When I went to a Gene Autry or Roy Rogers movie as a kid with my folks we saw them jumping on "Champ" or "Trigger" with ease, not realizing the saddle made it possible to mount and chase the bad guys.

Master saddle maker Jeff Gollehon and his young colleague Sterling Campbell spend a good share of their work week cutting, wetting, shaping and tooling hand-crafted saddles in the loft area of Grizzly ...

BARNESVILLE, Minn. – People are often surprised by what Cliff Langerud does for a living. The Barnesville man is a saddle maker. He's made more than 550 saddles by hand. "They're absolutely wonderful, ...

When Ben Nech was 12 years old, he wanted a pair of chaps. But he couldn't afford the $100 to $200 to buy a pair. "I scraped up enough money to buy the leather and put together some old tools and ...

Part of an unfinished saddle by leather artist Jerry Shaw in his work space in McKinney, Texas on August 15, 2012. Shaw does does everything from guitar straps to chairs, but his main focus is horse ...

Brian Esslinger crafts custom saddles and western gear at Black Sheep Custom Leather in Bozeman, serving cowboys with ...

When Larry Swanson got a Lucky Seven leather kit as a young boy in Minnesota, he didn’t know he was getting a kit that would start a talent he would use for the rest of his life. Larry Swanson is the ...