Reproduction of Roy Rogers Saddle

will ghormley · June 18, 2009, 02:30:23 PM

Hey Folks,

Just over seven years ago, I was asked to make a reproduction of Roy Rogers Saddle for Happy Trails Childrens Foundation as a fund raiser. It's hard to say it without soundin' like I'm braggin', (because I am braggin'), but I'm the only saddle maker who has ever been allowed to go behind the glass and take rubbin's, tracings and measurements off Roy's saddle while it was still mounted on Trigger, and authorized to make a reproduction of it.

In a hard drive crash, I lost all the photos I took of the finished saddle. Just today, Dutch, the Executive Director of Happy Trails, had new photos sent to me. They were so much nicer than the original photos I lost, I re-did my Roy's Saddle page. If you want to see the photos and read a little about it, click on the following link:

http://www.willghormley-maker.com/RoysSaddle.html

Will

Curley Cole · June 18, 2009, 04:31:33 PM

That is a beauty...

curley

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter · June 18, 2009, 08:07:25 PM

Will, thanks for sharing Pard, that is some Beautiful work.

Regards

tEN wOLVES

JD Alan · June 18, 2009, 08:33:36 PM

Just when you think you've seen the epitome of leather work, something else comes along to blow you away, and give you a new definition of epitome. I do not have words (Which for me is unusual!) JD

Gun Butcher · June 18, 2009, 10:59:54 PM

Will, that is something pretty special right there. You are a lucky man that has truly earned his luck.

Marshal Will Wingam · June 19, 2009, 12:02:29 AM

That's really impressive work. One of the all-time greats, there. Thanks for the pics.

will ghormley · June 19, 2009, 01:13:49 AM

Hey Gun Butcher,

You are exactly right. It's luck. It's not what you know, but who you know. Any number of fellas on this forum could have done the job, some even better. I just happened to be the guy who knew Dutch. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, and you can't beat the combination.

Will

outrider · June 19, 2009, 07:26:46 AM

Will...take credit where credit is due.....you are by far one of the best leather craftsman that I have been associated with. There are many on this forum that are talented craftsman....could you imagine if they were all in business together...what great products they would produce....Galco...eat your heart out

Dalton Masterson · June 19, 2009, 07:45:31 AM

Thats beautiful Will! Did you do the silver work too?
DM

will ghormley · June 19, 2009, 01:28:39 PM

Hey Dalton,

The silver work was done by Conrad Anderson of Arizona. He shipped it up to me and I slapped it on there.

Will

RollingThunder · June 19, 2009, 01:32:22 PM

Quote from: outrider on June 19, 2009, 07:26:46 AM
Will...take credit where credit is due.....you are by far one of the best leather craftsman that I have been associated with. There are many on this forum that are talented craftsman....could you imagine if they were all in business together...what great products they would produce....Galco...eat your heart out

You know, I developed a website with a real-time sales, production scheduling and warranty management intranet to network 6 different major offices with about 55 users. We could make that happen for CASCity's Leather shop. LOL.

Curley Cole · June 19, 2009, 06:06:31 PM

I gotta say that not only is Will an artist, but he is a humble man. And that is a chararistic that I like in a person. Not only does our pard have the talent but he lives the life.

I would like to some day meet up with him and share some stories and shake his hand. And look at some of that good leather work close up.

And I also am proud to say I have one of Will's rigs, AND several of his crucifixs and buckles. Those of you that don't have either, best get ya some..

good shootin
curley

Jamie · June 21, 2009, 08:05:58 PM

In my life I've had three real heroes. The first was my dad. When I became interested in something as a kid, it almost always turned out to be something that he had dealt with extensively, and knew a great deal about. On those rare occasions when he didn't know, he'd do some serious studying so he could help me with the interest. He invested himself in my life, in my sisters' lives, and in the lives of many of my friends who weren't so blessed with quality on the paternal side. I had two friends that would stop by, and after shooting the breeze with me for awhile, would ask if my dad was around, and if I minded if they talked to him. I let them have their time, and we were better friends always. I knew they needed a male role model who would talk straight. He could shoot incredibly well, he drove a car like an extension of himself, (at speed) and I watched him pick up a full, new 55 gallon drum of 30 weight oil by his fingertips wrapped around the rims at either end, and hold it away from his body and set it on a 2 foot tall rack he had made to hold it. All those things were qualities that made him admirable to a son, but the biggest part of his fame to me, and to others was the love and respect he had for us. He was a wonderful Christian example who put his efforts where his mouth were at all times.
The second hero is a guy named Norb Sylor, a horseman, my 4H leader, and my boss for 6 summers of working at summer camp. Norb was a second father to me and my wife (long before we were married) and the best thing that I can say is that we all always strived for perfection in our work, not for the sake of the wage, not because we were afraid of being fired, and NOT because we were afraid of Norb, but because we loved him, and we never wanted to disappoint him. He was a quiet man, jack of all trades, and reasonably masterful in most of them, and with the possible exception of my dad, the finest Christian gentleman I have ever known. Again, his efforts coincided with his words at all times.
Finally, as you might have guessed, Roy Rogers was my hero. I realize that it was the movies, but from everything I've read, he could shoot incredibly well, did all his own horse work, including training, and used his position, his fame and his money to make life better for kids that didn't have the fantastic blessings that I had in my life growing up. His smile almost defines the term in my eyes, and, though I never knew him, I loved him dearly. I know someone personally who had a daughter with Down's Syndrome, and on a family vacation to California, on a whim, they stopped at the ranch. Not only were they greeted by Roy and Dale, but I saw a picture that proved the tale - Roy took the little girl out to the corral, saddled Trigger, and gave her a ride. Can you imagine?
Here it is Father's day evening, and as I think about how these three men have been, at various levels, the men I respect most in life, I can't help but think about the saddle. I strive in my life to continue the work of sharing love in the world that my dad and Norb so clearly demonstrated. It is a blessing to me when I think of the individuals who, giving so much of their time and talents have continued the ministry that Roy was such a part of, and so, each of them, in a sense, lives on, though, of the three, only Norb is still here in this life. Thank you for caring, thank you for respecting the man, and, like those that we most respect in life, putting your efforts where your mouth is. God bless you!
Jamie