In search of... jump saddle edition

When we last left off, Riley was recovering from new shoes and body work. While my life got extremely busy with moving and NO RIDING, Riley got training rides, a new set of hinds and a trim all around and he's feeling very good about life. We signed up for our first event this Sunday where we're going to give BN a try at the ever-forgiving venue of Olde Hope. The intro division is really too easy for us now and I think it's time to start putting a little pressure on both of us.

In the meantime, I've been assessing the saddle fit issue that was brought up with the vet. Our current saddle does not fit at all anymore, so although a shimmable pad would get us through the search time to find a replacement it was not a great long term solution... and the last thing I need is him getting sore or sour about his saddle. We took a little trip down to Maryland Saddlery to see if they had any good options and much to my surprise they had at least three for us to try.

Brrrrr, it's cold in here -- I need your help!

Okay, so it's actually going to be 92 degrees tomorrow with 1 million percent humidity, but Saturday is bringing a low of 44 and the forecast for next week promises true fall weather! With that in mind, I need some help from you guys. Riley is now living outside 24/7 with a nice big shed. The plan is to continue that throughout the winter. I've been lucky enough until now to borrow things as I've needed them, but with my enabler friend owning three horses now, I need to outfit Riley with a fall/winter wardrobe.

What we need:
*A lightweight waterproof turnout
*A medium weight, high denier (also waterproof) turnout
*A heavy weight, high denier (waterproof) turnout
**Possibly a spare medium weight (our barn likes you to have at least one spare available)

What I need from you guys are some recommendations. I'll admit, I am a little overwhelmed at the options! Some people swear by Weathebeeta, some people say Rambo is worth all the money (and hype) and there are tons in between. I do really like Schneider's products (Riley's flysheet is from there and it's terrific quality and held up well to the rigors of 24/7 turnout). Do you guys prefer to layer? Have one really heavy blanket? Do you like neck attachments? Any preferences on belly bands vs. surcingles? I am probably not going to fully clip Riley, but he will most likely get a trace clip once he gets woolly (and oh does he!).

I'm asking for your feedback!

ps. Riley wears a 78" in case any of you have spares lying around that you would like to sell us!

Help.

pps. I'm trying to flesh out a few more posts before my giveaway! I thought I was nearing 200, but I had 3 blog drafts that were being including in the count. I believe this is post 198 (for real, this time).

Not Riley, yet.