a celebration of design, style and grace - western saddle guide

A Celebration of Design, Style and Grace

January 22, 2010 – July 31, 2010

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A good saddle is something never to be sold. It is the merge point between human and horse and one that fits both is something to be used, treated well and treasured.

—Joe De Yong, 1949 Ph

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Bill

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A Celebration of Design,Style and Grace

January 22, 2010 – July 31, 2010

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The image of a silver saddle can not help but to make you rather nostalgic. That sad-

dle brings to mind childhood cowboy heroes, flying across the screen in pursuit of a

bad guy or to the rescue of the heroine; or a cold winter day watching the grandest of

all parades, the Rose Parade, with all of the flashy palomino horses outfitted with mag-

nificent silver saddles and often ridden by movie stars.

It is not by coincidence that the good guys usually wore white hats and rode a silver

mounted saddle; Hollywood immortalized that lasting image. The white of the silver

on black and white film made sure the hero and his horse were easy to recognize, and

everyone wants to be a hero. Man has always sought to adorn his possessions whether

modest or grand in order to set himself apart from the crowd. That is the essence of

the silver saddle, expressing the owner or maker’s desire to stand apart.

This exhibit brings together some of the finest examples of this genre of saddlery ever

assembled, some which have never been exhibited publicly. The Bohlin, Keyston and

Visalias are magnificently adorned, but it is the rare and very elegant Loomis, not cov-

ered with silver, that is the height of saddle elegance and craftsmanship.

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear…

Ross Middleton

Director

American Quarter Horse

Hall of Fame& Museum


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Saddling an Evolving West

It would be safe to say that no region other than

the wide open stretches of the American West

would be as conducive for the undertaking of

open-range cattle work. That activity created a

clean canvas for the evolution of the type of

saddlery used in that endeavor, and like the

young nation of its birth, the western saddle’s use

and importance expanded and evolved through

the years. Born of necessity, the western saddle

represented the intermingling of cultures at the

border of Mexico and the new nation to its north,

and through evolution, met the needs of

horsemen from both countries. With the end of

the Civil War, the dreams of an adventurous

generation led many to explore the unknown

country west of the Mississippi to the faraway

land of California and the Pacific Ocean.

Since the landing of the Pilgrim families, “getting

there,” meant getting there on horseback. Saddles

at that time could be best described as basic.

During the early 1800s, simple wooden tree

designs prevailed, with rigging draped over or

attached to the tree. With the appearance of the

Santa Fe Trail – a rural thoroughfare regularly

traveled by traders, trappers, and hearty travelers

eager to experience the new west – these simple

saddles underwent changes and improvements to

ultimately become the Santa Fe saddle. Still a

basic piece of equipment, it had a rawhide-

covered tree and simple stirrup set-ups looped

through a wooden frame. Carved wooden stirrups

were generally present, although eastern-style

steam-bent stirrups began appearing out west as

early as 1790.

Santa Fe saddles became quite the rage at trading

stops in high-traffic areas, selling for as much as

$15 at posts along the Missouri River. This style

of saddle became the norm until the California

Mission culture began asserting itself in the early

1800s. The vaqueros, or Californios, seemed

blessed from the start. The naturally mild

climates of California created an almost complete

lack of heavy brush and horse-eating cactus,

famous for tearing up rigs and rides on ranches in

the east. This perfect climate created an

environment where style and technique were

emphasized, and the embellishment of one’s

saddle was not only accepted, but expected.

Saddles became much more ornamental –

especially those of the Spanish dons and

landowners who made sure their rigs were

appropriately decorated. This often included

ornate silver trim, complex stitching, and

elaborately carved leatherwork. The need for

more area to decorate caused the saddle to evolve


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once again, to include such additions as rump

housings, mochillas (decoratively tooled leather

tree coverings), tapaderos (long stirrup covers to

protect the feet of the rider from razor sharp scrub

and brush) as well as elegant silver conchos – all

introduced on the rancheros of the Pacific Slope.

These handsome and expensively decorated

pieces of horse equipment raised the bar in

western saddlery through the region and beyond.

