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phone: 920-360-3199 | julie@juliekaye.com
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Testimonials
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  "I love the saddle!! I can follow my horse's jump better then ever and my horse's back is no longer sore."
– Kyle Dewar
Grand Prix show jumper
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"I love my new County saddle. My horse is going 30% better under saddle, and I am sitting better. More into the horse. Our trots are rounder and more bouncy. Also, I feel the horse more. I can influence him more with my seat and I feel his back now. I feel like we are a part of each other. I really did not think just a saddle could make that much difference."
– Jean Glanzman
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"Hi Julie - Thanks again for coming out to make the adjustments to Snowcap's saddle. We love it and - even better - so does he! It's made such a difference in his disposition during lessons and elevated him from 'willing to work' to 'happy to work'!"
– Dena Duncan
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 "I have nothing but praise and thanks for Julie and her skills as a master saddler! A few months after my 'investment' horse became my 'forever' horse, I realized that the saddle I had been riding him in was an extremely poor fit. My stoic horse had been dealing with it well, but he was starting to show the signs of a poorly fitting saddle and I decided it was time to do my part in the relationship. I rode in a TON of my friend's saddles including a Butet, CWD, Antares, Dover Circuit, Luc Childric, Beval Natural, and a Pessoa, but nothing seemed quite right. I was searching high and low to find a saddle fitter who would come to my barn and fit my horse but no one would come!
Then I heard about County saddles and located Julie as my local rep. Less than a week after our first email contact she was at my barn tracing my horse's spine and back and trying out saddles. I was lucky enough to be blessed with a wide-bodied, shark fin-withered TB, but that didn't seem to be a problem for these saddles. We first established what was wrong with my current saddle and then tried out the Stabilizer.
The fit was very good on my horse, but I didn't like the way I sat in the saddle. Out came the demo Innovation. The fit on my horse was spectacular, and when I sat in the saddle I felt like I would never fall off again! It was more comfortable to me than any of the French saddles I had ridden in, and it certainly fit my horse better! We decided on a narrow tree with a number of options for my horse to narrow it further (parallel panels, keyhole tree, extra deep gullet, etc.) and found that there was one in stock. My old saddle was such a poor fit that I was terrified to ride him in it again, and Julie was able to lend me the demo saddle until the new saddle arrived.
The demo itself was wonderful, but when my saddle came I was thrilled! Julie came right out and fit the new saddle to my horse by re-flocking it perfectly. The new saddle was perfect! I got the bull leather, and there was no break in time at all! It was comfortable from the very first ride, and as I have cleaned and conditioned it, it has only gotten better.
I school in a Mattes pad and a baby pad rather than a huge 1⁄2 back pad, and I now show in a Mattes pad rather than a shimmed pad and a gel pad. My close contact saddle is now actually 'close contact' again!
I recommend County Saddlery to everyone with hard-to fit horses, and I'm sure that Rio is doing the same! Thanks, Julie! Rio and I are thrilled and can't wait to keep working with you to make sure we have the benefit of a well-fitting and comfortable saddle as we continue our show career together!"
– Sheridan Griffin
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"I have a new County Conquest cross country saddle that I received from Julie through her trainer referral program. I thought I'd have a hard time finding a saddle that beat my old saddle as far as the broken-in feeling, but this saddle feels like a broken-in saddle
right from the get go. The quality and thickness of the leather is excellent. It also has saved me from some falls while out galloping with young green horses that decide they don't like ditches yet."
– Brad Hall
avid eventer, trainer and clinician
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 "I could not be happier with my new County. Not only does it fit my horse, Tys, perfectly, it fits me perfect too. Julie did a great job sizing him and explaining to me the differences in the saddles to make sure we had the right one. I can’t wait for the show season to start and win the blues!! Thanks Julie!!"
– Jamie Van Linn
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"I love my saddle! It has an already broke in feel and makes me look good! (If you could only hear the inflection in my voice!!!!!!) I should have done this years ago but glad I waited till my horse grew up a bit. I need to be sure I tighten the girth several times during my ride. But I love it and feel so much more secure in it than ever. My horse feels more secure too and at shows I can walk him on the Buckle! Usually I have to hand walk him everywhere and lunge him forever, but he is so relaxed! No tail swishing!!!!!! Thank you Julie!!!!"
– Kate Kostenbader
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–  Kenny Dierks
Eventing Trainer, Stonehedge Farm
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"I purchased our first County Saddle from your WI, IL Rep December 2008. My horse was extremely difficult to fit properly with a saddle, we had tried about 30 saddles before I contacted County. Julie Kaye, your WI/IL rep is absolutely awesome. She did a phenomenal job fitting our horse. For the first time in several months we have been able to ride and work him without causing him to become sore. It is so nice to have him back to work. While our Innovation saddle was not the most inexpensive out there, I can tell you that I had spent a tremendous amount on vet care trying to figure out why my horse was always getting a sore back and whithers. I could have saved myself a whole bunch of money if I had contacted County sooner. We just purchased our second horse, and I knew immediately that I would not use any saddle on him except a "County" saddle. Julie came out last night, and we did his tracing/measurements. Very shortly we will be placing the order for his Stabilizer saddle. Never again will I own or put a foam filled saddle on any of our horses. From now on it is wool flocking all they way, because it saves you in the long run and it is so much better for our horses. Whenever I have a need or hear of anyone asking about what type of saddle they should purchase, I will always recommend Julie Kaye and the folks at County Saddlery. By the way, you have a great asset in Julie. My trainer (who grew up in the equine business) said she is the best saddle fitter she has ever worked with, and was so impressed with how she listened to her, and worked with her for both saddle fittings, to get the best possible fit/saddle for my daugher and our horses. Thank you Julie & County Saddlery."
– Nancy Kuczora
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"When I decided to choose a new saddle, I took my time over the winter and tried many different saddles from many different companies. My high expectations were three fold; 1) I needed to feel completely at home in the saddle. 2) I needed my horses to feel free and swingy in the saddle with no restriction and 3) I needed top notch service, meticulous and reliable, wherever I was in the whole wide world.
"After going through the fitting process with many companies, Courtney stated that "The choice was clear for me; County surpassed my expectations on all three counts. I loved the way they fit the saddles to my horses' particular shapes. I was completely at home in the seat, and County bends over backwards to get the job done perfectly. There's no compromise. I feel so lucky to have found a saddle both my horses and I feel a part of, and also to feel such team support behind our efforts in the ring."
– Olympian Courtney King-Dye
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"This past Tue, Kelly had our group lesson doing shoulder in, a few straight steps to a haunches in, then coming down the long rail doing an extended trot. OMG....it felt lovely and apparently it was lovely. Kelly even said....either its the new saddle or you two are finally getting it. Inside I was beaming. :) Between you me and the fence post, its the saddle."
– Bonnie McMullen
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