Why are you guys dragging an Enlightenment Philosopher through the mud? The man preceded even this thread.
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Well, common sense is not so common.
Hmm interesting. I’ve sat in almost all of the high end saddle brands you can think of-CWD, Voltaire, Devoucoux(which destroyed my horse’s back), Antares, Tad Coffin(It was god awful), Amerigo, Frank Baines yada yada, and honestly Voltaire is the only one that fits my horse and the only brand I found to have wide enough spine clearance. Devoucoux was awful in a way that it had maybe 3 inches between the two panels and was pinching him nonstop. Also I truly believe that each horse’s back is very different so one saddle fits all is just not the best option.
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I love my saddle and have had nothing but great experiences with our local rep. My trainer is sponsored as well. My saddle is grain leather and doesn’t have the “second skin” option. The rep advised me that these options would provide the greatest longevity (despite being the cheapest options)… and that’s what I wanted in a super expensive saddle.
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I have an amazing voltaire saddle. Its my second palm beach and 3rd voltaire overall. It fits most horses but not all like a well made saddle should. I also ride at a devoucoux barn. I mean in my barn there are 30+ of these saddles. I dont dislike them but i Dont love them as much. Everyone when buying new at my barn usually goes with Devoucoux because they give us great service since we bring so much business. We do have the odd bruno delgrange, cwd, TC ect too. My trainer declined the sponsorship from voltaire and they still made the trip to me when i need service.
When my old saddle had a problem with some stitching. They drove the hour away from Wellington to help me. When i sold my old saddle they showed me the price sheets for the saddles to buy back trades and reselling told me not to sell it to them because it was immaculate and they could only give me 2k because of the year. I sold it quickly online THEN Voltaire shipped it for me for free and gave the buyer a new cover and a hat and some grease. (i was buying a new saddle the next day) Then they let me keep a used saddle for 3 months while mine was made
A girl came to our barn months ago and she just picked up her old trunk from her old barn with her voltaire saddle in it. Extremely dusty and stained from the humidity and barn ick that was inside this trunk and it didnt have a cover. There is also something wrong with the panels or tree. Its the same saddle as mine slightly bigger with less padding in the rear. However it fits no horse. It like the front is made to fit a cow. So i called the company about this VERY sad saddle. They told me theyw ould like to see it and see how they can fix it if its worth saving ect
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I am happy with Voltaire so not sure “resurrecting” a complaint is a bad thing if you are a fan of the brand and only have positive things to say. I like Voltaire, some people don’t, and it’s important to get both of those reviews out there. A saddle is a very personable item, not everyone is going to like them.
Hmmm. I used to manage a music studio with both retail and instruction components. When we signed on as a retailer for a very well-known and well-regarded manufacturer of digital equipment we got lesson room demos through their musical education demo program. We couldn’t sell the products allocated to the demo program and they were replaced every X number of months per contract. That is a common stipulation IME. It had nothing to do with the quality of the products in question. They could easily last 25 years. It had everything to do with business and tax law and the company wanting to keep the latest and greatest out in the field. One of the best consignment tack stores in the US is nearby. A cluster of barely used saddles from one French maker or the others will hit at regular intervals. These have got to be fitters’ demos and saddles coming off a sponsorship. I’m guessing Voltaire wants their saddles to last 20 years. They just don’t intend for you to have the saddle for longer than the contract stipulates because they don’t make money that way.
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I bought a Voltaire saddle last year, and have not been at all satisfied with the level of service or care I’ve received. I’ve had fit issues since the beginning, and our regional Voltaire rep has prioritized securing new barn sponsorships over returning my phone calls. Unimpressed, and will change brands for my next saddle. I plan to sell this saddle and buy another one rather than having to deal with getting the panels recut through Voltaire- there are too many amazing saddle brands out there these days to waste time working with a company that doesn’t respect customers outside of a large commercial training program. Our family will need 3 more saddles over the next 6 months or so, and I’m so glad I bought this one as a trial run with Voltaire before committing to the brand, otherwise I would have been super frustrated! The other thing I’ve realized is that I would much rather deal with a brand that works with my local tack shop, so that someone is always there and accessible when I need service, rather than having to line up appointments with someone who may or may not be at the same shows/in the same area as we are at any given time. It seems as though all the saddle brands are moving toward the ding-dong-Avon-lady model, which may work great for marketing on Instagram, but isn’t super practical for a busy working adult/pony mom.
