Heirloom Saddle

Posted by Ryan Bell, Mar 17 2008, 08:51 AM

Something was up. James, the ranch manager, called to say that his horse trailer was for sale. Five days later, he asked if I was in the market for a used saddle. Was he liquidating? I knew that his wife was pregnant, but come on – his horse trailer and saddle?

Never one to pass up a bargain, I stopped by his house. We toured the horse trailer, marveling at the four-horse slant like it was one-of-a-kind. “It has a tack compartment.” He opened the access door and a pile of saddle blankets fell out. He rooted around and found his factory-made saddle. I eyed the after-market stainless steel stirrups, thinking that I could strip the saddle for parts. “I’m keeping the stirrups.” He read my mind.

Why are you selling?

“I ordered a custom.”

So that was it. James was afflicted with the custom-saddle bug. I could sympathize – I had the fever about this time last year. In May I succumbed to it and handed over two months’ wages for a custom-made Wade Miller.

James happened across a Jeremiah Watt saddle tree for sale, a rarity given Watt’s three-year wait list. He commissioned Randy Hanson of Three Forks, Montana, to build it. With James’ wife expecting, the thought occurred that their children will grow up to cherish it like a family heirloom. And all it cost him was a horse trailer and a used saddle.