Yesterday was basically Christmas at the house on a hill. The poor mailman brought not just one but two hunks of gorgeous leather to my door, and my spirits sailed as I opened each box and inhaled that beautiful leather aroma. Here, hopefully, is a saddle that will end my shopping woes.

I decided to test ride the Amerigo monoflap first because, quite frankly, it’s beautiful, and it happens to be the cheaper of the two. The calfskin leather is supple and squishy, and though it’s in an obviously used state, the saddle appears well taken care of.

Setting it on Smitty’s back, the saddle provides enough wither clearance, and I like the way it fits his shoulder- no pinching or tightness to my [untrained] eye. There was a slight rock to it from front to back, but not enough so as to be unrideable with a wool pad underneath.

On the lunge a bit of this bounce was still evident, but Smitty seemed to not be bothered and so I hopped aboard.

Smitty: Does this saddle make my butt look big?

It didn’t help that it was dark, hadn’t ridden in a week thanks to the fat leg (gone, by the way, thank goodness!), and was alone- so I was tense and unable to fully appreciate the saddle. But I did note how close my leg felt to him. Nothing felt immediately out of place, and I didn’t feel like I was swimming in it despite the 18″ seat size.

Tonight I’ll throw on the Stubben Excalibur, and plan to alternate between the two options for the week while I get a good feel for which is the clear winner. Buh bye, money!