In Kohala on the Big Island, saddle makers of the next generation are busy keeping it alive. Ikaika Akima spends two hours, tapping away on rawhide to make his mark. "I'm trying to make the leaf look ...

REE HEIGHTS, S.D. - Lonnie Smith's duplicator saw screamed as it trimmed an 8- by 4-foot cut of wood. This process created three wooden bars to be used to create a saddle tree, or a frame around which ...

HOUSTON — When Julio Peña quit the third grade in Monterrey, Mexico, he knew exactly what his next move was. Peña, then a 13-year-old, was fixated on an old shop near his home. When he walked in, the ...

A horse of good breed is not dishonored by his saddle. — Arabian Proverb William R. Thompson was a master saddle maker. From his shop in Rifle, Thompson built saddles in the truest standards of his ...

The city expansion halts at the edge of Black Forest, and here at the end of a dirt road, a barn sits between the tall pines. Through the front doors, an old tune faintly plays from an old radio — the ...

Pat Hooper is a veteran, a Texas saddle maker, Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) steer wrestler, and owner of Pat Hooper Leatherwrks. He also hosts the Pat Hooper Leatherwrks Annual Veteran’s Day ...