Four to eight weeks on the bench. Twelve hundred hand stitches. One saddle built to outlast us both.
Every saddle we build begins with premium Hermann Oak skirting leather, vegetable-tanned in St. Louis, Missouri. This leather takes tooling like nothing else — deep, crisp, and lasting. It ages into a warm patina no synthetic can imitate.
Our trees are hard-rock maple with hand-fitted bull-hide covering. Our hardware is sterling silver, hand-forged brass or marine-grade stainless — never plated pot metal.
Every saddle spends between four and eight weeks at the bench. It is cut, wet-formed to the tree, tooled by hand, hand-stitched with waxed linen thread, sealed, oiled, and finished. Nothing is glued that should be stitched. Nothing is stamped that should be carved.
The result is a saddle you can hand down. Many of our first-year builds are still in daily use — and we're proud to service them for their second and third generations of riders.
Fine, tight floral scrollwork developed in the mountain west. Every leaf is hand-carved.
We shape skirts to the tree by hand, wet, and let them dry into permanent form.
Every load-bearing seam is hand-stitched with waxed linen — up to 1,200 stitches per saddle.
Real merino wool — never synthetic. It breathes and protects the horse's back.
Every saddle carries the maker's mark, build number and year on the fender edge.
Send it home whenever it needs care. We'll rework it for the cost of materials only.
A soft brush and a damp cloth after each ride. Never soak leather.
A light coat of pure neatsfoot oil twice a year. Avoid mink oil.
Keep off the ground and away from direct sun. A saddle rack is your leather's best friend.
