Olsen Nolte Saddle Shop

Such friendly staff and a good selection of boots and apparel… also great for novelty gifts and jewelry.

Visited this shop to buy country boots. They have lots of high quality boots, in addition to other stuff for horseback riding.
The owners are very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. Great authentic family owned business.

I have been shopping at Olsen Nolte since I was a kid. Now, I return after many years out of the saddle as a re-​ride and needing riding clothes. Nancy has been wonderful in taking many hours to fit helmet, breeches and boots for me and has never taken advantage to upsell an item. Always very practical advice on proper fit (I’m not 18 anymore) so I look great! Never any feeling that I had to buy the most expensive either. This service has never waivered in the 48 years I have been going to Olsen Nolte. Nancy, Al and Linda simply are terrific!

Fantastically authentic Western Wear and saddle shop right in the heart of San Carlos (I’m convinced San Carlos has one of everything btw). My wife and I needed some great western wear fast and Nancy was very helpful, pointed us in the right direction on each item and worked with us a full 30 minutes after closing time on a Friday night. Truly great customer service!
The selection is awesome — a full line of Stetson boots, shirts and hats along with many other excellent and fully authentic brands — everything is obviously selected with care. We also found the pricing fair and the knucklehead who mentioned he could get better pricing online definitely doesn’t understand the true joy of shopping an authentic local gem like the Olsen Nolte Saddle Shop.

Not a positive experience coming out of this shop. The selection is pretty limited in terms of riding helmets, albeit clothing items seem to be well stocked. When we looked up online reviews for some items, we were approached rudely by the store lady accusing us of taking pictures of their merchandise. We decided to support the local business and make the purchase anyway, even at an exuberant price. However, service is the most important factor to us — it’s not a place we’ll come back to or recommend others to go.

Not cheap but lots of good horsey gear and a few hats and baubles to interest the non-​horsey shopper. Also, very nice folks.

Well equipped, but very pricy. You can find the same thing online for much less. Still its a nice place and the owners are very helpful.

Super helpful over the phone. Even though they don’t carry what I wanted today, they were very nice. I’ve been here in the past and will go out of my way to shop here again in the future.

seriously not sure what all the negative hubub about customer service is about. I went into the store to SHOP and price out and take pictures of items that we are looking for to give clients. so I wasnt there to buy — and I made it very clear as i walked in the door. hell, to them i could have just been price comparing and bothering them for no reason — and again, i made this very clear as i walked in the door. im here to check prices and take pictures
Nancy not only showed me prices and sized, but also held up the boots and hats for me so that i could take pictures of them to show my boss. she totally did NOT have to do that and they really dont even have to allow me to take pictures at all. i also asked for a cowboy hat that was like… bedazzled. where she totally could have upsold me little hat add ons — she suggested against it because a traditional cowboy hat wouldnt have a bunch of shit on it
super pleasant, super easy to deal with, and a delight to talk to
my boss asked me today what their exchange policy was — in case the boots dont fit our clients properly. called up, spoke to Al, again a super delight to speak to. he let me know that they accept exchanges so long as they are informed before hand on cowboy boots and hats.
both of them made me laugh a few times
honestly i didnt even bother price comparing — my experience here was such a positive one and their boots were within the price range given to me that i want to give them business

nothing is cheap to ride a horse. so pricing is reasonable here with lots of varieties. got a full seat pants $ 120+ and a basic helmet $ 85
they have a well collected section of shoes for cowboy and cowgirl. please check it out! when i saw the colors in nano pink, nano green, etc and in $ 300+ They must be really high quality boots

If you want bigger selection and better prices & you don’t mind to drive (50 miles south on Rt. 101): The Boot Barn at San Martin is IT!!!

Great selection in english and western riding apparel. Excellent quality worth the price. Enjoyed conversing with the owner and learning a few things from her. I will return for certain!

I have purchased several items in the past year and find the selection of clothing and gear certainly meets my needs. Linda, the owner is knowledable and helpful. I have returned items without difficulty. Yes, the store is on the high side, but I believe that the quality and durability of the merchandise there, so far in my experience, has been justifiable. Yes, you can find better prices at other tack shops, but I enjoy the personalized service here. The owner and I are on a first name basis as well.

Not a postive experience at all. I went in looking for viny ridingl boots for my son. They didn’t have his size, but said they would include his size in the next order they would be placing in the next few days. They called when the boots arrived and we picked them up. The boots were for part of a Greek dance costume, but were too tall for him to squat in. We went to a cobbler who suggested we return them and get leather which could be cut down-​vinyl didn’t cut well. We located a pair of leather boots that were affordable (Olsen Nolte had leather, but they were out of our price range). The very next day after we confirmed the leather boots would work I returned the vinyl boots and was met with rudeness, impatiences and cold stares. The woman told me I should have called them when I located leather boots. Why?-I do not know. The man suggested he went to a lot of trouble to order the boots. No. They just made sure to include a size 11 boot when they placed the order (a very common size). They then told me that I should tell everyone at the church where the dance groups are from that they are no longer interested in doing business with us. «We do not supply dance costumes. We are a riding shop.» My first visit in the woman was rude, but I let it go. After this… very poor customer service. I guess the policy is that you can only purchase boots if you will not return them and promise that you are going to wear them for horse riding and not use them as part of a costume. They did mention that they had been «doing this» for the church for the past 20 years and they were over it. «We cannot do this for you people any longer.» I love community support for our youth. Youth who are actually involved in something positive. Part of owning your own business is being gracious to all your paying customers. I have notified the church to no longer send dancers to them for boots. Shame on them.

I’ve shopped at Olsen Nolte on and off since I was a kid in San Francisco. Now as an east bay dweller, I swing by when I’m in the peninsula, to shop for my horse-​crazy young daughter.
They have a good selection and the owners are very helpful. Example: they talked me out of buying a helmet for my daughter because she wasn’t with me to try it on. Then they provided the names of places in the east bay where I might find what I was looking for.
I agree with the previous reviewer: What’s a business owner supposed to do when someone tells them they wouldn’t buy something at their store because it’s double what they would pay elsewhere? Frankly, as a consumer, you should thank them for their help, walk out and buy the item at the other place.

They don’t carry Ariat boots and the customer service was lukewarm.

Both my mother and I have patronized Olsen Nolte for many many years. While it’s always been more expensive, we wanted to support this local business. I don’t shop there much anymore mainly because whenever I do go in, the male owner is often smug and rude. His wife seems pleasant, however. I have never been pushy or demanding in this store and still I always leave feeling like I asked for too much somehow. In any case, it’s too bad because this store has been such a wonderful place to visit in years past.

They actually got one star because they have a decent selection. I went in there to buy some stirrup irons, and the ones that they had in stock were outrageously priced. I said that I would not pay double what other stores charge, but thanked the woman for her help. She turned her back to me and walked away! I was shocked! Normally I’d go in there to pick up little things (since they’re so pricey) here and there, but I haven’t gone back since. I’d rather give Carousel or Tiedown my money.