YOUNG CATTLE RAISERS
Saddle Exhibit Showcases Western Lives, Culture and History By Deanna Holderith, membership director, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Foundation
T
O KEEP HISTORY ALIVE, MUSEUMS CONSERVE ARTIFACTS THAT TELL the stories of life in earlier times. Our own Ken Spain Saddle Collection is a perfect
example. In 1992, the Cattle Raisers Museum acquired 14 saddles that Spain, who is from Aledo, had collected. The saddles date from the 1850s to the 1920s, with styles
varying from a half seat to a full seat, loop seat and double and single rigging. The collection includes saddles by such well-known mak-
ers as J. S. Collins and E. L. Goettlich. Other highlights are an F. A. Meanea saddle, which was among the fi rst fully tooled saddles with matching bags; the only known saddle by Helena, Mont. maker Peter Franklin; and a Miles City, Mont. saddle recognized as one of the fi nest in existence today. The uniqueness of the collection caught the attention of
Dr. Scott White, curator at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock. “For people who have never used a saddle, it may seem
that a saddle is a saddle,” White says. “But when you look at them carefully and consider the different time periods and different construction methods, they tell a story. This collection represents a cross-section of exceptional saddles that people haven’t seen very often.” While the rare artifacts piqued his interest, their supe-
rior condition sealed the deal. He had viewed another major saddle collection with its own unique historical attributes, but the saddles themselves were in poor shape. “Saddles are personalized statements of culture, lifestyle
and economic times,” he says. “As the Spain Collection demonstrates, working saddles were prized possessions. They were one of a cowboy’s most expensive tools and the connection between a rider and his horse. Their value is obvious in the way they were cared for.” The condition of the Spain Collection is not an accident.
In 2011, the Cattle Raisers Museum engaged Brad Ford Smith of Studio Six Art Conservation in Dallas to conserve the saddles. It wasn’t an easy undertaking.
28 The Cattleman November 2014 Saddle before Saddle after
These images show the damage that time can cause to a treasured leather object. The images on the right show the effects of restoration.
Flank before
Flank after
Knot before
Knot after
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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