For more than 200 years, the company now known as the Smith-Worthington Saddlery Co. has been making and repairing fine saddles. But the days are gone when the business thrived as Smith, Bourn & Co.

Ben Swanke crafted his first saddle at the tender age of 14. He found the work immensely satisfying and knew he was destined for no other profession. "Something inspired me," he said. Swanke grew up ...

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) – Victor Hermanson doesn’t collect accolades or reviews based on his craft, even though he could. Hermanson is a gifted saddle maker who lives on the outskirts of Las Cruces.

FORT LUPTON – Barbara Kauffman was a systems manager for a high-tech firm in Boulder County when she decided to buy a new saddle. “My husband spent $80 for a book on saddles and I was so upset he’d ...

Pickup trucks, horse trailers — even a car with the bumper sticker “Forget the Whales, Save the Cowboys” — crowded the parking lot at the Lawrence Holidome. Inside, visitors convened Friday at the ...

CODY, Wyo. — With the stove pouring out heat and the dog asleep on the floor, Gordon Andrus pulls down his visor and runs a finger over the carved leather of his new saddle. Here in his well-equipped ...

KEARNEY - Lyle Henderson sits in front of a small window in his workshop. Hunched over a homemade wooden workbench, a tiny bead of sweat forms on his forehead. It is hot and humid - a fairly typical, ...

It takes thousands of taps from a small wooden hammer onto cowhide to make a fancy saddle, and Talabartería Rancho Grande in Magdalena, Sonora, has been doing it for more than 60 years. Strips of ...

BUFFALO — Paul Clark didn’t set out in life to be a saddle maker. In fact, he tried a lot of different things before opening his custom saddle shop in Buffalo in 2020. But sometimes, your vocation ...