Given the cost of the lessons - there are 2 choices here, 1: take lessons from an amateur (been there done that ddn't go past trotting) or 2 pay through the nose for a professional. Just started back in dressage and can only afford one lesson a month. But am thinking about buying a dressage saddle which must be a used one.

I know all the things to look for but was wondering - is there any way to refurbish an older saddle and make it look better or darker so good for a show (something beyond a schooling show)? I am looking in the $500 range - I know, good luck!  But did see a possibility, an older Passier that looks to be in good condition with wrinkles on the knee rolls and usual wear other places. I wonder how much of it would be covered up by my body so it wouldn't matter anyway?

I just sold 2 really nice older dressage saddles for less than 500$, so you can definitely find them out there. A darker colored saddle wont show too much wear with proper cleaning. I'm sure you can find something without too much wear in that price range, check out the Toulouse saddles, they start out around 1000$, but people rarely sell them because they love them so much!

My theory -- most of the saddle is covered by your body, so I don't worry about that too much.  And $500 can definitely buy you a good older saddle.  Really the only things that may need refurbishing are flocking, possibly billets.  And judges don't care as long as it is clean.

I've been looking for a quality used dressage saddle, and after working with both www.usedsaddles.com and www.trumbllmtn.com I have to plug for them here. Both offer a fairly wide selection of used saddles, and they have wonderful trial systems. Since saddle fit is so difficult, I didn't want to order off of Ebay and then be stuck with a saddle that didn't work. I'm glad I didn't! The first saddle was way narrow, even though it was labeled the same width as my previous saddle, which had been a tad wide on Lily. Since you only have to pay for the shipping, I was able to return the saddle and start looking for a different one immediately. For someone on my kind of budget, and looking for a less common size, these sites were wonderful. I think some of the local tack shops actually laughed at me when I inquired about a 16.5 wide used dressage saddle. Of course, I could have ordered a new one for $2,000....

 I agree with the other posts. There are lot of decent used saddles out there for the $500 range. I have a Euopean made Euro Riding Diamante Dresage Saddle for saddle for $550 for example for sale, it is a very nice saddle. www.dressageandmore.com

I think a used Passier dressage saddle would be a wonderful find. So go for it if it fits you and your horse. Older leather is usually pretty dry. I've used regular olive oil  - the cheapest you can find - with great success. Olive oil works wonders to give a saddle new life and nice color. Good luck.