Best Look Alike for a Jimmy's Bridle

[Dirty Little Secret]

Few of us can justify/afford the price tag associated with a Jimmy's bridle but I think that the quality goes without question. However, it still doesn't mean that I have more dollars in my pocket to be able to afford such quality. Which bridle in your opinion would be the closest look alike?
I was thinking the Rodrigo Pessoa Wide Noseband? the Wellfleet wide noseband (smartpak)? the Dover Hunter Derby bridle? any more?
Reviews of any of those substitutions?

[BAC]

Is Hadfields within your budget? They are expensive but much less so than Jimmy's. There is a picture in this week's COTH of their padded bridle and it is gorgeous.

Otherwise what about Edgewood? I would prefer that over the others you mentioned. www.laurenstacktrunk.com (http://www.laurenstacktrunk.com) has great prices on Edgewood, plus an additional 10% off her listed prices right now.

Another great source is www.premiertackoutlet.com (http://www.premiertackoutlet.com), high end discounted bridles and other tack.

[spmoonie]

I second Hadfields. Excellent quality, and very beautiful!

[Dirty Little Secret]

I know the quality of edgewood and hadfields is very similar to jimmy's but look wise? The Jimmy's bridles have the wide noseband with only a small section being raised, and also the thin browband. At least the models of edgewoods and hadfields that i've seen don't look that way.

[BAC]

Hadfields and Edgewoods have a variety of styles, padded, unpadded, with or without fancy stitching, wide nosebands, Edgewood even has a padded crown version. In fact you can get just about anything you want from Hadfields, they will make custom too. But as nice as Edgewoods are, Jimmy's and Hadfields are somewhat superior in quality, but the price reflects that. I think in its price range nothing is nicer than an Edgewood.

Arc de Triomphe are reasonably priced and pretty but personally I don't care for the leather as much as the other bridles mentioned.

[Tha Ridge]

The Pessoa wide noseband is actually really, really nice and very similar to a Jimmy's.

[chawley]

The Pessoa wide noseband is actually really, really nice and very similar to a Jimmy's.


I agree, it's a nice bridle for the money, and it looks really sharp.


If you're patient, you can sometimes find super deals on high-end bridles, such as a Hadfield. I have an older padded, fancy stitched Hadfield that I bought for a steal and plan to keep for as long as I am breathing. :)

[atouchofclass]

I vote for the Pessoa as well. They are really nice and the price is awesome as well.

[sansibar]

Dy'on has a beautiful one that looks almost like it, its the same price range as hadfield.

[amt813]

Bevals Heritage Line also makes a wide noseband that is similar to the Jimmy's - it is still quite pricey, but a bit less than a Jimmys.

You might look around on ebay. I found my Bevals Heritage wide noseband bridle - brand new, reins included - for under $300.

[BAC]

Yes, the Beval Heritage wide noseband bridle is very pretty, also what about Legacy custom bridles? The prices seem very reasonable, lots cheaper than a Jimmy's. http://www.thecountrysaddler.com/LEGACY.html

Premier Tack Outlet has a Jimmy's wide noseband bridle on its website discounted several hundred dollars, size is x-cob, whatever that means. :confused:

[ladipus]

Few of us can justify/afford the price tag associated with a Jimmy's bridle but I think that the quality goes without question. However, it still doesn't mean that I have more dollars in my pocket to be able to afford such quality. Which bridle in your opinion would be the closest look alike?
I was thinking the Rodrigo Pessoa Wide Noseband? the Wellfleet wide noseband (smartpak)? the Dover Hunter Derby bridle? any more?
Reviews of any of those substitutions?

i've got a beautiful hunter bridle w/ a wide noseband from bobby's english tack for $100 including the reins

[perfecta11]

If you call up Ann K. Hubbards in IL, they've made a beautiful Jimmy's knockoff called the AKH bridle that is considerably less money than a real Jimmy's, plus it's modeled after his older style bridles with the diamond in the stitching vs. the way he changed it in the last 5 years. The browband isn't quite as flat as a real Jimmy's, but still is quite attractive, and the noseband is quite difficult to tell apart from a real Jimmy's, especially from afar. They oil beautifully and they last. We've got about 15 or so of them in the barn now and they're definitely worth it. And, another nice aspect of it is that they've been doing the AKH for a little while now and have lots of the same extras that Jimmy's has in terms of figure-8s, tack and chain nosebands, etc, and what they don't have you can interchange with a Jimmy's piece and not be able to tell the difference.

I'm a bit of a tack nut, so I've turned just about all the brands inside out trying to find something good enough to replace the Jimmy's that are just too expensive and not made with the same quality they used to. I personally am not a fan of many of the others that have tried to imitate the Jimmy's style with the wide noseband and all. Hadfields tack I find quite bland and the leather is often funky with the no-oiling necessary design, Edgewoods stretch and the stitching falls apart, the Dy'ons are nice but a bit chocolate brown for my taste (plus the stitching isn't right), and the Dover Hunter Derby bridle is actually pretty nice and they got the raising right, but the stitching is tiny and looks ridiculous with the wide noseband.

