When I say "horrendous, insane" - this was the woman that almost convinced several horse-crazy teenagers that they never wanted to ride again. It was bad. The singular good thing that came out of that whole mess was a super-cheap dressage saddle (with all the fittings) that my parents were persuaded to buy for me shortly before my instructor finally realized we weren't buying a horse from her and proceeded to lose her ever-loving mind.
I kept that thing for years. When I say cheap - if I remember correctly, we paid $250 in the mid-to-late 1990s. The girth eventually stretched out from a 28" to 34" and had to be repaired at least twice. I had to spend some time fixing the color on the panels, as the black saddle turned brown where my legs sat. For what it was, it was a good saddle; it fit most horses well enough for the lessons I was doing, and it was mine.
I finally sold it a couple of years before I started riding at the current barn, and used that money and a some extra cash from an old savings account to buy a Courbette all-purpose. It's a lovely dark brown, and I have a girth and stirrup leathers to match. I also accidentally found a pair of split reins that match beautifully.
Conveniently, the AP fits Cessa. This... may have lead to me determinedly haunting eBay until I found a brown Courbette bridle that would also fit her. Maybe. The browband's too small, but I was planning to get or make a beaded one anyway...
