2009 Wintec Pro Dressage Saddle
The Wintec Dressage Pro has some very special features including Wintec's exclusive "air stuffed" CAIR panels that supposedly adjust seamlessly to the horse back. The Wintec Dressage Pro is "upholstered" with a new micro-fiber Equisuede material, which seems like it may not be as durable as Wintec's original Equileather material, which often still looks new after years of use. Only time will tell how Equisuede holds us to hard use.
The Wintec Dressage Pro also uses Wintec's Easy Change Gullet System, which allows the width of the saddle gullet to be adjusted to any one of six different sizes, from narrow to extra wide, so that the saddle can theoretically fit any horse, or be used for several different horses. My personal experience with the Easy Change Gullet System is that it is, in fact, easy to use, and it has been helpful to improve the saddle's fit on my horse, though it hasn't made the saddle fit my horses anywhere close to perfectly.
The Wintec Dressage Pro is very "couchlike". Its flaps, which are wide enough to make almost anyone's thighs seem tiny, and the depth of its seat, which will hold you in a secure position, but not allow you very much freedom to adjust your seat position, remind me more of a deluxe office chair than a saddle. And if the Wintec Dressage Pro were a pair of pants, it would be a pair of "relaxed fit" pants for sure.
The seat of the Wintec Dressage Pro has a relatively wide twist (the narrowest portion of the saddle seat), which some people may find less comfortable than a narrow twist. Another innovative feature used in the 2009 Wintec Dressage Pro is a "Y-girth" connector, which allows billet straps to be easily repositioned for better saddle fit. It also allows the billets to be removed for easy replacement.
The saddle also has a built-in overgirth, which is an extra strap that is attached to the outside of the saddle flaps and buckles beneath the horse's belly. The overgirth feature is very puzzling to me: the only time I've ever heard of anyone using an overgirth was for the cross-country phase during high-level (prelim and up) eventing. I'm not sure that this feature really belongs on a dressage saddle, and it's not removable (without cutting it off the saddle, and cutting a chunk of your saddle flap off in the process). So, the Wintec Dressage Pro has an annoying three-foot long strap dangling from one of the outer saddle flaps, and when you tack up, you'll have an extra "girth" to buckle around your horse.
Overall, the Wintec Dressage Pro is a good value when compared with traditionally-styled leather dressage saddles, and horses seem to appreciate the CAIR panels and Easy Change Gullet System.