I’ve seen some serious love for the Voltaire saddles and yet …
As I’m on the saddle hunt, I’m noticing a noticeable number of very new Voltaire saddles on the used market. I’m wondering why people have been buying them and then moving on to another saddle so quickly. I’m just not seeing as many CWD/Devoucoux/Childeric of the same newness.
Thoughts?
I see lots of CWD’s and Devoucoux’s with the same newness for sale as “used”…
With that said, it’s possible those people get new horses and need a different saddle. Who knows? Maybe they just want the flavor of the week? Maybe they have multiple saddles? Maybe they had a kid that outgrew it? I have two friends right now who are dying to find their size in a used Voltaire and keep complaining bc they just can’t find their size available used. They called used tack stores/online dealers and get the response “good luck with finding a used Voltaire.”
I’ve had a County and hated it. I had a Butet and loved it. I had a Devoucoux and hated it. I have a Voltaire currently and it’s my favorite saddle I’ve ever owned.
Also, Demos go on the market as used after a while. They are often “last year’s model” and are in exceptional condition.
I recently got a 2012 Palm Beach model. I bought it from a friend who had it for a year and then decided to upgrade and get a custom Voltaire for her horse.
Can’t speak for everyone obviously, but that was my experience. Voltaires are becoming very popular in my neck of the woods.
I originally tried my friend’s Butet, which fit me lovely, but didn’t fit my horse. (Think uphill built QH with big shoulders!)
A friend of mine had raved about the Voltaires. Luckily enough to find a used one online. Took it on trial, and I loved it. (even tho it wasnt really broken in) After proper care & riding, it is now broken in, and you will have to pry it out of my dead hands. :lol:
Who knows? I took a Devoucoux and a Voltaire on trial and loved them both, but the Devoucoux fit my horse perfectly. I would have been happy with either- the leather on the Voltaire was gorgeous and it was very comfortable for me.
Someone asked this on another forum, so I’m being super lazy by copying and pasting my answer from there.
“I suspect that the huge increase in Voltaire consignment inventory has two fairly benign causes:
–it’s finally getting old enough, as a brand, that people are just naturally selling it and moving on after a year or two. This happens with every brand, but since Voltaire is only 3 years old, this is the first time we’re seeing this “cycle” at work.
–Voltaire, like most French brands, sponsors various riders and encourages those riders to trade in their saddles every 12 to 18 months. And guess when a lot of riders like to do this: right before the winter circuits in Florida and other warmer climes. Voilà, instant used inventory in huge numbers from that trade-in inventory. Frankly, that’s one reason French brands DO the whole sponsorship gig: to maintain a high-priced trade-in inventory, which is a gateway drug for people who later “trade up” to a brand-new saddle from the same brand.”
Ahhhh. THIS makes sense, thank you!
I wanted make certain I wasn’t seeing signs of a problem hitting the market that I am scouting for a saddle.
Love my Voltaire. I have it and an older Butet. Both fit 95% of the horses I ride, but the Butet doesn’t fit the very wide shouldered ones and the Voltaire doesn’t fit the thoroughbreds - too wide.
I really have been seeing Voltaires everywhere at WEF. I think part of it might be because they have gotten more prominent riders to ride in them (Beezie Madden for one example) and so maybe people are less put off by the bright blue on the underside and billet guards. It seems like the question to “would that appropriate in the hunter ring?” has been firmly answered yes!
Its also just the way fads work. A few years ago I bet you could find a post with this exact sentiment about CWDs!
[QUOTE=Rel6;7378928]
so maybe people are less put off by the bright blue on the underside and billet guards. [/QUOTE]
You know, my friend just got herself a Voltaire, and the thing is beautiful. It looks like the love child of a Devoucoux and a Butet with all the good things you can take from each one. The thing should be on the front cover of Vogue, it is that pretty.
I can’t get past the blue. I just can’t do it. She canters by and oh look there’s blue. Is there an alien under that saddle or is it just the tack? How can I ever know for sure?
Can’t.
[QUOTE=Renn/aissance;7378961]
You know, my friend just got herself a Voltaire, and the thing is beautiful. It looks like the love child of a Devoucoux and a Butet with all the good things you can take from each one. The thing should be on the front cover of Vogue, it is that pretty.
I can’t get past the blue. I just can’t do it. She canters by and oh look there’s blue. Is there an alien under that saddle or is it just the tack? How can I ever know for sure?
