Schleese Saddlery Service

Custom English Dressage & Jumping Saddles

Why Choose Schleese??

Six Reasons to Make Schleese your Saddle of Choice

1. You will be a priority with the Schleese team. You won’t get lost or be ‘just a number’ even though we sell upwards of 1000 saddles per year. You will get personalized service and attention. The point of the entire process is to get you a saddle that works for you and your horse, with the least inconvenience and hassle for you. Going beyond this, our clients tell us that we deliver an outstanding, responsive client experience. With our Saddlefit 4 Life approach, you have knowledgeable Certified Saddlefit Technicians, trained and supervised by Certified Master Saddler Jochen Schleese and our Senior Trainer Kristen Vlietstra. You do NOT need to compromise fit and comfort to get a Schleese saddle that meets your needs.

2. Quite honestly, we know our saddlefitters are educated to a level that is very rare in this industry, and therefore we believe very strongly that you will receive optimum value for your dollar. Any saddle fitter who discounts saddles or the price of his services must really need the business,and that may tell you something about his client’s satisfaction, referrals and reputation in the equestrian community. With this in mind, you should very thoroughly question such a salesperson about his/her experience, training, and certification. Our Certified Saddlefitters undergo a minimum of 1400 hours of training with three levels of examinations. Remember – you get what you pay for.

3. Even though you may not deal with Jochen Schleese personally, each and every one of the Schleese and Saddlefit4Life technicians has been hand-picked and trained by Jochen himself. This is a “top gun” team with experience, talent, and dedication to client satisfaction unparalleled anywhere in the equine industry. The team approach is the preferred way of getting things done – you will have an entire team working on your behalf plus your own personal Certified Saddlefit Technician who will work around your schedule to visit you and your horse on-site.

4. Even if you may think that all saddle fitters are the same, there are saddle fitters and there are saddle fitters. Schleese saddle fitters undergo a rigorous training and certification process, and we let them service you on their own only after minimum 6 months of intensive education and examinations. We have engineered our entire approach to selling and fitting saddles to attract clients who have a profound preference for the best; for having the most respected, qualified, and capable professional handling their saddle needs.

5. It may be true that you can buy a saddle anywhere else or have your saddle fit by any of the saddle fitters out there, however there is a big difference between just buying a saddle, and buying the right saddle and having it fit properly.

6. Anybody can promise anything. You need to look at a saddlefitter's documented track record, his certification, his training, and the company behind him. Given all the facts the exceptional results with happy client after happy client, we can’t imagine any good reason for you to choose any saddle and saddlefitter other than Schleese. However, please understand that you might not qualify to be a Schleese client – if we do not believe we can successfully address your saddlefitting issues and find you a solution which works for you and your horse, we may not be able to accept you as a Schleese client. As identified over the past 20+ years in business, these are the key factors our best clients share:

a. Preference for working with the most successful professionals they can afford
b. Willingness to listen to and act on expert advice
c. Value for their own time and respecting ours as well
d. Appreciate a step-by-step analysis and evaluation, with everybody on the same page
e. Understand the fit of their saddle is an important step in eliciting optimum performance from their horse
f. Arrive at an educated decision in a logical and thoughtful manner

Remember, you are looking to hire somebody to do a very important job for you. You need to know in advance what kind of saddlefitter with which you wish to work, the things that are most important to you and what questions to ask:
a. How long have you been working as a saddlefitter?
b. What kind of training/certification do you have?
c. How will you make sure my needs are attended to?

If you feel you are a good fit with Schleese and would like to become a Schleese client, we look forward to being of service to you in the near future!