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This very much sounds like an issue with your rep, not necessarily the company. It pretty much describes my experience with CWD, when I was dealing with a not-great rep, and it is super frustrating to deal with. In contrast our area Voltaire rep is stellar and responsive. I think the moral of the story with all of these brands is your experience is only going to be as good as your rep, unfortunately.
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Haven’t made it to the end of the thread yet but Ann is an amazing woman.
My experiences with Voltaire:
Bought a saddle when switching from eventing to the hunters in 2014 before I went to college. Come 2015ish the saddle just isn’t working and I’m fighting it with my position every day. My new coach in SC calls out the rep to A) try the saddles herself and B) get me refitted.
Ann completely restructured my Palm Beach for my growing youngster and myself and my position was instantly fixed. The new saddle came at NO cost to me - brand new and custom.
That saddle has lasted since then - almost five years and is just beginning to show wear on the seat. My schooling boots took some stitching out of the lower flap and it’s getting replaced right now while I’m home for the holidays.
I rode at least two horses - if not up to five or six on certain days - in that saddle on an average of 4 times a week (taking in to account breaks and injuries) for the last five years.
On top of all that I just purchased a Stuttgart for myself and my new jumper now that I’m beginning to jump over 1.05 on a much more pogo stick kind of horse. I’m keeping the PB to bebop around with my hunter.
The stirrup leathers I purchased in 2014 are soft almost to a fault. They fold slightly under my leg now, after five years of hard use. The girth I had I loved, but did rub my hunter - not the girth’s problem. My hunter rubs as easy as anything and has to have sheepskin and blanket shoulder guards. I’ve never touched a saddle or accessory from them I disliked.
My questions are - did the OP follow the oiling routine the manufacturer gives when the saddles arrived? Obviously they never contacted the rep about fixing the student’s saddle… I hope the student realized she could have things repaired fairly easily.
ETA: I did not realize that this thread was so old… I totally thought it was completely recent!
Also… the Hat Thread is iconic, to say the least.
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Since this was resurrected, I’ll add an update. I have a Stuttgart and a couple of years ago when I was rehabbing him for a tendon (so, just tack-walking), my jumper decided to roll in a small lake with me and my beautiful saddle. sob We all survived and I did saddle first aid as best I could, but the seat was sopping wet when I finally got him on his feet again. After a while the seat stitching started to go, and the seat itself stretched out so there was a big wrinkle in it.
Now, this was mostly cosmetic, but I didn’t want the thing to come off or wrinkle more, so my rep picked it up, flew it to Florida, where their top guy from France recently moved, and they replaced the seat. I had to pay for this, but it wasn’t very expensive. It came back to me with a brand new seat, and new billets and billet guards (no charge for those), as well as cleaned and oiled perfectly.
I still love my saddle and both reps I’ve worked with have been nothing but wonderful. I don’t anticipate needing another saddle for a long time, but if I do I’ll definitely get my Voltaire rep out first.
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I also have had nothing but great experiences with Voltaire. I needed new panels as my horse’s body changed. Anne from Voltaire fitted it with shims to check where we needed to modify it, and then sent my saddle down to FL. The guy did an incredible job not only replacing the panels but also cleaning and conditioning my saddle. Anne also stayed in touch with me and made this an easy and worthwhile transaction. Perhaps we are just lucky here in GA to have such a skilled and fantastic saddle rep. I wouldn’t dream of riding in anything else. I didn’t even buy this saddle new - I asked her to watch for a used one and she found it from another rep in Texas and had it shipped in. She treats me just like a client who bought a completely custom one and truly understands customer service.