[AndNirina]

I think the Pessoa wide noseband bridle *looks* nice, but since I bought it a few months back, I'm not a big fan. The leather is not nice, very stiff and mine actually cracked in one place on the noseband after I oiled it. I made the mistake of oiling mine with olive oil, though, and it turned it black. Neatsfoot would have worked better, I'm sure. It's finally faded to a nicer chocolate brown that matches my saddle fairly well (an Antares).

I think if I had it to do again, though, I would have passed on this bridle and maybe would have gone to the Tad Coffin wide noseband, which is a bit more but looks awfully nice.

[Fiction]

Yes, the Beval Heritage wide noseband bridle is very pretty, also what about Legacy custom bridles? The prices seem very reasonable, lots cheaper than a Jimmy's. http://www.thecountrysaddler.com/LEGACY.html

Premier Tack Outlet has a Jimmy's wide noseband bridle on its website discounted several hundred dollars, size is x-cob, whatever that means. :confused:

The Beval is pretty nice, and suprisingly soft with minimal care.

My horse shows in one of TCS's custom Legacy bridles. I've had it for 5 years and it still looks brand new.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32008034&l=4f9ed48adc&id=12202680
(granted, that picture was taken right when I got it)

[amt813]

I never knew that legacy bridles were still around.

I have two legacy bridles - one I bought about 16 years ago and the other one I bought about 13 years ago when the Country Saddler was S&S Saddlery in Whitehouse Station NJ. Both have held up beautifully - although I don't, I could still show in the bridles need be.

[RyGirl]

I second perfecta11's suggestion of the AKH bridles... If I had the extra $$, and didn't love my CWD bridle, I'd be getting one. They are seriously about as close as you can get to Jimmy's.

You can google Ann K. Hubbard's in Lake Bluff, Illinois and get to their website for their phone number.

[Lucassb]

I think the Legacy bridles are quite close to Jimmy's in style, if not quite their equal in terms of the leather quality.

My Edgewood bridle is just average, IMO, although it has finally stopped stretching (thank god.) My Hadfields is nicer leather although I have to say the keepers stretch out and are a real PITA. I'm currently showing my hunter in an Aramas that I love. I think the wide unpadded noseband really suits him, even better than the Jimmy's that I got for him, mostly I think because the Jimmy's is not quite as substantial and gets a little lost on him.

[Serah]

If you call up Ann K. Hubbards in IL, they've made a beautiful Jimmy's knockoff called the AKH bridle that is considerably less money than a real Jimmy's, plus it's modeled after his older style bridles with the diamond in the stitching vs. the way he changed it in the last 5 years. The browband isn't quite as flat as a real Jimmy's, but still is quite attractive, and the noseband is quite difficult to tell apart from a real Jimmy's, especially from afar. They oil beautifully and they last. We've got about 15 or so of them in the barn now and they're definitely worth it. And, another nice aspect of it is that they've been doing the AKH for a little while now and have lots of the same extras that Jimmy's has in terms of figure-8s, tack and chain nosebands, etc, and what they don't have you can interchange with a Jimmy's piece and not be able to tell the difference.

I'm a bit of a tack nut, so I've turned just about all the brands inside out trying to find something good enough to replace the Jimmy's that are just too expensive and not made with the same quality they used to. I personally am not a fan of many of the others that have tried to imitate the Jimmy's style with the wide noseband and all. Hadfields tack I find quite bland and the leather is often funky with the no-oiling necessary design, Edgewoods stretch and the stitching falls apart, the Dy'ons are nice but a bit chocolate brown for my taste (plus the stitching isn't right), and the Dover Hunter Derby bridle is actually pretty nice and they got the raising right, but the stitching is tiny and looks ridiculous with the wide noseband.



I'm gonna have to put in another vote for AKH, we have a bunch of these bridles in the barn and everyone at the shows thinks they are Jimmy's... They are QUITE nice!!

[spmoonie]

Tad Coffin also makes a wide noseband bridle similar to the hunter derby bridle.

[BAC]

My Hadfields is nicer leather although I have to say the keepers stretch out and are a real PITA. I'm currently showing my hunter in an Aramas that I love.

My keepers are starting to do that too. :( We have the Aramas bridles in our local shop, I was surprised at how nice they are for the money. I'm surprised you would buy one though. ;)

[Dirty Little Secret]

I'm shocked at the look of the Aramas bridles- thanks for the link and definitely an easy price to digest.
A person PM'd me a contact on low cost Jimmy's bridles. The fancy hunter bridle for $325 with reins for $150. May be following up on that!

[vxf111]

A person PM'd me a contact on low cost Jimmy's bridles. The fancy hunter bridle for $325 with reins for $150. May be following up on that!


SPILL!!! Or at least share via PM!

[Lucassb]

I'd suggest checking the new Jimmy's bridles out in person before purchasing. They've outsourced the production in the last few years and sadly, the quality is not what it once was (my humble opinion.)

This is a pic of my Aramas bridle. I like it as well or better than my higher end bridles, to be honest.