She is sortof right about the dressage saddle hanging your leg straighter... But I wouldn't get one. I wear my stirrups long on trail for my knees, longer than someone would for jumping.
Your price on one sounded like a very good price. Here is the saddle I got... Arcaro's Saddlery Wintec 500 English Saddles - Page 1
Most communities have a consignment shop where you can buy used tack - many tack shops will have a used tack section. I would look around and see what you can find. I bought my Courbette used - it's not the top of their line (I can't afford that kind of money) but it's a good mid range saddle. New, it costs around $1300. I paid $750, minus the $300 I got in trade for my Beval close contact, so I was only out of pocket 4. That's probably too much saddle for you . . . (I'm hunting and competing and needed more durability) but I think you'll be happier if you buy a used saddle of better quality. I would think Caprilli, Crosby, Courbette, Pariani, or Stuebben (although I don't care for Stuebben - they don't happen to fit me or my horse well - they are a quality saddle).
Ask for a general purpose forward seat saddle with a deep seat, or a "hunting saddle". You don't want a dressage saddle, it's very much a special purpose saddle and places you too far back for trail riding (you want to be able to get up off your horse's back for creek crossings, popping over fallen logs, etc.) If you're not jumping, you can let your stirrups down in a forward seat saddle and get the same effect, especially if the saddle has a deep seat.
Another good point about buying used tack is that you can get used stirrups, stirrup leathers, and girths DIRT CHEAP. That stuff depreciates like mad. At our local consignment shop, I bought an elastic-end girth, leathers, and some nice stainless steel stirrups, and came in under $100. It would be worth driving some distance to take advantage of that kind of bargain! The consignment shop here is in Alpharetta and an hour away from my house. It's worth the drive. I buy all my kids' riding clothes there - children's stuff is really cheap. Fortunately there's a girl somewhere who's just a little older and bigger than my daughter, who has VERY expensive taste! My daughter has had custom boots that fit like they were made for her (she outgrew them and we turned around and sold them for what we paid, less the shop's ten percent), Melton wool hunting coat (she still has that one), and a really nice Australian drover's coat that cost $20 because it was turned in to the shop dirty. It WAS really dirty (caked with mud) but nothing that elbow grease and Murphy's Oil Soap couldn't fix.