For Sale US Military Officers Saddle

[Circlebstable]

I have been told that this is a US Military Officer's Saddle. From the research I have done it is at least similar to the Phillips saddle. Leather is in good condition. I cannot find any makers mark on it.



I'm asking $150 for it plus shipping. You can see more pictures of it at http://circlebstable.com/Updates/2010/01/have-you-ever-seen-a-saddle-like-this/

Please email me for more information at cindys@circlebstable.com

[tmarsh]

Circlestable, not a regulation US saddle. Might have been used by milita or see, http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/truman2'htm Tom

[tmarsh]

Might try goggling Doughboy center,Capt. HS Truman Battery D 129th Field Art. in Argone. Tom

[Pat Holscher]

I have been told that this is a US Military Officer's Saddle. From the research I have done it is at least similar to the Phillips saddle. Leather is in good condition. I cannot find any makers mark on it.



I'm asking $150 for it plus shipping. You can see more pictures of it at http://circlebstable.com/Updates/2010/01/have-you-ever-seen-a-saddle-like-this/

Please email me for more information at cindys@circlebstable.com

What identifies this as a supposed US military saddle?

[Circlebstable]

I have asked everyone that has anything to do with saddles and the response I got from a saddle maker was "I have only seen one other saddle like this, tried to buy it off the old guy. The story he told me was that when he made Officer the saddle was issued to him, at the time Polo was popular in Europe. That was his next duty station, he stated he had been the only Owner, his plans were to leave it to his Grand Daughter. The tack room was not well lighted so could not find a makers mark. Notice how the seat has more depth than other English saddles. I would call it a Military Officers Polo Saddle."

I researched it further in Russel Beatie's Saddles and found similar saddles pictured. http://books.google.com/books?id=lKYZy8dq8qMC&pg=PA301&lpg=PA301&dq=phillips+saddle+beatie&source=bl&ots=ccESNKS5iI&sig=VFofQ7932egVn81wnr4TK55jZRI&hl=en&ei=-HSmS7GCENS0tgfK092aCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false You have to scroll down to pages 316 and 317 for the pictures.

While I am somewhat versed in saddles, I admit that I have never seen one quite like this, however, the officer's saddles made between 1916 and 1936 seem to be at least very similar. If anyone can provide further information on it, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Pat Holscher]

I have asked everyone that has anything to do with saddles and the response I got from a saddle maker was "I have only seen one other saddle like this, tried to buy it off the old guy. The story he told me was that when he made Officer the saddle was issued to him, at the time Polo was popular in Europe. That was his next duty station, he stated he had been the only Owner, his plans were to leave it to his Grand Daughter. The tack room was not well lighted so could not find a makers mark. Notice how the seat has more depth than other English saddles. I would call it a Military Officers Polo Saddle."

That leaves a lot of room to maneuver, I'm afraid.

Polo was popular with US officers in the 20th Century prior to WWII, and to some extent thereafter. Indeed, playing polo would basically be assumed to be an activity that a cavalry officer would engage in, and playing it was encouraged, but polo certainly wasn't limited to cavalrymen. It has remained a sport in at least the British and Indian armies, but has otherwise declined in European armies (I think) and the U.S. Army post WWII. I'd be curious as to what armies might continue on with the sport to varying degrees. Anyhow, I'm not sure when the last U.S. Army polo match was held, although there was an effort to recreate a military polo series a few years back. Polo matches did continue on for some years after WWII.

Anyhow, I'm afraid that you'll need more than what you have verify it as a saddle owned by an Army officer. If it was a private purchase polo saddle it wouldn't be a military saddle in any event, if purchased by a non military source. Rather it would simply be a saddle purchased for sporting use by an Army officer. I'm not familiar enough with purpose built polo saddles, but I wouldn't expect a private purchase polo saddle bought by an Army officer to vary from one bought by somebody else who wanted to play polo. Without some provenance demonstrating ownership by an Army officer, you don't really have much there, as polo isn't exclusively a military sport by any means. Indeed, even if it was owned by an Army officer, unless it was owned by one we'd generally recognize, if it was a private purchase saddle from a civilian manufacturer, it would still basically be a general polo saddle of a particular vintage.

Polo saddles were built by Rock Island Arsenal for Army officer use, but we'd expect them to be marked in some fashion, I think, so that they could be identified as that. And you don't have that here.

I researched it further in Russel Beatie's Saddles and found similar saddles pictured. http://books.google.com/books?id=lKYZy8dq8qMC&pg=PA301&lpg=PA301&dq=phillips+saddle+beatie&source=bl&ots=ccESNKS5iI&sig=VFofQ7932egVn81wnr4TK55jZRI&hl=en&ei=-HSmS7GCENS0tgfK092aCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false You have to scroll down to pages 316 and 317 for the pictures.

Beattie's book isn't bad, but generally it isn't regarded as the last word in anything in particular here. It's nicely illustrated, but it leans heavily on various other sources, and Beattie was dying at the time he wrote it. This is not to say it's bad, it isn't, but it isn't the definitive source on anything, I'm afraid. I have it and like it, but you really have to go beyond it to research anything.

While I am somewhat versed in saddles, I admit that I have never seen one quite like this, however, the officer's saddles made between 1916 and 1936 seem to be at least very similar. If anyone can provide further information on it, I would greatly appreciate it.

I'm not an expert on flat saddles by any means, but from the single photo, I can't see anything obviously unique about the saddle, or even militarized about it. It doesn't appear to be a military field saddle to me. It doesn't appear to have a lot of use to it. It might be a sporting saddle (I'm not well enough informed on those to address that), but, if it is, offhand there's nothing to associate it with military use offhand. The saddlemaker you note associates it with military polo use solely by appearance, but if that's the case, based on the way he related it, it stands just as good of chance as being non military saddle bought by an Army officer as it does anything else.

Having said all that, I'm very far from an expert on Officer's saddles, and will defer to any of the genuine experts here. I may well be incorrect.