It was at about this time that adventuring

easterners, arriving in the west, began seeing this

elaborate and elegant approach to not only

saddlery, but everyday life as well. The mild

climate and easy pace were quite attractive to

them. They were rightly impressed with the

efficiency and grace of the vaqueros as they

quietly handled their stock, and it became

apparent that these methods and gear were unlike

anything brought from the east. Even fine

saddlery and tack from the capitals of Europe

could not match the efficiency and simple logic

of the gear from Mexico.

The quiet world of the vaquero was soon

shattered as the rush for gold brought increasing

numbers of men and animals west. The need for

saddlery and harness goods was never in greater

demand, and men trained in the production of

saddlery were highly sought after. Later, many of

these makers banded together to create unique

enterprises for the manufacture and marketing of

regional saddlery and harness products. It was

the beginning of marketing “named” or branded

gear as makers began to realize the benefits of

building and selling goods through resellers, and

their work soon found its way across America.

The work of these early large-scale saddlers –

names such as Main and Winchester, Hermann H.

Heiser, The Visalia Stock Saddle Company, Frank

Meanea, and The Hamley Company, among

others – started a quiet revolution in the branding

of certain looks and styles. The ride was on.

More and more names would be added as makers

realized the benefits of uniquely marketing their

brands. Styles, patterns, and embellishments such

as added silver were secretly planned and well

guarded. The dilemma for the large-scale

manufacturer was the mobility of the silversmiths

and saddlers who worked for them. In many

cases, and with varying degrees of success, these

talented saddlers picked up stakes, dragging

other skilled workers with them and headed off to

start their own businesses.

Many of these companies are still around, many

are gone, and many are gone, but their work is

seriously collected. They all shared a time when


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Saddlery and dress that celebrated a romantic past became all the rage in the late 1920s and 30s.


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horseback travel was not only important but

necessary, and a time when individual taste and

expression was allowed to be built into saddlery.

Silver is the chrome of saddle making and

properly used can add significant style.

Embellishment has always – be it on a saddle or

an automobile – been the aspect that followed

after the basic concept of transportation was

achieved. Style did matter. One not only needed

to get there, one needed to look good doing it.

This exhibit celebrates the old and the new,

along with a presentation of the grace of

embellishment added to the basic saddle form.

Many of the saddles shown are from long

established makers whose reputations were built

by making elaborate additions to what is a

product with a most basic purpose: that of

allowing a human to comfortably ride a horse. A

number of the saddles in the exhibit come from

saddler Edward H. Bohlin. Bohlin, a Swedish

immigrant, came to America at the turn of the

20th century to be a cowboy after seeing the

traveling Wild West shows of Buffalo Bill. His

skill was the unique ability to market his wares

through the emerging world of the motion

picture cowboy. Like they say, “timing is

everything,” and Bohlin came along during the

growth of the movie western hero – a figure who

needed to stand out on the screen. After a helpful

push by then silent screen star Tom Mix, Bohlin

led a group of talented saddlers who pushed the

bar until the start of World War II. The silver

saddles Bohlin and other makers of the period

produced would be almost impossible to

produce today because of contemporary labor

costs. Bohlin’s own personal saddle, on exhibit

at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles,

took over thirteen years to fabricate.

In the 1920s and 30s, Bohlin, as well as other

period craftsmen-based shops such as the Visalia

Stock Saddle Company, Keyston Bros, and

Olsen/Nolte, operated when the romance of the

west was at its height.

Along with movie cowboys, many horsemen of

the period rode in parades and competed in horse

shows. Communities often tried to hold on to the

sentimental cowboy memories of the past as the

nation ran headlong into an era of modernization

and non horse-based personal mobility.

The 1950s saw a return of the cowboy to the new

small screen of television, and the cowboy past

found a new home and a new sentimental

audience. It is no wonder that the late 1940s and

1950s saw a growth of western-genre based

museums – places where we as a nation could

remember a simpler, more heroic time as we


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The movie cowboy hero became the symbol of good in the early days of cinema. HereTex Ritter stands with his trusty sidekick, White Flash,

one of several he had during his career.

