Saddle Making

More than a dozen riders at the Blackfoot Ranch Rodeo this year, held at the Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds, rode in a saddle made by one man: Chase Carter. He's a rancher and saddle maker who helps organize the event and comes every year to see his handiwork in action.

Linda Morton-Keithley sits at her largest loom in her home studio in Melba, Idaho. This is her largest loom and she’s weaving a pattern to be installed on a handmade leather purse. She pulls a shuttle through the strings, known as warp thread, and then uses a comb to bunch the yarn together creating a bright triangle of yarn before her in red, blue, green and gray.

Nancy Martiny ranches and builds saddles at her home in the high mountain desert of the Pahsimeroi Valley, near May, Idaho. She's known for her flowing, intricate flower leather carvings.

Olivia Weitz joins us to present the final installment of Expressive Idaho as she takes us to Idaho's Buckaroo Country to learn the art of saddle making.

Hans Hansen already has himself a busy career as a farrier. But, he wanted to add a new skill to his life on the range: saddle making. He’s now learning how to make one from renowned saddle maker Mike Bernhard.

Expressive Idaho's Olivia Weitz visits a young ranch-hand learning the Western Art of saddle making.

Doug Kuntz is an Idaho saddle maker whose shop is located on the outskirts of Buhl. He’s packaging a saddle to be shipped out of state, though most of his clientele are Idaho cowboys who don’t mind waiting. Kuntz doesn’t get many visitors at his shop and he prefers it that way — he’s used to working solo. But he’s made an exception for 26-year-old Taylor Anderson, a ranch hand who is taking time off to learn how to build her own saddle.