On the Line

Va-Va-Voltaire!

When was the last time a saddle was likened to Sex and the City, or designer shoes? I would venture to say, um, never!

Until now, that is. If you hang around horse shows, chances are you’ve already met Brice Goguet. The tall, 32-year-old Frenchman is on quite the mission to tell the world about his Voltaire saddles. With a prime vendor booth at WEF that is right on the path where all the warm ups intersect, Voltaire has been impossible to miss all season. And why, you ask? It doesn’t actually have to do with the location of their booth, at all.

Two words: blue stripes.

Brice, who worked with Devoucoux saddles for 7 years, branched off on his own last year and formed Voltaire. Olivier Puychiot, former head of Devoucoux’s saddlemaking workshop, joined him, with the two setting up a small shop in Brice’s garage in the south of France. But after officially making their U.S. debut at the Menlo Charity Horse Show in California last year, Voltaire has quickly expanded. Beezie Madden was riding in a trial Voltaire when she won the $50,000 G&C Farm Jumper Derby in February; the next week she came back and bought two saddles. Voltaire now has offices in New York and reps across the country, and premiered a line of tall boots last month.

But wait, back to the best part, those blue stripes. In addition to building very high quality, durable custom saddles and tack, Brice wanted his saddles to have some kind of unique, head turning trademark. Something understated but flashy. Something that took a little risk, but wouldn’t scare people away. Something like Brice’s favorite suit jackets, which often had a flashy lining on the inside. Something a little like a very famous designer shoe. . .

Carrie Bradshaw, we <3 you so...

Which brings us to Sex and the City. Among the many designers/trends/fashions that On the Line’s all-time favorite TV show made famous were some very hot designer heels. Red soled Christian Louboutins were a Carrie Bradshaw staple, and once she wore ‘em, the already famous Louboutin name was racheted to legendary status forevermore. After all, what girl doesn’t love a look that’s business on the top, party on the bottom . . .

. . . right?

Brice was on to something. He took the red sole concept and applied it to his saddles, and voila! Voltaires are just as impossible to forget as Louboutins.

The underside of every saddle sports this blue striped design, which harks back to a pattern from the Basque region in Southwest France, where Brice is from. In that region, the stripe pattern differs from family to family, and Voltaire plans to unveil a new pattern (with same fabulous color palette) every time they release new saddles.

On the Line just looooves this modern take on saddlemaking, and in case you’re wondering, Voltaire doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to craftsmanship and saddle functionality. The flashy underside is just where the cool factor of Voltaire saddles begin, but I’ll let Brice tell you more. You have a few more days to catch up with him at WEF, but something tells me that he’ll be at a show near you sometime soon, too. In the meantime, you can follow Voltaire on facebook or check out their website.

In addition to talent and loads of ambition, Voltaire's President and Founder is also in possession of a hypnotizing pair of smokey green eyes. No wonder he sells so many saddles...

Voltaire-Design.com for more