We were soooo tired of the basic and mass-produced belts available to today's riders - you know the kind: black or brown, fancy stitched, plain or raised, or western bling. Our ateliers set out to make the most high-end belt in the world, for the best athletes in the world.
Our introduction begins with the star of the show: leather. Utilizing most vegetable tanned, English bridle leathers and exotics such as croc, gator, lizard, and stingray, we work with the finest tanneries in the world such as Horween, Alran, Haas, Samanta, Remy Carriat, Weinheimer Leder, and Degermann. We stock and use top leather lines such as Novonappa, Buttero, Epsom, Caviar, and Baranil. From calf and bull to shell cordovan, if we don't already have it in our shop we can track it down for you. Every color of the rainbow is available to you in dozens of textures, finishes and materials to complement your tastes.
If leather isn't your thing, consider our vegan options. Unlike every single other vegan tack maker in the world, Delfina Saddlery is unique for using real, actual vegan leathers - NOT biothane, polyurethane, or any other synthetic, garbage -thanes. We proudly purchase plant-based leathers like Desserto (made from cacti), Vegea (made from grape stalks, leaves, and skins from the wine industry), Piñatex (made from pineapples) and Leaf Leather (made from whole teak leaves). These unique, animal-based leather alternatives offer everyone the opportunity to own a unique, generational heirloom piece.
Our personal favorite leather is Cavalier from Horween, which has a naturally high oil and fat content. This characteristic helps your belt withstand the harsh conditions of our sport: rain (and the occasional sprinkler or hose), sand, arid conditions, and humidity. Cavalier can also withstand a lack of regular maintenance, which can be so important for riders who are often beleaguered with hours of horse care, barn care, facility maintenance, riding, training, and stable management EVERY DAY! We want this belt to look good day in and day out, for years to come, with no additional effort from you.
Our ateliers are familiar with dozens of leatherwork techniques. From brogue, pinking, sandwich, and windows to buck, skip, chain, and crossover stitching; there are hundreds of ways to make your new belt uniquely you. We can even embed gemstones and Austrian crystals, or carve gold leaf into the leather.
Each piece of our custom belt is carefully cut by hand, hand skived (or thinned) down to just a few millimeters thick, then hand stitched together (and yes, we mean every single stitch is done by hand - all 1,508!). All edges are sanded, polished, and finished with multiple layers of edge paint (then sanded, polished, and painted four more times) to ensure your belt looks clean and refined for a long time to come.
We can either include Chicago screws to allow you to remove the buckle and add your own set or square the end off for use with slot and collar buckles (such as Hermes uses).
No matter where you go in a custom Delfina leather belt - in or out of the ring - you'll turn heads.
Our belt will make the perfect gift for your trainer, a fabulous commemorative gift for that special rider in your life, a totally unique championship award, or an indulgent gift for yourself (who are we to judge?).
Pictured: A recent custom belt in Horween Cavalier leather in Ink. The client wanted to do a fancy brogue design down the full length of the belt, and to highlight these beautiful details we needed the bright, cheery hot pink in Chanel's caviar leather. The hot pink caviar peeks out from under the dark blue Cavalier and provides the perfect amount of flash and texture. A gorgeous brushed gold Hermes buckle finished our client's new belt off beautifully.
Delfina’s custom order book has extremely limited space available and is typically booked out by several months so if you‘d like to own a custom belt of your own simply purchase this listing to begin the design process and reserve your space today. While the final price of a custom belt varies depending on each option you select, the average price is $450.00.
Combine with matching, , , and . It makes a great gift for horse and dog lovers, a prize for dog and horse shows, or auction item for your fundraiser. Our belts are so beautifully made, they even work in office or corporate settings.
