The design process of a new saddle is always interesting, because each one is different. TSII #458's process has been more interesting than most. The piece started out as a copy of an existing saddle, but changed its mind radically, and is now based on the Year of the Fire Horse. It incorporates bleeding-edge technology for me, and to beat all -- who's surprised?! -- it's taking a good 7 months to get off the ground. Yet how wonderful it is to be making tack again --! This post will cover those months and the all-important test piece, which hopefully will become part of the new saddle... the first I've made in 6 years.
No. 458's story starts with the so-called Russian Parade Saddle. Yes, I will eventually (!) blog about that one, but meanwhile enjoy a seldom-seen view of it, the front (above). Ever since my road-to-Damascus moment about it (November 4, 2024), I'd been meaning to build a copy. That resolution held until October 18 of 2025: nearly a year. Those 11+ months bred in me a determination to make another supreme silver Parade saddle for myself. I had last made one in 1997, twenty-nine years ago (#400, Rainbow Brilliance).
But the mystery is how hard it was to even start that.
Ever since my second book was published, in August of 2025, I've been trying to get back to tackmaking. A couple of bridle sets for customers and one pair of reins is all we have to show for over 7 months [August 30 to April 8]. I suppose I should add my NaMoPaiMo pony! But the reins, above, just did not feel right. They were an odd attempt at combining two fields of endeavor -- braiding and silverwork -- that don't always mix well. Sometimes they do, true; but not here. As artists say, I'd lost my Muse. I was also insanely distracted by other factors and just plain growing older, but this is not the place for that,...
In a Florida hotel, Feb 27 in the middle of the night, I asked myself what would happen if I just let it go. If I suspended the requirement to make "a perfect Sue saddle" and instead went after "a good interesting saddle." If I turned what was left of the Muse loose. To my surprise (why are these things always a surprise?), with the additional inspiration of "Year of the Fire Horse," an amazing saddle design came out.
Of this first drawing, I can say I liked the breastcollar best. This pass shows the combination of the silver engraved plates and the strip of tiny gold spots, balancing the 2 metallic colors. The circles within the silver "flames" represented jewels: rubies, citrines, czs [cubic zirconias].
I had made tack with jewels before, so this was not unknown territory.
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| Our only illustration of the pinkness of the rubies |
The jewels themselves came from the Tucson Gem Show, some of them acquired so long ago that that company (Gems-4-Less) no longer carries them. The costs are buried in the past but have always been astoundingly affordable for me: A packet of dozens of little bitty grade C emeralds, say, would cost around $30. Rubies, sapphires, citrines: I've got them all, except that my memory in FL gave me a large number of big czs. When I got home, that turned out to be eight little ones. The re-design process is always a whole new evolution. The current design sheet looks like this:
Of course it is a work in progress and will change as time and work passes over it.
Now we come to IMTM (International Model Tackmaker's Month) (or Tack Month). Knowing I could not possibly finish a whole saddle in so short a time, I signed up for just the breastcollar. Even that needed a test piece. I had so many things to test! -- leather color, gem color, shape of flame pieces, re-learning engraving and how to stick things together. Above all, how to stick things together: With so many pieces, soldering on back loops like I did with the Goehring Goehring Breastcollar Engraved was unthinkable. As readers may know, this tackshop is famous for hating adhesives. And yet there was no clear answer. The solution to this dilemma will play out with the making of this saddle.
I started with the Near Cheekstrap. It only needed two flame pieces, made from 24 ga. Argentium.
All went well.
The intended horse is Kotinga, but I don't trust his coat on the tack bench. Too easily scratched,... Spiro, with his scuffed gloss, is perfect for the job.
A critical design decision was to use only garnets and citrines. My
rubies just did not match; they were a pink color with blue tones in
it. In the event the garnets came out a deep glowing red which I liked
very much.
Although making decisions like hardware choices had been too overwhelming for the 'greatest ever' perfect Sue saddle, on this one simple questions like "what kind of poll buckle" were easily answered. Twisted wire, of course. Never mind if it is not formal enough for the flames; it's my fav.
The bit blank, seen here unfinished, is the only part of the "original perfect" saddle to exist besides the reins. I knew I wanted to make a miniature copy of my full-scale Santa Paula bit, obtained in Nogales Mexico in 2002, the last time I was south of the border.
It is amazing what one accumulates in a lifetime of loving tack.
Not that I'll be able to duplicate the tiny blue-and-silver edge-barring. But maybe you can understand why that is not important now. Yeah, I have a collection of full scale tack, which could make a cool blog post,... some day,... No saddles, but headgear and horse brasses,...
I will end this post with a sneak peek of the breastcollar as it sits right now, before tooling. You will agree with me I've bitten off a mighty lot to chew. Sometimes that's the path the Muse follows. The only obstructions/commitments in the way are a couple of customer orders promised unrealistically and a lack of funds. I can sell horses but I'm not sure about the customers.
Wish me luck, and thank you for your patience.
