General purpose (GP) saddles – sometimes called all-purpose saddles – are a popular choice as they’re designed for riders who like to do a bit of everything and don’t want or need a specific dressage saddle or jump saddle. They are forward cut enough for low-level jumping, while still being suitable for flatwork and hacking. If you’re looking for a new GP saddle, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite models from a selection of the best English saddle brands to give you somewhere to start.
H&H recommends consulting a qualified saddle fitter prior to purchase and following up with regular checks to tailor the fit to your horse’s changing shape. The links below should help direct you to local stockists.
GP saddles from some of the best English saddle brands
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Bates All Purpose SC Saddle
Colours: Classic black or classic brown
Seat sizes: 16–18in
RRP: £1,349
Described as a high performance general purpose saddle that features cutting edge design and technology not previously seen in general purpose saddles. It offers comfort, security and balance, ensuring a comfortable deep seat for leisure riding, flatwork and some jumping.
This leather and synthetic combination saddle is leather on the topside but synthetic under the panels. It has a more forward cut than the standard GP, manoeuvrable knee and thigh blocks and an additional point strap to fix it in place. The Whitaker Interchangeable Size Bar system gives you the option of six widths that you can change yourself.
This synthetic saddle is designed for riders who want to do a little bit of everything – especially jumping. It has a soft, open seat with a low, square cantle. The soft panels that are designed to mould in and around your horse’s muscles hugging their unique conformation.
The Arena Cob General Purpose saddle is purposefully crafted with this conformation in mind, allowing cobs to move comfortably with the added bonus of adjustable features.
Designed for riders looking for a comfortable, high quality, all-round saddle, suitable for jumping and showing, this saddle offers a supportive seat and leg position. It has a wide panel bearing surface and an adjustable tree.
This saddle is described as an ideal choice for riders with a varied routine. It has an open head, which makes it ideal for horses with less wither and a flatter, broader back, such as Native breeds. The Liberty GP features a soft dual density seat and substantial knee and thigh blocks for added security.
This high-comfort saddle is ideal if you want a little extra luxury and support for everyday riding and jumping. It is fully covered in high-grip, super-soft hide and has a neat, compact seat. The ghost-stitched flaps follow the contours of the generous stitched-on knee block, and the calf block provides plenty of leg support if you’re jumping. Multiple girthing options help ensure stability on a variety of conformations.
This saddle is designed for the wider horse and features the GFS Flexi Block System, which means it can be adjusted to suit your perfect leg position. It has multiple removable girth straps to aid balance and a wider, flatter panel for an improved load-bearing surface. It also has a flexible carbon fibre webbed tree and is flocked with siliconised wool.
This saddle is ideal for wide horses with flat backs – the low-profile, flexible base panel accommodates the rounder back shape, ensuring saddle security and eliminating any rocking, twisting or slipping typically associated with traditional native breeds and cobs. Weight fluctuations and changes in back shape throughout the season can be easily adapted to thanks to the FlexTech technology and balance pad system.
This all-purpose saddle of the Roxanne series has a slight emphasis on jumping – the banana-shaped knee roll and a flat calf block stabilise your leg over the fence, without wedging it during dressage lessons. There are also plenty of customisation options available.
This saddle features a comfortable and balanced seat with a generous flap that supports the rider when jumping or on the flat. It has an open head and front gusset in the panel, making it suitable for a horse with an average height wither, while the large weight bearing panels suit a wide range of horses. The interchangeable gullet plates allow you to change the width of the saddle if your horse changes shape.
This saddle is designed to suit your horse, whether they have a flat or curved back, and the adaptive tree and range of lengths ensure a precise, comfortable fit. Features include a wide channel, large choice of headplates, a double stirrup bar, adjustable blocks and multiple girthing options, which together ensure rider comfort and security.
This is a universal monoflap saddle with a medium depth seat that is suitable for leisure riding and a mix of disciplines. It’s wool flocked and built on a wide choice of wooden and polymer adjustable tree options with interchangeable bars to suit all types of profiles.
The Native Pony Saddle Company Mountain & Moorland Saddle
Colours: Rich dark brown or black
Seat sizes: 16.5–17.5in
RRP: £1,895
This saddle is a great option for those who prefer a slightly straighter GP saddle or have horses who require one for the correct fit. It has a flatter seat, supportive knee rolls and a thigh pad, and it comes in close contact flock, which is ideal for flat-backed cobs and native breeds, with tree and panel options to suit other breeds of horses.
This saddle has an ergonomically designed seat shape that ensures comfort and security in the saddle, while the flap design provides versatility between flatwork, hacking and jumping. It features a dual purpose, soft padded knee flap that offers support with either a long leg or shorter jump position, as well as customised knee block and thigh block options that can be adjusted as required by the rider according to discipline.
There are also lots of customisation options including an interchangeable cantle design – choose from coloured piping, patent leather or even crystals, and choose between a premium suede or classic calfskin seat and knee finish.
This saddle is a comfortable high-quality all-round saddle. It features the Flexi Block System enabling adjustment for that perfect leg position. Multiple and removable girth straps assist in keeping the saddle balanced, while the changeable gullet system accommodates widths from narrow to extra-extra-wide.
Chunky monkey saddles specialise in saddles for cob, natives and curvy horses, allowing space for big shoulders to complement their build. The VSD saddle is an ideal choice for those who want to do a bit of everything from hacking and showing to dressage. It’s double flapped and has a good thigh block. Available on a larger seat with shorter tree for short backed horses. Custom flap lengths available.
Traditional wool-flocked saddle, designed with clean and simple lines and featuring front and optional rear blocks. Supportive enough to jump in but also excellent for flatwork and general riding. Customisation available.
Ideal Technical & Traditional General Purpose Saddle
Colours: Black or brown
Seat sizes: 16in–18in, M–XXW
RRP: From £1,895
This adjustable saddle design has all the benefits of Ideal’s superb quality leather and extraordinary attention to detail. It is manufactured out of vegetable-tanned solid leather and soft hide, and has a pre-moulded medium soft seat. It also features Velcro knee and calf blocks for adjustability.
This saddle is a suitable for a range of activities. The ‘Compact’ name refers to the neat seat, which makes this a great option for the petite rider on a large pony or small horse. There are three panel options available for horses with low, medium or high wither profile, plus Velcro knee and calf blocks to suit your leg position, and four girthing options for added stability.
Sorting through the best GP saddles including some of the best English saddle brands to find one that fits and works for both you and your horse isn’t something you can do solely online, but it’s a good place to begin your search. Unlike most horsey purchases you make, this purchasing decision really has to strike the balance between getting the right saddle for you and the best fit for your horse. You can, however, spend as much time as you like before this stage browsing the best English saddle brands, their latest releases and the returning favourite models. With a range of colours, leathers, shapes and personalisation options, there’s plenty to consider.
This guide features a wide range of the best English saddle brands to provide you with the basic information on your search for your new saddle.
When you have finished browsing through the best English saddle brands and you’ve shortlisted a new saddle you have to keep in mind the saddle won’t come with a saddle pad, long girth, stirrups or stirrup leathers as standard so, while you’re at it, it’s a good idea to check them out, too.
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Franchesca is Horse & Hound’s Products Editor. She produces all of our buying guides and gift guides, as well as organising product testing and bringing you news about the latest products to hit the market. If there’s a new launch, Franchesca is the first person to hear about it. She brings you the best deals and is passionate about arming Horse & Hound’s readers with honest, unbiased product reviews. Franchesca loves letting riders and horse owners know what products are coming out, how to make their lives easier and how to spend their money wisely.
