Shop Western Pleasure and Show Saddles

A western pleasure saddle is made for rail classes and relaxed riding, where the horse works at a slow jog and lope. It has a deep, close seat that keeps you sitting quietly, a balanced stirrup position, and usually tooling and silver for the show ring. Many riders also use one for everyday riding at home, because the same seat that looks still in a class is comfortable on a hack.

There is a lot of overlap, which is why this page now covers both. A pleasure saddle is built for comfort in rail classes and general riding, and may carry little or no silver. A show saddle is finished for the pen: heavier tooling, more silver on the skirts and cantle, and an equitation seat that holds the rider in position. Choose by how much silver and how deep a seat you want.

It depends on your classes. Judged western pleasure and equitation classes traditionally favour silver, so 27 of the saddles here have it. For schooling at home, or for a young rider starting out, a plain tooled saddle costs less, weighs less and is easier to keep clean. You can also add a silver headstall and breast collar to a plain saddle instead.

In our current stock the middle price is about $1,125, and prices run from about $238 to $4,320. Used pleasure saddles from makers like Hereford, Conway and Courts sit under $850, and used show saddles mostly cost $700 to $1,400. New show saddles are the top end: Circle Y’s Empress, Cameo and Vintage Diamond models run from about $4,140 to $4,320.

Usually, yes. Show saddles often get light use and careful storage, so a used one can look almost new for a fraction of the price, and about seven in ten of the saddles here are used (43 of 59). Check the photos for tarnished or missing silver conchos, a cracked tree, worn billets and dry leather. Used saddles can be tried through our 14-day Test Ride Demo Program.