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considered a future that was, as many thought,

being threatened by the atomic bomb. This new

romance of the west on television lasted until the

early 1960s when an entirely new cultural

revolution raised its head.

Today we see renewed interest in custom saddle

making, and for many, an interest in the authentic

ways of the old vaquero and his style of

horsemanship. Much of this can be traced back

over the past thirty some years to a style of

horsemanship promoted quietly by a number

talented horseman. The brothers Tom and Bill

Dorrance, and Tom Dorrance’s student, Ray

Hunt, along with others, created an approach to

horsemanship that set time aside and allowed a

more solid, earned relationship to be created

between horse and rider. Today, horsemen who

have followed that approach have also taken on

a broader appreciation of the gear and saddlery

of the vaquero era.

Many of the saddles in this exhibit represent a

moment in time when the horse played an equal

role in the commerce of one’s life, and the merge

point – the place where man and horse met –

carried more importance than that of form simply

following function. Many contemporary makers,

like those in this exhibit, continue the time-

earned traditions of the great saddlers of the past

even as our world races headlong from an analog

to a digital world, where speed seemingly matters

more than studied competency.

For some, even in 2010, saddle making is a

singular event where the entire process – from

tree making to leatherwork to silversmithing – is

designed and completed by a single craftsman. It

is this singular process that we celebrate with this

exhibit. Here is living proof that we can still

manufacture unique, hand-made items in the

United States with many used every day in that

ultimate dance between man and animal.

The Grace of Embellishment

The western saddle, like all others, evolved

logically, and its origins aim directly to Northern

and Central Mexico. By the sixteenth century,

saddle making in Mexico had become a highly

prized and sought after skill. The field was

dominated by professional harness and saddle

makers working in shops creating singular,

recognizable items. This was the beginning of a

true atelier or “shop marked” system. Saddles that

came from specific shops in Mexico at that time

bore the shop stamp or maker’s mark – not the

individual employee’s name. This method

ultimately spread to the United States and

continues today. Maker’s or shop marks are


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Silver saddles and fancy dress were all part of the glamour of parades that helped lift spirits during the post depressionera of the 1930s right up to the start of the WWII.


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highly prized and sought after by collectors of

specific makers and styles. It is not only a sign of

origin, but also of the craft’s evolutionary lineage.

Early saddlery was designed for

transportation and stock work. It

traveled and evolved quickly as the

hacienda system flourished into

Northern Mexico and early

California. Wealthy ranch owners

employed many vaqueros whose

style of saddlery came mostly

from the provinces in the north of

Mexico. The saddle was organized

and lightweight. It was not much more

than a rawhide-covered tree with stirrups

hung over the saddle behind the horn. It was

either kept uncovered exposing the tree, or had a

large leather envelope, called a mochilla, placed

over it. While quite plain to start, the Spanish

influence spawned a number of floral patterns

that exhibit Persian and Moorish influence and

adorned later saddles. The natural elements of the

patterns – flowers, stems and leaves –

representative of working out-of-doors, created

a pleasing, natural surface and became regional

in representation. Because of the brushy terrain,

foot protection devices called tapaderos were

added to cover the stirrups. Large or small,

“taps,” as they were called, added a certain

romance – as well as utility – to a historically

plain device.

After 1860, when California became part of the

United States, many vaqueros stayed on

and continued to work the ranches

where they grew up. Grass was

plentiful, the weather was grand,

and the vaquero became quite

adept at creating, decorating and

individualizing his gear. Wealthy

ranchers of the time often had

very ornate silver-covered

saddles, and they encouraged the

establishment of the vaquero-based,

homeland-traditional skills. The vaqueros’

creations traveled throughout the west and

influenced regional styles – something that still

exists today as many shops’ styles have become

synonymous with an entire region. One example

is the Sheridan style of carving, influenced

heavily by Don King of Sheridan, Wyoming.

This unique style of carving features a highly

concentrated floral pattern known for its

coverage and delicacy.