My advice for anyone having issues is to let the manufacturer know. They can’t make changes if they aren’t aware there is an issue, and obviously there are a lot of people having fabulous experiences with the saddle. I know I am.
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Anne is wonderful! I love my Palm Beach, but wasn’t sure about the fit for my young horse. Anne did a fitting (charged nothing) and told me my saddle was in great shape and all I needed for now was a properly shimmed half pad. I had prepared myself for spending $4-5k for a new saddle, but ended up spending less than $200 for a pad…and then she Bemer-ed my back and neck because I’d had a fall recently (charged nothing). She’s earned my loyalty and I will happily buy my next Voltaire from her when it’s time. Love my Voltaire and it’s wearing really well.
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I’m in Maryland and when I bought mine I was happily willing to buy custom, but Andy, who was still the local rep at that point, told me that the demo fitted both my horse and me perfectly, so why spend the money and have to wait? He could have easily sold me a cu$tom. I love the reps I’ve dealt with, without exception.
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I respectfully beg to differ.
My old boss/trainer rode about as many horses a day as OP and had two saddles (both Butet Premiums). Her GP horses were ridden in the same saddles as the OTTBs we had in the barn. This saddle fit every horse. We had a chiropractor out and we had a very well known vet in SoCal as a client with a personal horse.
We had had one client with a custom Voltaire. Her mare started being grouchy and bolting towards the jumps and swishing her tail after. We had our vet look at her and she was so back sore from this custom saddle!
I needed to trade up from my ancient Tad Coffin that I loved dearly, and ended up with the same exact saddle as my boss. It fits my now personal horse (an ex-eventer who’s body has transformed from such a fit show-jumper).
Just my unbiased experience.
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I still love my Voltaire, and our rep, Mike, is top notch. My mare was having some weird soundness issues while returning to work. I asked if he could come look at her saddle (it was custom fitted 3 years ago, but has been on maternity leave for the past 2 years). Sure enough, the saddle was sitting too low on her. He bumped it up with a half pad and voila, problem solved! He suggested riding her with the half pad for a few months while she rebuilds muscle, and then we can have it refitted to her. Logical and reasonable plan. Super grateful for him!
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Antares has the best customer service. Problem with a saddle? Send it back, demo on the way. They are the Nordstroms of saddle seller. Amerigo doesn’t stand behind its product at all. And the Tad Coffin saddles may be good for a horse’s back, but they are killers on female anatomy.
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Yeah, I made the mistake of using a trainer’s Tad Coffin to ride 5 horses in one day that needed exercised. My nether regions were numb and then the pins and needles started. I was afraid I did permanent damage.
Amateurs are not amateurs if they are receiving sponsorships. The only give on this is if the person is still a Junior Rider.
USEF defines remuneration in GR1306 “as compensation or payment in any form such as cash, goods, sponsorships, discounts or services; reimbursement of any expenses; trade or in-kind exchange of goods or services such as board or training.”
By the current rule, you cannot be an amateur and receive sponsorships or be a “brand ambassador” unless you are paying for the products you are promoting.
I think the quality of service has multiple components; all reps are at the mercy of their factories, but some reps are of course better than others. I had a really terrible experience with Antares at one point, and swore never to use them again. But one of my horses who was notoriously difficult to fit - multiple very qualified fitters threw their hands up - ended up loving them, so I gave them another shot earlier this year.
I ended up buying two new ones since I like their new model so much and wanted one for my other horse as well. I do like the saddles very much and my vet /body worker both say the horses’ backs are really good which is obviously the most important thing.
However, the process was nothing like a Nordstrom experience. For example, even after I dropped close $13K there was no offer of a loaner/demo. When I asked, I was told I could have one… for $800. Yes, some of that was refundable but not all - IIRC maybe half or so. The timing quoted on delivery was complete BS. One of the saddles ended up taking 5 months and the other took almost 6. The original quote was for 10 weeks.
It wasn’t the end of the world but it wasn’t awesome either. I sure hope that I don’t have service issues with that tack because they are both slow and expensive.
