Question about an older PJ saddle/repairs

[KPF]

I took a chance and bought a PJ that was on ebay last week... paid $600 for it. I knew it had a seam rip in the seat and that it was older (1997) so figured I'd go for it, I've always wanted one of these saddles. Well, it came today and I'm a little freaked out about it. The seller had told me that it was fine to ride in as is, but that in addition to the seat rip, the felt "dots" were missing under the pommel... well, what she failed to tell me was that there are also rips there and the screws are showing. One screw is actually sort of poking out.

The tree appears OK and the panels have some spider vein cracks, it seems like it'd be OK to ride in as is except for my concern about the screws. I don't want to spend a ton of money refurbishing this saddle, just want to school in it. I know a new seat will be $600-700. I'm wondering if I should just "patch" those two "dot" areas under the pommel with adhesive felt to cover up the screws again. What do you think?

Also is there any type of seat saver that would cover up the crack in the seat seam to prevent it from ripping more?

I know I'm being totally cheap with this but as I said, I just want it to be "servicably sound" to school in!:D

[Rhody Ram]

I just had my Pj restuffed. Before that, one of the screws was visible. Didn't seem to affect anything. You can get the seat patched. I have seen it on some older saddles and it seems to last a long time. What they do is take a piece of flexible leather and glue it down over the area. It doesn't look brand new but it's good enough for schooling.

[imnotclever]

There's a tack shop out here (Southern California) called Broken Horn in Baldwin Park that carries these nice leather seat savers. I believe someone handmakes them. They are really nice and you can't even tell that it's not the actual seat until you get up close. Just thought I would pass it along in case you wanted to give them a call.

[E D]

I just had mine done. Did the same thing as OP, bought a used PJ with a split seat. Called the saddle rep who was very nice, but said that it would cost over $1000 to replace seat panel. Turned out a local friend had become a master saddler after interning in England. She fixed it for a lot less. However, my saddle is not long for this world as it has been through at least two prior owners and heavily used and not well cared for. She found the billets were about to separate, and the tree was slightly cracked at one side of the pommel. The cause of the split seat - riding in jeans!