The embellishment of a saddle is, quite simply,

an add-on. A rough out (smooth side down)

saddle performs just as well as a fully carved

saddle, and the bottom line is…the horse doesn’t


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care. It’s all for the human who is paying the

money. The pleasing lines and curves of the

saddle’s carved floral or geometric patterns can

be accentuated with an appropriate amount of

silver in the form of conchos,

horn caps, corner plates and

buckle sets. Subtle is best in

this case unless one really

wants to be seen. The

branding pen or the stockyard

is not the place one would

expect to find a fully rigged

silver saddle. How much is

too much? Here is a simple

rule of thumb: If it stands out,

it’s too much.

Saddles are, by their nature, symmetrical. There’s

a right side and a left side. It goes then that both

sides reflect each other be it a full flower pattern

or a basket stamp. The saddler needs to lay down

his pattern on the wet leather – usually a

substantial, oak tanned variety – and do his or her

tooling magic prior to the saddle being

assembled. Silver and gold work is then added

and the saddler’s – and owner’s – imagination

can know no bounds.

Unlike their cow-culture counterparts in other

parts of the West, who were primarily concerned

with function, California vaqueros added grace,

balance, and beauty to their gear. With their iron

bits and spurs, they overlaid and inlaid silver, and

in decorating a saddle used complementary,

engraved silver. These

customs spread throughout

the West and into Texas,

where the addition of overlay

work in brass, silver, and

copper became stylized and

often took the form of Texas

Lone Stars, longhorn heads,

hearts, diamonds, spades, and

clubs from decks of cards.

Throughout the 20th century,

saddle silver became more and more prominent on

custom saddles. In many cases this was a direct

result of the motion-picture cowboy and the high-

profile gear used in movies and later on television.

To distinguish the cowboy star from other riders

on-screen, these saddles were often dripping with

silver. A similar strategy was used in the 1950s and

60s when show saddles and performance saddles

began featuring more intricate designs along with

silver and gold adornments so that a competitor

might better stand out in the show ring.

Classic engraving styles, forming methods, and

shapes have been studied with heightened interest.


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Ultimately, saddle silver involves individual

expression, and silversmiths and engravers today

continue to create unique and contemporary

pieces, which include conchos, corner plates, and

cantle ribbons in sterling silver, different colors of

gold, and a combination of metal overlays.

Style and fashion tend to travel in circles, and

saddle-silver style tends to do the same. In the

last 30 years, saddle silver seems to have loped

full circle, with an increased interest in a simpler,

more graceful approach to saddle adornment like

that of the vaquero of days gone by.

A Nod to the Horse

Ultimately, the saddle is but a tool of the cowboy.

With it he gets the job done via horseback –

moving cattle, covering ground, checking fence.

And while most things evolve and adjust as

saddles have over the years, the task they are

used for continues as a function of human and

horse interaction. Stock handling is the ultimate

team sport - horse and human working together

in a seamless fashion doing a job well.

Between the horse and rider, the saddle is the merge

point, and while the human may

love the silver and carving he

rides – the horse doesn’t care.

He is simply responding to the

age-old relationship between

man and horse – a timeless

task interrupted only by the

spontaneous response of the

stock being worked, defined by

the task at hand.

Past and present and into the

future. Saddle up.

Bill Reynolds

Santa Ynez, CA

2010

It still all comes down to getting a job done onhorseback. Here saddler Chas Weldon sets out atsunrise. Photo by Joe Beeler.

It still all comes down to getting a job done onhorseback. Here saddler Chas Weldon sets out atsunrise. Photo by Joe Beeler.


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The “Don Marco” Saddle by Edward H. Bohlin


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small acorn studded edging on the rear jockey, skirts

and fenders along with exquisite filigree patterns and

laced edging throughout. A 10kt “JYL” on back of the

cantle signifies the saddle once belonged to the owner

of the Juan y Lolita Ranch, John J. Mitchell, one of the

founders of Los Rancheros Visitadores. The saddle was

ridden many times by Mitchell’s associate and

flamboyant friend, Elmer Awls. Owned by the LosAdobes de Los Rancheros, this saddle is on permanent

exhibition at the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum.

