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Saddle Making School

Are you fascinated with the Old West and interested in learning the craft of saddle-making? Do you intend to make it your career or a skilled hobby? Then, you came to the right place.

Currently I offer the following courses:

• Basic Saddle Making (4 weeks)

• Advanced Saddle Making (4 weeks)

• Restoration of Antique Saddles (4 weeks)

• Repair of Western Saddles (2 weeks)

• Repair/Resotoration of Morgan Side Saddles (2 weeks)

The videos below should help you get a sense of what the saddle making is about and to get a feel of the environment where you as a student will spent time learning the craft if you choose to do so.

If your are uncertain whether you possess the necessary abilities to succeed in this career, read the article, Becoming a Saddle Maker, I have written it to help you better understand the custom saddle making business. Hopefully, by the end of the article you will be able to answer the question: "Is this right for me? Do I see myself as a saddle maker?"

This school is generally taught on a one-to-one basis; I never take more than two students at a time.

Our students have utilized several sources of funding to help with tuition costs:

1. Veterans Affairs (VA) Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program -for military veterans.

2. Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The WIA is accessed through State Employment Agencies. It helps with training for people that have lost jobs or been laid off from work.

3. Lastly, students who are eligible for Veterans Educational Benefits may use these benefits to attend the school.

Over the years I taught saddle making to many students from all walks of life some of whom are shown in the Photo Gallery. Several were military veterans including those with disabilities and were able to successfuly complete the courses.

Special Courses

I teach other courses on leather tooling and carving, making saddle accessories, silver working, bit and spur making and woodworking. For these courses, you need to contact me so we can determine exactly what your interests and skill levels are. Then a class would be tailored to your needs.

Once you learn the leather working process, you can make other decisions. You can do very general work or very specialized—such as work with leather garments or accessories for motorcycles, black powder shooters or shooters in general—gun cases and sleeves, pouches, thermos holders, canteen covers, etc. Your imagination is the only limit!

Contact Pete Harry