I felt happy with. 

Steve also tried out some of the saddles and he seemed to like the general purpose 500 of Wintec best.  If he rides my horse he'll just have to deal with my saddle until he either gets his own saddle or own saddle/horse combo! 

We checked out some of the other gear they had such as blankets, saddle pads and bridles.  I'm pretty set on the Wintec Dressage 500 now, so glad I saw it in person.  I asked one of the show room people about fitting it to a horse and they have a trial option where you can buy the saddle and "try" it out.  It has to not show wear and tear or anything like that if you return it so I guess a very clean horse and limited riding to check the fit is all you can do.  The other good thing about the Wintec is the adjustable gullet.  You can fit the horse with the perfect fit over the withers and then as they build muscle or change as they age you can always adjust the saddle.  I'm pretty happy!  Can't wait to go shopping for my future horse!