Courtesy of Los Adobes de Los Rancheros,L2009.12.2

This silver mounted

saddle made by Edward

H. Bohlin, and called

“The Don Marco” model

features superb acorn

filigree designs on the

corner plates along with

filigreed silver swell

caps. Fabricated silver

horn and silver gullet

plates are accented with


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The “Mission Saddle” by Edward H. Bohlin


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The saddle features handmade silver medallions

portraying the missions built by the Spanish in early

California. Each of the forms, showing specific

missions from different areas of California, are

exquisitely hand chased – pushed out from the back

to show realistic detail. This saddle is one of the

genre’s finest examples of representational chasing

ever created. The saddle was featured in the Bohlin

1937 catalog for $2237.00. The saddle is brown

leather, with floral cutout, overlay cantle and horn

silver. The saddle was a gift to the Buffalo Bill

Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming by the

Kriendler family, long time supporters and collectors

of western art. Jack Kriendler and his brother were

customers of Bohlin who crafted many things for

the family including for the their establishment in

New York City, the 21 Club, c. 1930.

Courtesy of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center,L2009.3.1


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Marjorie Murphy Reeves Bacon Visalia Saddle


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This silver parade saddle was made for Marjorie

Murphy Reeves Bacon (1912-2006), only

daughter of Dwight and Grace Murphy, of Santa

Barbara, Calif. A recent book written about

Dwight Murphy, “California’s Knight on a

Golden Horse” by Edward Hartfeld, revealed to

her the vast amount of important works her father

accomplished during his lifetime. The city of

Santa Barbara owes a great deal of its current

beauty, style and vaquero-themed events to the

foresighted Dwight Murphy. His superb

organizational skills, aided by his great wealth,

helped create much that is the essence of the

lovely coastal city. His works created the harbor

and breakwater, Spanish style buildings, and

many parks, including the horse and rodeo

facilities such as the yearly Santa Barbara Fiesta.

Started in 1925, the horse parade and vaquero


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stock show and rodeo continues to this day. This

saddle, made for Marjorie, was part of a matching set

of three that the family rode in parades. The silver

work on the saddle was done for Visalia by Robert

Schaezlein of San Francisco and is a tasteful and

classic example of a Visalia parade saddle, c. 1930.

Courtesy of the Museum of the Cowboy, L2009.5.1


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Olsen/Nolte Saddle


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This saddle, from Oslen/Nolte Saddlery, has had silver

added at later a time, but is a well-built silver mounted

saddle with nice color. Olsen/Nolte Saddlery brought

together the saddler capability of Al Nolte and the

business acumen of John Olsen. The saddlery

functioned under these two until Nolte’s death in 1942

and Olsen brought in Walter Goldsmith –superb

saddletree maker. His extremely popular Quarter Horse

Saddle was designed and built with the fuller-withered

Quarter Horse in mind, and it put

Goldsmith, and the Olsen/Nolte

Saddlery on the map, c. 1940.

Courtesy of the National Cowboyand Western Heritage

Museum, L2009.6.1


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Half-Size Vaquero Saddle by Don Butler


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This mini Vaquero saddle, crafted by Don Butler

of Sheridan, Wyoming, is ½ scale, full flower

stamped and features angora covers over the

saddle pockets. It was not uncommon for saddle

makers to create ½ size “salesman sample”

saddles that were easily transportable, highly

decorated and showed all available options. Early

vaqueros who were adept with their sixty-foot

rawhide reatas would, for sport, hunt and rope the

many grizzly bears that were quite prevalent in

early California. The use of grizzly bear fur was

also used and was the sign of success for many of

the time – as shown in this depiction of a proud

vaquero by artist and historian, Joe DeYong, titled

simply, “The Scarf,” c. 1999.

