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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
 
Location: TN | Which saddle of these two would you choose if you found one in your price range?
A used pro racer is the only Caldwell in my price range, but I also like what I've read about Shiloh Contenders. |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
   
Location: In the Hills of Texas | I have a Caldwell Pro Racer and it's the only saddle I own that I will never sell. If it doesn't fit your horse it's not worth 2 cents. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 599
| I have a contender and an ultra rocket (different horses). You can't go wrong with either!!!! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | dRowe - 2017-02-11 6:08 PM
I have a contender and an ultra rocket (different horses). You can't go wrong with either!!!!
Awesome! That's what I was hoping but I also need someone to help me make a decision! ?? How about seat size in a Caldwell vs. a contender? I normally ride a 14 but I've seen a lot of caldwells with bigger seats. Do they fit tighter? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | Nevertooold - 2017-02-11 5:33 PM
I have a Caldwell Pro Racer and it's the only saddle I own that I will never sell. If it doesn't fit your horse it's not worth 2 cents.
I would love to find a saddle that I love that much! Hopefully one of these will be it. Do caldwells run tighter on the seats or true to size? |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| KatieMac88 - 2017-02-11 7:01 PM Nevertooold - 2017-02-11 5:33 PM I have a Caldwell Pro Racer and it's the only saddle I own that I will never sell. If it doesn't fit your horse it's not worth 2 cents. I would love to find a saddle that I love that much! Hopefully one of these will be it. Do caldwells run tighter on the seats or true to size?
I have 2 Caldwell's, absolutely love them. I think seat size depends on the rise too. I ride in a 14.75, I wear a size 10/12, not too skinny but not too fat :). I have an old Pozzi that is a 14" and a little tight for me. I have found that my Caldwell's run pretty true to size compared to my other saddles. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | rodeomom3 - 2017-02-11 7:28 PM
KatieMac88 - 2017-02-11 7:01 PM Nevertooold - 2017-02-11 5:33 PM I have a Caldwell Pro Racer and it's the only saddle I own that I will never sell. If it doesn't fit your horse it's not worth 2 cents. I would love to find a saddle that I love that much! Hopefully one of these will be it. Do caldwells run tighter on the seats or true to size?
That's good to know! One of the caldwells I've found is a 14.5 with a high rise and one is a 14.25 with a low/medium rise... |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 599
| I usually ride in a 13.5 and I like a tight fit. So my 14s of everything else have felt big to me. My Caldwell is a 14, my contender is 13.5, and they feel the same. The Caldwell is much nicer, but the contender is more comfortable for me. :) |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | dRowe - 2017-02-11 7:56 PM
I usually ride in a 13.5 and I like a tight fit. So my 14s of everything else have felt big to me. My Caldwell is a 14, my contender is 13.5, and they feel the same. The Caldwell is much nicer, but the contender is more comfortable for me. :)
That helps on the seat sizing! Can I ask what makes the contender more comfortable? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 599
| I like to feel extra secure in my saddle. Deep seat. The Caldwell feels more restrictive...I think it's the rise in the front of the seat. Again, Caldwell is much better quality, but contender is more comfortable. :) |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | A pro racer is a straighter fit for the horse while a contender is curvier. Pro racer isn't very wide either. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | I'll try to attach a pic of my horse (it's not the best and he's actually filled out a little more since this was taken). Which tree shape would fit him better I wonder?
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 IMG_0336.JPG (50KB - 490 downloads)
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | dRowe - 2017-02-12 9:44 AM
I like to feel extra secure in my saddle. Deep seat. The Caldwell feels more restrictive...I think it's the rise in the front of the seat. Again, Caldwell is much better quality, but contender is more comfortable. :)
That makes sense. So you feel like you can get up to hustle more in the contender than the Caldwell, but it's still a secure deep seat? If that's the case I probably need to wait on a contender to come available. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 716
Location: who knows? | Have to disagree about the quality of the Contender. It is great quality. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 599
| I'm not saying contender ISN'T good quality. I'm just saying side-by-side, Caldwell is higher quality all around. I am still recommending the contender too - I said you can't go wrong with either! I gave pros and cons to both saddles. :) I'm not trying to hate on either because I currently ride in both!!
As for being restricted in my Caldwell...I feel like I can move around a little more in my contender, while still feeling very secure.
