Product Review: Toklat Classics III Saddle Pads

Toklat Classics III close contact pad in blue with lime green piping and blue binding. Photo by Michelle Wadley.

Saddle pads for an equestrian are like shoes for the average woman. It doesn’t matter how many you have, there is always room for one more. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one out there with a pile of saddle pads as tall as me. And I only have one horse! White dressage pads are available everywhere! (Thank goodness!) and close contact pads in the basic colors of white, black, navy, hunter and burgundy are easy to come by.

But what if you’re like me, and you have crazy cross country colors, are totally obsessed with the matchy, matchy, AND you are super picky about quality? Well, I have your answer: The Classics III saddle pad by Toklat. These pads are nothing short of fabulous! They are super durable without being bulky or overly stiff. They are made in the USA, which I love, and they are available in a variety of cuts from dressage to close contact to cross country. But the very best part about the Classics III pads? The color combinations available! It would require a degree in math to figure out exactly how many custom color combinations there are to choose from. So, if you’re like me with unusual cross country colors, or you just like to design your own pad, the Classics III is definitely the pad for you!

My favorite color is chartreuse, otherwise known as “Bien (my maiden name, pronounced bean) green.” My cross country colors are Bien green, black and royal blue. Until finding this pad line, I was hard pressed to find a pad that fit my matching criteria. Shades of chartreuse vary, so I use it as an accent color, but I still wanted to incorporate it into my cross country pad. Even when it was the hot, trendy color, Bien green was hard to come by. Enter the Toklat Classics III pad. I was able to chose my pad color and piping, which came in lime green (wahoo!), and for a little extra, I could have chosen a custom color for the binding. I chose to stick with the blue of the pad, but there are 20-plus colors to choose from.

Options are definitely the name of the game when it comes to these outstanding pads. Not only are there different styles and colors available, but also different lengths and even options like shims and extra wool padding. The price point is spot on as well. The Classics III pads start at around $60 depending upon the retailer and the style and could go as high as $100 depending on your options. The only downside to these pads is the time factor. If you need one quickly, forget it. We are talking a custom item here, so you do need to allow eight weeks for delivery. (I ordered mine from Adams Horse Supply, and I think it took six weeks.) However, for the quality, style, price and custom color, these pads are completely worth it!

Go Eventing.