Courtesy of Don Butler, L2009.7.1


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Custom “San Gabriel” Model Saddle by Edward H. Bohlin


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This unusual “San Gabriel” model silver-

mounted saddle was designed by leather tooler

Frank Paul of Arcadia, California for

Hollywood’s Edward H. Bohlin Company,

featuring hand-chased silver and gold

embellishments depicting the oil industry. The

saddle is adorned with three-dimensional oil

derricks in 10K and 14K gold commemorating

the history of the oil industry in various parts of

the United States. Frankie Paul owned a saddle

shop in Arcadia, California in the 1930s and 40s

and was renowned for his leather carving and

precise tooling ability. Texan Max Williams

purchased the saddle from the Bohlin Company

in 1982; it is in his private collection, and the

saddle has never been exhibited in public. Like

the Mission saddle, it features unique and highly

detailed hand-chased, “de-bossed” images of the

oil industry. The saddle is a true one-of-a kind in

its depiction of historical moments of an industry.

Courtesy of the Max and Carolyn WilliamsFamily Trust, L2009.8.1


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Sherman Loomis Saddle


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sons Seth and Al until the shop closed in

1898. This is a very rare saddle, as only a

few S. Loomis saddles are known to still

exist - partly as Loomis saddles were

highly sought after as “using” saddles for

their strength and comfort and were, in

most cases, used up, c. 1890.

Courtesy of the Carriage and Western ArtMuseum of Santa Barbara, L2009.10.1

Sherman Loomis (1821-1886) arrived in Santa Barbara in

the 1850s from Pennsylvania.

By 1875, he employed seven saddlers and harness makers,

including Jose Alvino Mesa, master saddler and stamper.

Though Loomis never lacked competition in Santa

Barbara, his firm was the earliest, largest, and longest-

lived. At the time of his death in 1886, Sherman

Loomis’ shop was a family affair with four of his sons

listed as employees, so the shop survived run by


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Doug Cox Silver Mounted Saddle


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A contemporary, silver mounted saddle, designed

and made by Doug Cox of Gardnerville, Nevada,

this saddle is a great example of a current day

interpretation of a “using / parade” saddle designed

to celebrate the merging of saddlery and

silverwork. Doug attributes his inspiration and

construction skill in saddle making to many early

masters he was privileged to meet. Cox’s training

with Bob Kelly and Ray Holes launched his career.

Ray Holes was a well-respected saddle maker, who

in 1936 began crafting the Visalia style saddles so

well known to Californians. All silverwork was

crafted by silversmith and custom stirrup maker

Ron Mewes of Nevada City, California, c. 2008.

Courtesy of Doug Cox, L2009.9.1


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Jack Mitchell Visalia Sunburst Saddle

This brown leather, tooled saddle by the Visalia

Stock Saddle Company was made for Chicago

industrialist, John J. (Jack) Mitchell, founder of

the gentlemen’s riding group, Los RancherosVisitadores. The saddle features a unique

Sunburst design on the corner plates, along silver

swell caps with Visalia’s signature Bulls Head by

Robert Schaezlein. The cantle board features a

full sunburst pattern, and the saddle shows

sterling rounds and diamond studs lining the

edging. The fenders and tapaderos have tooled

Sunbursts. A unique Visalia saddle, it was used

on special occasions, such as the yearly rides of

Los Rancheros Visitadores which Mitchell

helped found with artist Edward Borein in the

spring of 1929. The saddle is owned by the LosAdobes de Los Rancheros and is on permanent

exhibition at the Santa Ynez Valley Historical

Museum.

Courtesy of Los Adobes de Los Rancheros,L2009.12.1


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Ute Chieftain Saddle


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This silver saddle, depicting a Ute Chieftain was

made by Keyston Bros. Saddlery of San

Francisco, California. The silver work was made

for Keyston Bros. by Acorn manufacturing of

San Francisco, today known as Comstock

Heritage Silversmiths of Reno, Nevada. Twenty-

one year old James Keyston started a small

whip-making concern in San Francisco in 1868.

Joined by his brother William in 1887, the

Keyston Whip Company expanded as Keyston

Brothers, and the two opened the first of several

increasingly larger shops in San Francisco. In

1905, a visit to the Lewis and Clark Exposition in

Portland, Oregon inspired the Keyston Brothers

to enter the field of harness and saddle making,

which was accomplished by buying out several

competitors – J.C. Johnson Company and Main,

Winchester and Stone – making Keyston

Brothers the largest manufacturers of harness and

saddlery on the West Coast of the era.

