Catalog Saddles

Here are 3 different Catalog saddles, all from the year 1892. These were the type of sidesaddle marketed in the United States, as the name states via mail order. They were mass produced to keep the prices low and although interesting and unique, they lacked the durability and safety features of other higher quality Western sidesaddle (like the Good Night Saddle... but that will be another post!)

Let's compare.

This one is classically Western. You can see the rimmed seat and the nail heads along with the leather tooling. Sadly there is no leaping head.

This one too has beautiful leather tooling and a much deeper seat, but again - no leaping head.

Here is the classic Victorian ladies saddle. It has the carpet seat, the slipper stirrup and an overall very feminine appearance. This model does have the leaping head. You have to wonder how some of these saddles survived at all though. I am sure that cloth seat was easily damaged, either by wear, the elements, weather or infestation!

This is a catalog saddle belonging to Angelina Fuoco. She purchased it from Sidesaddle Heaven. A friend of Angelina's helped to restore this saddle by fiber glassing the tree, putting an entirely new western rigging and saddle rings on it. She tried to sell it but then her 4-H kids wanted to learn to ride aside. Angelina decided to keep it.

She told me, "It is a very solid little saddle and now it fits the kids well and is very balanced so I don't worry about them learning to lean or it slipping."