anyone ever heard of blue ridge brand saddles?

Well no saddle under $200 is going to be good quality, but if you absolutely have to buy in that price range the Blue Ridge are not too bad. You are right, they are one of the low end economy brands. You would be better off getting a better quality brand of saddle used than one of these saddles new. We had a couple Blue Ridge saddles at the summer camp where I used to work. They do not hold up as well as the more expensive brands, but what do you expect for the price?

The Blue Ridge close contact model doesn't look too bad. Nobody would know it's a cheap brand unless they look real close. The all purpose model though, looks cheap even from a distance. They have those suede knee rolls and funny shape to the flap that you only see on cheap all purpose saddles. They are not terribly well balanced, so it's harder to hold a correct position in them than in many better quality brands. But among the low end economy models, the Blue Ridge are better than most. Only you know how much you can afford to spend, so buy the best saddle that's in you budget range. Whatever you get, just make sure it fits your horse!

Blue Ridge Barrel Saddle

Blue Ridge Saddles

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RE:

anyone ever heard of blue ridge brand saddles?

i found an all purpose saddle that looks really nice in pictures. it's a blue ridge brand. all i know is that this brand apparently is made in argentina, and the few i've seen used usually sell for under 200 dollars. i'm assuming this is some low end economy brand.... but does anyone...

The "no reserve" approach is used often when the seller; 1) has priced shipping and handling to cover overhead (here we have a $50 s&h fee) 2) is confident that the product will draw attention and bidding. If the seller's feedback is good, and you've checked carefully for hidden costs or conditions that "kill" the deal, the best method is to enter your bid at what your best offer price (including shipping!) would be...then IGNORE the auction...Sellers count on you to get sucked into a bidding war because it's *such* a good deal. But it's only a good deal if you're getting what you want for the price you want to pay, right? ;) I'm most curious about the "custom fit" style of the tree as described on the maker's website. Overall, the manufacturer appears to be legit & you might be getting a screamin' deal...*if* the saddle meets your criteria and you can win it for the price you have in mind for a new saddle. Happy bidding!

I looked up their barrel saddles...... and the shape of it looked nice, but the leather is cheap as HELL. That saddle cost $629, somehow. It should be priced at $350... on a good day.

By this, I'm assuming that the English saddles aren't good either.

Any saddle made in Argentina isn't of good quality.

I actually bought one off ebay. It was just fine. Similar in quality to Simco saddles.