Courtesy of West of Santa Fe, L2009.11.1


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Maddox Western Leather Saddle


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This was the personal saddle of Dr. William Allen

Maddox, made by Maddox Western Leather, an Amarillo

saddle shop he co-owned with his brother. He and his

wife, Francis, ran the saddlery together until his

death in 1982. Dr. Maddox was well known in

Texas for his artwork in leather, and several of his

six-foot wide murals were displayed at the Texas

Centennial Exposition of 1936. Dr. Maddox

wrote Historical Carvings in Leather,

published by Naylor Co. of San Antonio,

Texas in 1940. This saddle was leased to a

production company for the 1963 film,

Hud. It appears in a scene displayed in the

window of a saddle shop, and Paul

Newman comments about winning the

saddle at the rodeo, c. 1955.

Courtesy of the National Cowboy andWestern Heritage Museum, L2009.6.2


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Tecalote Ranch Visalia Saddle


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This Visalia Stock Saddle was made for

Silsby Spalding owner of the Tecalote

Ranch, Santa Barbara, California. The

saddle features the typical tooling style of a

Visalia using saddle along with a silver owl

or “tecolote” on the horn. Spalding, an oil

tycoon and the first mayor of Beverly Hills,

was made famous during WWII, as it was on

his ranch on the Santa Barbara coast where in

1942, an Imperial Japanese submarine fired

the only known rounds on native US soil.

Three shells struck near an oil refinery, the

apparent target of the shelling. Rigging and

pumping equipment and a well about 1,000

yards inland were destroyed, but otherwise

no damage was caused. One shell overshot

the target by three miles and landed on the

Tecolote ranch, where it exploded. Another

landed on the nearby Staniff ranch, dug a

hole five feet deep, but failed to explode.

Eleven other shells fell short and dropped

into the sea, c. 1930.

Courtesy of the Carriage and Western ArtMuseum of Santa Barbara, L2009.10.3


– 48 –


– 49 –

John Olsen Visalia Saddle


– 50 –

popularity of Visalia tree saddles, Walker and Shuham

encouraged Mattle to continue adapting the Visalia tree to

produce superior quality saddles with complex carved

design work. Employing inventive advertising

techniques for the time, Walker and Shuham spread

their name, and that of the Visalia tree saddle, from

Mexico to Canada, using direct mail, handbills,

and catalog’s to reach a vast audience.

Walker’s far-sighted marketing genius

brought great success to a saddle company

that survives today, after numerous

ownership and location changes, as a

premier saddlery, and tack and bit

maker highly sought after by

collectors.

Courtesy of the Carriage andWestern Art Museum of SantaBarbara, L2009.10.2

This saddle, from the Visalia Stock Saddle

Company, was made for John Olsen of

Olsen/Nolte Saddlery. It is unknown why

a saddler of John Olsen’s stature would

have another saddle company build a

saddle for him, unless it was due to the

popularity of the Visalia A-Fork tree. In

1870, David E. Walker and Henry G.

Shuham arrived in Visalia to open

shop as the Visalia Stock Saddle

Company, hiring Mattle and

Martarel as lead saddle makers.

Wishing to cash in on the regional


– 51 –


– 52 –

The “Palm Springs” Model by Edward H. Bohlin


– 53 –

This full silver saddle outfit, made by Edward H.

Bohlin (1895-1980) and called the “Palm

Springs” model, features tooled black leather

with silver mountings. Tooled with a floral

design, this saddle is profusely decorated with

silver California Poppy conchos, many with

turquoise accents, around the fenders, skirts and

tapaderos. Hand engraved and chased, floral

decorated silver is featured on the fork, cantle

and gullet. Silver on the back of the cantle is

embossed with the name “Una.” Part of a parade

outfit owned by actress and equestriane Una

Merkel, who played opposite Marlene Dietrich

in the western “Destry Rides Again,” this saddle

has turquoise and turquoise colored glass inset

on the back of the cantle above her name and in

larger circular conchos throughout. This saddle

features some of Bohlin’s finest examples of non-

representational floral chasing, a task often

assigned to journeymen goldsmiths that Bohlin

had in his employ, many of whom were from the

Middle East and created hand made chains for

the company, c. 1930.

