We love the new Bates Isabell Icon Dressage Saddle because it offers elegant luxe leather, adjustable stirrup bars and flexibloc's for optimum leg placement, and a movable overgirth for stabilizing the flaps. The seat is designed to position you closer to the horse while still providing you and your horse unparalleled comfort.  This saddle is beautiful and comfortable for horse and rider!

Elegance meets high-performance in an iconic dressage saddle that is state-of-the-art.
The Bates® Isabell Icon stands alone in freeing the horse’s shoulder and conveying the rider’s aids clearly. Strengthening
the rider’s natural position and enhancing their intuitive connection through saddle innovation and career experience. Your journey starts here.

Beneath elegant lines, the perfect dressage seat and leading saddle innovations can be tailored perfectly for your ridden biomechanics. When you optimize the saddle for your natural position, your balance and stability are enhanced, you ride in total synergy and your vision comes to life.

Engineered to adapt with your horse as they move through their body with total comfort, displaying strength and suppleness through their movements. You will immediately notice your connection is accentuated and your horse more intrinsically
responsive to your aids.

For The Rider:

• Bates® Isabell Icon seat: has been perfected. Riders will feel seated closer to their horse than ever before. An ultra-narrow waist that is low to their horse and just enough support helps the rider to move in synergy and deliver aids cleanly.
• Luxe Leather: is more than luxury. When it comes to luxury and the ultimate riding feel in the seat, there is no comparison to Luxe Leather, simply the finest calf-leather in the world. Riders will immediately notice the soft elasticity, exceptional grip, beautiful depth of color and strength, all of which make it the ultimate in comfort and prestige.
• Movable overgirth: stability redefined for dressage. Wrapping the saddle flaps around their horse, the movable overgirth delivers unrestricted feel of their
  horse’s body and totally stabilizes the supple flap. With enhanced contact they will enjoy a stable lower leg that helps even the most demanding moves appear effortless. Locate the overgirth in the optimal position to lie centrally between the girth points for perfect presentation.
• Adjustable Ergonomic Stirrup Bar: strength and control starts with perfect balance. Riders can select the optimal alignment in the saddle to enhance their position for perfect balance. When balance becomes effortless, their strength and precise delivery of aids are also amplified, for ultra-sensitive and responsive connection with their horse.
• Adjustable Flexibloc® system: subtle and effective support. Delivering exceptional support for the rider’s position discreetly below the saddle flap. Working in harmony with their position and seat for exceptional security below luxurious soft cushioning.
• Refined Elegance: a work of art for a classical presentation. A showpiece in any stable, the elegant detailing celebrates Isabell Werth’s journey to become
  an icon of our sport. Simple and understated for a classically neat presentation, befitting the glamor of dressage with every luxury for horse and rider.

For The Horse:

• Engineered to adapt with their horse as they move through their body with total comfort, displaying strength and suppleness through their movements. Riders will immediately notice their connection is accentuated and their horse more intrinsically responsive to their aids.
• Adjustable Y-Girthing system. Achieving an equal distribution of pressure along the length of the saddle tree delivers tremendous stability. When adjusted for the individual horse, this girthing system results in an incredible reduction in ‘white noise’ for the horse and accentuates clear communication between horse and
  rider. A new streamlined adjuster fitting removes any lumps for perfect seamless contact.
• Bates® SynergyPanel: the ultimate for close contact dressage performance
  Exclusive to Bates® Saddles. Ultra-fine and low profile, this panel sculpts away from the horse’s shoulder and transitions contact seamlessly and gradually on to the horse’s body, freeing the shoulder and achieving optimal space around the wither. The connection between horse and rider is accentuated through channeling the rider’s leg with seamless contact to let the horse feel the
  aids as they have never before. Horses will instantly respond to the soft cushioning of the CAIR® Cushion System, which lets them extend, lift and round to their fullest potential.
• HART: the biggest competitive advantage. The greatest gift for any horse is an elite saddle that allows them to move freely, to their fullest potential, and that can continue to be adapted as they develop, grow and change throughout the
  levels. Riders know they are protecting their horse’s back through their partnership with the kind of comfort only possible through HART.

HART:

The technology that makes up HART has been proven to be transformative for both horse and rider:

• Protective cushioning: CAIR Cushion System. Air constantly adapts to the horse's working muscles distributing their weight evenly, virtually eliminating pressure points.
• Precision custom fit: EASY-CHANGE Fit Solution Gullet System
• Ergonomic flex: Elastiflex Tree. Maintains clearance over the horse's wither with superior lateral flexion that works with the horse's muscular movement with every stride.
• Free movement: Performance panel technology. Designed to ensure a large footprint on the horse's back, maximize the weight-bearing surface of the saddle, and resulting in a reduction of pressure.
• Superior rider performance: Comfort seat technology. Multi-layered foams for exacting densities for instantaneous comfort and support for optimal position.
• Flexibloc®, EASY-CHANGE Gullet System, and EASY-CHANGE Riser System.

Leather Care:

Luxe Leather is the finest calf-leather in the world and it is recommend to follow these guidelines on leather care.

• Must be maintained and cared for regularly with a rich wax-based balsam such as Bates® Leather Balsam to help it retain condition, strength, depth of color and grip.
• Always be pre-emptive in applying a protective barrier of wax-based balsam if the saddle is going to be exposed to harsh environmental elements such as direct sunlight or rain.
• It is recommended that prior to the first use, riders apply Bates® Leather Balsam and allow it to soak in overnight before polishing any excess off. This seals in the moisture and protects the surface.