Tall in the saddle

By Maryanne Davis Silve for The Three Rivers Edition - 08/28/2007

George Holt is presently working on in his shop on the outskirts of Dillon. Holt was just presented with the “Saddlemaker of the Year” award at the 12th Annual Will Rogers Awards in Texas on Aug. 7. Photo courtesy of Holt Saddlery of Dillon

Most cowboys won’t turn their head when a flashy sports car speeds by or a California boy is bragging about his expensive fly rod, but riding a saddle from George Holt’s Saddle Shop in Dillon will get their attention.

His saddles have apparently captured the attention of a lot of his peers as George and his wife Marie traveled to Texas in August so he could accept his award as Saddle Maker of the Year at the Academy of Western Artists 12th annual Will Rogers Awards.

The award is given to recognize and honor those individuals who, through outstanding personal accomplishments, have helped preserve and perpetuate the traditions, values and heritage of the American cowboy. The award was determined by a blind jury of peers.

“Over the years when I was a little kid at the 7-L and different ranches that I worked on I watched all the cowboys saddles that I rode with,” Holt recalled. “I’d see how they fit horses and how they fit the cowboy. There was always somebody grumbling about something and I thought, ‘you ought to be able to fix that.’ There was always something going on in my head about that. So I’d ask the fellas about their saddles and where they got them and how they fit certain horses.” Holt’s deep passion for the business began in 1968 while he was in the U.S. Army in Maryland and Germany.

“I started making belts and small items so I wouldn’t be spending the money in the bars and chasing the gals,” Holt grinned. “I’d go down to the USO Club and they’d have crafts there we could work on. I made leather items and sent them home.” After the service, while he was working on the Hagenbarth Ranch, he would make belts and leather items for the kids in Hamer during long winter evenings. Seeing these, a wise old cowboy friend of Holt’s, Dale Harwood, spoke these prophetic words, “You’ve way too much ability to be looking at a cow’s rear end.” he was told. “You’ve got to do something with that.” But those early years on horseback, riding in the dust and weather alongside the old cowboys were a critical part of the life schooling Holt needed to understand just what a beating a saddle takes and how to build one that can hold up under the strain and while giving a comfortable ride.

Holt ended up going to saddle school for six months in California.

“I learned just enough to get in trouble,” Holt laughed, but he didn’t stop there.

Working as a ranch foreman, he kept making saddles.

In 1977 one of his saddles was seen in Reno at the snaffle bit futurity by the family who owned JM Capriola, one of the biggest custom saddle shops in the world since 1929. Holt was offered a job. In the spring of 1978 he and his wife Marie moved to Elko, Nevada where he worked for the Capriola Company the next five years.

But Dillon kept tugging at their hearts and in 1983 they returned. Holt has made 480 saddles since his return. But you don’t just find him making saddles or he’d have built many more. Holt believes in serving the community.

“If somebody tears stuff up I stop everything I’m doing and fix their tack, and out the door they go,” he said. “That probably cost me a day or a week on the saddle I’m building.” But Holt walked in the rancher’s boots for many years and knew what they were up against.

“I just have a heart for the rancher and the work that needs to be done,” he said. “The saddle is a piece of equipment that is very necessary for people who utilize horses in doctoring, moving their cattle, riding to check them, taking salt out and leading pack strings.

“When I get behind sometimes because I’ve done repairs I think of the old saddle maker saying: ‘It’s done when it’s done.’ I’ve had some old friends who only built maybe four or five saddles a year and they say ‘You can’t rush a masterpiece.’ One local rancher, Bill Huntsman, who puts many miles on a saddle, has four of Holt’s saddles and one on order.

“A good saddle is just like a gun you buy — you keep passing them down from generation to generation,” Huntsman said. “I’m giving my grandson one. George’s saddles are some of the best. Before I got my first saddle from George I rode a factory made saddle. Then I was just nothing but sore and thought I was getting old. George does quality work besides the craftsmanship and his saddles are comfortable. We hope to keep the saddles forever.” According to Holt, one of the biggest objectives of the Will Rogers Awards is to dig these people out of the little crannies who are doing quality craftsmanship and let them know people recognize their ability.

“It’s not a who’s who club,” Holt said. “It’s a ‘We like what you do club.’ The Academy is trying to preserve and protect the positive values inherent in the cowboy image. So many fields are related in essence to keep our western way of life alive.” Few people are aware of the multiple challenges of the saddle maker’s trade. Holt has around 160 hours in tooling a saddle and another 45 to 50 hours in the mechanical part- fitting and putting the saddle together. Materials alone cost a minimum of $1,500 per saddle. This spring Holt had a deadline on a saddle he worked for 40 hours without sleep to get it done.

When Holt’s long hours mount up on the cement shop floor and this country boy hungers for fresh air and sunshine, he and his wife need a release valve.

“Horses are our therapy,” Holt said. “It’s either that or a whiskey bottle and I’m not a drinker, so Marie and I ride a lot.” The Holts have met some real characters going up and down what they call the ‘buckaroo trail’. They ride for the big ranches and Holt’s comfortable saddles have made many of them friends for life. Holt says taking care of the customers is as much a part of the business as building a quality saddle. The two go hand in hand to build a successful saddle shop. The result of that attitude is work that never runs out.

“Now, I am into building these saddles for the third generation for some of these families,” Holt said. “I’ve always believed you don’t have to pat yourself on the back. If you are doing a good job people recognize that. I’ve always thought if I could ever make the absolute perfect saddle, I should quit. I know it’s not possible, but that is what I strive to do.” Holt said his wife had a big hand in helping him earn the accolade.

“I informed my bride of 33 years that if she wasn’t going with me to get the award, then I wasn’t going,” he said. “She has worked her buns off helping me any way she could. She’s been through the good and the bad and never weakened. As far as I’m concerned, she’s as much a part of this as I am.” Maryanne Davis Silve is a regular contributor to The Three Rivers Edition. She can be contacted at mdsilve@3rivers.net.