Courtesy of the Autry National Center of theAmerican West, L2009.2.1


– 54 –


– 55 –

Cluster Special by Edward H. Bohlin


– 56 –

During the early 1950s, the Bohlin shop designed a “new” type of

concho with a square, faceted pattern. The concho was divided into

four sections that made for unique light reflecting effects that were

perfect for the show ring and parades. Los Angeles television

newscaster, commentator and equestrian, George Putnam – a regular

in the Tournament of Roses Parades in Pasadena - had a number of

“Bohlinmade” saddles. This Bohlin saddle was built for Putnam’s

daughter Jil. It is a variation of the Cluster series Bohlin made during

the period that were featured in his 1954 catalog. Even in the early

1950s, when silver was under $5.00 an ounce, a Bohlin Cluster-style

saddle would start at just under $2,000. The Cluster’s uniqueness

was the die struck concho sections, which Bohlin made in a variety

of sizes. This enabled him to create a variety of patterns on saddles

- covering more leather with less silver. Many “Cluster” saddles of

this design had silver added later, as square patterns could easily be

added to, like puzzle pieces, whenever a customer wished, c. 1950.

Courtesy of Sandy Figge, L2010.1.1


– 57 –


– 58 –

Ted Flowers Parade Saddle


– 59 –

Unlike the many Hollywood-based makers, Ted

Flowers saddle shop was located in the center of

the American heartland - Indiana. He was quite

prolific at building parade saddles and seemed to

build most of his best during the 1950s and 60s

– not surprisingly, corresponding with the

popularity of westerns on television of the period

and the many horse shows and parades

throughout the country that featured silver saddle

competitions. The saddle features facing German

silver horse heads – a feature that appeared on

many of Flowers’ saddles. “German silver” is

really not silver but rather a mixture of copper,

nickel and sometimes zinc. It gets its name from

the country where it was first created during the

late 18th century. Flowers used a number of

metals, including German silver, Monel (a

mixture of copper, nickel and iron), brass and

even stainless steel. He did make a number of

parade saddles with sterling silver and gold

plating but seems to have leaned heavily on

German silver due to its popularity of the period

for affordability and durability over sterling

silver, c. 1950.

Courtesy of Peter J. Cofrancesco III, L2010.2.1


– 60 –


Acknowledgements

The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum wishes to extend its thanks

to the following for their support of the Art of the Western Saddle exhibit:

The Autry Center of the American West, Andi Alameda

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Elizabeth Holmes

Don Butler

The Carriage and Western Art Museum of Santa Barbara, Tom Peterson

Peter J. Cofrancesco III

Doug Cox

Sandy Figge

Los Adobes de Rancheros

John Crockett and Chris Bashforth

The Museum of the Cowboy, Jim and Linda Grimm

The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Melissa Owens

Shannon Richardson Photography

West of Santa Fe, Al Vendegna

The Max and Carolyn Williams Family Trust, Max Williams, Bruce Sciba

and Curtis Leggett

We wish to thank Bill Reynolds and the Lyons Press

for the use of imagery and information from

“The Art of the Western Saddle” - American Horse Publications, 2004 Equine

Book of the Year


Art of the Western Saddle Curator, William C. Reynolds

Longtime western jouranlist and historian, William Reynolds wrote the award winning book, “The Art of

the Western Saddle,” which was released in 2004. It was named the American Horse Publication's 2004

Equine Book of the Year and was nominated for a Ben Franklin Award. Reynolds has written for many

western journals including Western Horseman, Horse & Rider, Southwest Art and was Associate Publisher

for Cowboys & Indians magazine from 2000 to 2007. During the mid-1990s, Reynolds along with his late

father, former CBS Television president, John T. Reynolds, owned the Edward H. Bohlin Company.

Reynolds is currently editor of The Cowboy Way magazine and is working on a film version of the book,

“The Faraway Horses,” which he co-wrote with Wyoming horseman and friend, Buck Brannaman.

Reynolds lives with his family in Santa Ynez, California.


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