I wouldn't give up either saddle right now, so I still think you'd be happy with either one!!!! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | Thank you all for your help! It's not made my decision any easier though lol. They both seem so nice, buuuut I'm leaning towards the contender but they're so hard to find! Guess I need to learn to be patient. |
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Location: South Dakota | KatieMac88 - 2017-02-12 8:54 PM Thank you all for your help! It's not made my decision any easier though lol. They both seem so nice, buuuut I'm leaning towards the contender but they're so hard to find! Guess I need to learn to be patient.
I have a Contender and sure like it, it seems to fit both my horses real nice, and is comfortable to ride. The leather is not as soft and nice feeling as the Caldwells, but I am more than happy with my Contender. There is a Facebook page that is strictly devoted to used Shiloh saddles for sale. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | ridejg - 2017-02-12 10:01 PM
KatieMac88 - 2017-02-12 8:54 PM Thank you all for your help! It's not made my decision any easier though lol. They both seem so nice, buuuut I'm leaning towards the contender but they're so hard to find! Guess I need to learn to be patient.
I have a Contender and sure like it, it seems to fit both my horses real nice, and is comfortable to ride. The leather is not as soft and nice feeling as the Caldwells, but I am more than happy with my Contender. There is a Facebook page that is strictly devoted to used Shiloh saddles for sale.
That's good to know! I'm following that Facebook page but haven't seen anything in 14" and 6 3/4 or 7 gullet yet. I'll keep watching! |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | KatieMac88 - 2017-02-12 10:14 PM ridejg - 2017-02-12 10:01 PM KatieMac88 - 2017-02-12 8:54 PM Thank you all for your help! It's not made my decision any easier though lol. They both seem so nice, buuuut I'm leaning towards the contender but they're so hard to find! Guess I need to learn to be patient. I have a Contender and sure like it, it seems to fit both my horses real nice, and is comfortable to ride. The leather is not as soft and nice feeling as the Caldwells, but I am more than happy with my Contender. There is a Facebook page that is strictly devoted to used Shiloh saddles for sale. That's good to know! I'm following that Facebook page but haven't seen anything in 14" and 6 3/4 or 7 gullet yet. I'll keep watching!
There's a Finalist that size for sale. It's the same saddle as the Contender except the swells are round instead of undercut. I sold a Contender that size last year and had to drop the price lower than I wanted to get it sold. It was on the market for 3 months, and there were several for sale around the same time that weren't trophy saddles like mine. You just have to be patient.  |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | Caldwell. Hands down. If it doesn't fit you or your horse your chances of selling it for what you paid are better than if you get the Shiloh.
Caldwell has Better quality leather, better quality materials and is more well known than Shiloh making it easier to resell should you ever get in a bind or need to get a better fitting saddle.
If you sat the two side by side in person chances are you yourself would choose the Caldwell based on quality and appearance rather than the Shiloh. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2674
Location: Silver Lake, MN | I have Shilohs and I love them. I have owned a Caldwell too but just cannot afford them at this time and the Shilohs ride as close to it I can find for the money. I would drop half a seat size in the Contender. I ride in a 14" Contender and a 14.5" in everything else. I have an add in the Shiloh FB page. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | Three 4 Luck - 2017-02-13 8:58 AM
KatieMac88 - 2017-02-12 10:14 PM ridejg - 2017-02-12 10:01 PM KatieMac88 - 2017-02-12 8:54 PM Thank you all for your help! It's not made my decision any easier though lol. They both seem so nice, buuuut I'm leaning towards the contender but they're so hard to find! Guess I need to learn to be patient. I have a Contender and sure like it, it seems to fit both my horses real nice, and is comfortable to ride. The leather is not as soft and nice feeling as the Caldwells, but I am more than happy with my Contender. There is a Facebook page that is strictly devoted to used Shiloh saddles for sale. That's good to know! I'm following that Facebook page but haven't seen anything in 14" and 6 3/4 or 7 gullet yet. I'll keep watching!
Oh man! I hate I wasn't looking when you sold your Contender. I saw several sold back in the fall ??. I used to have an FX3 and I liked the undercut swells so I'd really rather have a contender than a finalist. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: Georgia | I have a 14" contender for sale if anyone is looking Pm me and I can text or email you more info. |
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