Our history

Nowadays, the name Prestige immediately evokes innovative horse saddles, however when we established our business back in 1974, our brand name was Appaloosa and everything started thanks to the passion for the equestrian world of the Stocchetti-Rasia family. At that time, the most renowned saddle-makers were from Germany, and Italy had no tradition: we challenged the already consolidated manufacturing techniques to make unique and outstanding saddles, which could enhance the well-being of both the rider, but most of all of the horse.

The saddle is the main point of contact between the horse and the rider: that is why, right from the start we decided to create an innovative product that would respect both
of them. The wooden tree that has been used until now changes its characteristics during the years. We were looking for a material that was both flexible and without losing its shape over time. The only solution was to adopt a new approach, so after many attempts, we resolved to create a nylon tree reinforced with fibreglass. We also focused our research on the lining; traditionally English leather, which is an excellent product, was used traditionally English leather which is an excellent product, was used. However, it has a disadvantage: it needs to be ridden in for at least six months before it breaks. Also in this case, we broke free from tradition and we decided to use a no less amazing, but much softer material, Swiss leather. We finally created our first saddle in 1977, and from that moment everything changed in the equine industry.

In the 70s we became the pioneers of synthetic fibre tree, in the 80s we made our début as the first ever Italian exhibitor at the Cologne trade fair, an event which bolstered our visibility at a European level: at the time, our saddles stood out not only because of the selection of innovative materials, but also due to other details, such as a dark brown colour, a distinguishing feature as opposed to the lighter brown tones selected by other European saddlers. Also, to make them even more unique, we decided to offer colour personalisation for trim and stitchings. Our innovative intuition also led to the use of rawhide leather to protect the cantle from knocks. So many details that have made and still make a great difference.