This is one of my all-time favorite saddles and it’s a crying shame that they were discontinued. The Wintec Pro XC saddle (the Matt Ryan) is an excellent saddle for the long-legged rider. Wintec replaced this saddle with the Pro Jump. That’s not a bad saddle, but if you have a really long femur, you just can’t get your stirrups up far enough without your knee going over the flap.
This saddle features an extra forward flap, a relatively flat seat, and that lovely equisuede seat, which makes you stick like glue. For cross country jumping or foxhunting, this is a very secure and comfortable saddle and a great buy. I found one used on eBay several years ago and snapped it up for just $300.
I had originally planned to use it to hunt in inclement weather, but it quickly became one of my favorite saddles. It is very light weight and it is a saddle that, for lack of a better word, is flexible. I always feel that my horses jump better in this saddle.
The Wintec Pro XC (Matt Ryan) is great for people with really long legs.
My only complaint is that the saddle can put you in a very slight chair seat on the flat, but it’s not as bad as some of the more expensive saddles that I’ve owned (this can happen with saddles with very forward flaps).
Wintec/Weatherbeeta made this saddle for several years first with wool flocking then with CAIR panels. The earlier ones were made with a fixed tree, while some of the later ones use the interchangeable gullet (although they must be changed by a saddle fitter). It appears this saddle was more widely distributed in Australia and New Zealand than in the US, but a few of the saddles were sold here and come up for sale.
Over the years I’ve bought three of them, eventually selling the one with the most wear. Periodically you find them on eBay, but two of mine were being sold privately. Originally these saddles were sold for about $700. You can also find them for sale in Australia and New Zealand, usually for a decent price. I’ve actually considered stockpiling a few more since IMHO, you can’t beat them for the price.