Can’t.[/QUOTE]
I believe they can be ordered without the blue.
[QUOTE=Perfect10;7378972]
I believe they can be ordered without the blue.[/QUOTE]
^This. But I personally love it 
I’m not sure why the blue really matters. You could always replace the billet guards and I don’t believe the gullet should be visible while you’re riding. I haven’t had one person tell me they could see blue while I was riding. I really don’t think that should be a turn off since you really don’t see it. I personally love mine and the blue is not an issue for me.
I have a Devoucoux now, but am seriously looking at a Voltaire. Your thoughts as to any differences in quality, fit, etc. Also, general consensus on whether or not they will hold their value like the Devoucoux? I am leaning towards a Palm Beach, so wonder how they ride in comparison to a Chiberta or Biarritz. Thanks!
I know two people who bought Voltaires (and ride a lot) and used them for about 30 days and when they started to fall apart, well, let’s just say they aren’t riding in this brand anymore. They are beautiful saddles but I would be really concerned. I chose another brand when I got a new saddle earlier this year. Word may be getting out…
[QUOTE=monalisa;7384631]
I know two people who bought Voltaires (and ride a lot) and used them for about 30 days and when they started to fall apart, well, let’s just say they aren’t riding in this brand anymore. They are beautiful saddles but I would be really concerned. I chose another brand when I got a new saddle earlier this year. Word may be getting out…[/QUOTE]
If this happened to “people you know” a few years ago and/or the saddles’ serial numbers indicate that these saddles are from a few years ago, then it’s very unfortunate, but it’s also old news. Like many new brands, Voltaire had some serious quality control issues in its first year. It happens to a lot of brands, heck it even happened to David Stackhouse when he built the first run of the Legado saddles. But the point is, the early Voltaires were so bad that they literally fell apart. Having examined one before its untimely death, I can’t imagine how anyone would have “accidentally” repurchased it thinking it was fine. It cannot explain the recent increase in used Voltaire inventory, most of which is from the later/higher quality manufacturing runs of 2012 and 2013.
But thanks to posts like yours, Voltaire continues to pay for its early mistakes. As well it should. Every brand has to live down its earlier reputation, good or bad. Antares has to live down its broken-tree issues from the mid-2000s. Devoucoux has to live down its brief run of shoddy leathers from the late 2000s and its continuing reputation for crappy customer service. CWD, as far as I know, has managed not to have any huge workmanship botches yet…but they get to live down the ire they created in the tack industry by using very aggressive sponsorship and kickback structures, which alienated a lot of vendors early in CWD’s run. CWD has also recently had a pretty big turnover of staff. They are recovering from that turnover, but they lost some really good people…and I think it speaks volumes that most of the people I know and respect who used to work at Devoucoux, Antares, and CWD are now working at–drum roll please–Voltaire. That doesn’t mean Voltaire is perfect, but I would not personally hesitate to buy a used Voltaire from 2012/2013 if it otherwise suited my needs. (I should note that I don’t own any of these brands myself, so I think I’m speaking from an unbiased perspective.)
I’ve never owned a Voltaire but they’re coming up here in Germany as well. I personally am a Passier person but I’ve seen virtually no Passier jumping saddles when I last was in the US. The dressage people seem to have them but how come there don’t seem to be any in the jumpers? I once sat in a CWD and hated it but saddles are just as much a personal preference as horses are.
Some Passiers around are 20+ yrs and still in useable shape as you can have them re-flocked, fitted and get just about anything altered you like. They will even tell you your personal saddle’s history if you give them the serial number. In Ca. last summer Voltaire saddles seemed to dominate the scene I’m sure it’s not without reason?
I’ve had mine since February of last year and it looks brand new. Same deal with two of my other friends, and ours are 2013 models. I’m pretty sure it’s how you care for them, as we clean our tack daily.
ETA for anyone who’s curious what the wear and tear looks like: This was my saddle NEW -Feb 2013 (Palm Beach- Calfskin)
This is my saddle USED -Image taken last week (Jan 2014).
I ride ~5 days a week on average and some days ride multiple horses.
[QUOTE=Perfect10;7378972]
I believe they can be ordered without the blue.[/QUOTE]
They cannot. You can flip the billet guards over and I believe the other side is not blue, but they cannot be ordered without the blue on one side of the billets and the underside of the saddle. I know because my friend who got a custom tried very hard.
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