RidersChoiceSaddleCo

As there are only a few tanneries left the the USA, I don't think the EPA regulations are the driving force behind leather pricing. From what I understand from tanners and distributors here and overseas, the above mentioned shortage of hides coupled with the expanding markets in China and India are driving prices ever higher. Couple that with higher transportation cost and you have the perfect storm. The real problem to me is the quality of the leather that ends up at local distributors. It seems the furniture, vehicle, and clothing industries worldwide get the pick of the litter and sometimes we are left to sort through pallets of scratched up and branded hides. I looked through three pallets of skirting sides just last week to get 50 that were clean enough to use. It's kind of like gold, you wish you had the vision to buy truckloads of it when it was 35.00. But I suppose gold would be easier to store.

I concur with everyone on the paths to solving the problems. I can tell you that over the years I can remember about a dozen times I had people to call and say that their saddle tree was warped or the saddle listed to one side. I always had them ship the saddle into the shop and 90% of the problems were a simple solution. The riders had set the blevins buckles in the same hole number but didn't know they could adjust the height/length of the stirrups by pulling the strap through the tree. Generally there was about a 1/2" difference in length of stirrups on each side. Even though we were sure we had found the problem with the crooked rider, we always removed the skirts to check the tree to make sure everything was square. Hope this helps.

Ron Riddle is the manager at the Chattanooga TN store and has been with Tandy forever, as have all that stores employees. It's a good one to buy from.

Thanks, Talked to Ray this morning

Mike, I noticed that you are not far from our shop since you are in Rome Ga. which is only about an hour away. If you ever have trouble or need some tips contact me and you can ride up and spend some time with our master saddler. He has been building for 40+ years and he makes it look easy. Jerry

Thank you Keith, The input is greatly appreciated. Your comment about me not sounding like the "normal" guy from this end of the market made me laugh. I have never been called normal. That is one reason I chose to veer my business away from the plan of the middleman making the profit and go straight to the end user. I suppose I see the need at all ends. I love selling a person a saddle that can only afford a 500.00 roper that we can build here in the United States and the thought of taking our custom line to new heights. And yes I have seen way too many large companies in my area go under because they just weren't able to compete and had way too much overhead. I understand exactly what Adam was saying because I speak with potential customers everyday who have those same concerns. I also speak with customers who have paid to have saddles made for thousands and they didn't fit the horse or the rider properly. With your words I feel better that I am choosing the correct path. I look forward to sharing in the posts and learning as much as I can.

I am in search of a good large band splitter (electric). It needs to have a large throat..15+ inches. Camoga, USM, Randall..etc I want to buy one in working condition.

Thanks Adam, That is just the type of info I was looking for. I suppose that is the way I am leaning, in possibly getting completely away from the production mentality. Not to say that our saddles are all built that way but I have done it for so long there is this feeling that if I charge to much it won't sell. So this is where what you said rings true about your opinion of yourself. I do think highly of our saddles and our build practices. Our master saddler has 44 years of experience and is a pleasure to work with. Maybe it is time to target a new customer base. Super input. I could use more if anyone cares to share.

Hello! My name is Jerry and I married into the saddle business 25 years ago. My wife's family had made saddles for 40 years for stores and large distributors. In the "good ole' days" they were making 2000+ every 6 weeks at times. As you know the world economy and imported items really put a dent in the mass production end of saddle making and about 12 years ago we started selling saddles directly to the end users instead of wholesalers. It was an eye opening experience and I noticed that many customers liked to add details or needed more hand-work or custom sizing than a cookie-cutter saddle would provide. So I ventured off on my own and started a smaller shop where we cater to customers who need specialized sizing and decoration. We build a lot of one of a kind saddle due to customers needs. I noticed in one forum where saddle price versus quality was bantered about and this is something I struggle with, especially coming from a background where $1.00 price difference could mean hundreds of sales. I am hoping to get your thoughts about this matter so I can better my business for customers. We normally build on Steele Trees, Evo, Equi, and Rawhide covered. We use Herman Oak leather, good quality stainless hardware, Blevins buckles, and wool fleece. We hand cut our saddles (25% of the time it will be a tree we have to template), all skiving is hand done, all decoration is hand tooled, and hand sewn the bindings and horns. Most of the saddles that we sell are saddles that are minimal tooled saddles because customers want a great saddle at a lower price, but we do carving as well. Sometimes we will have calls or emails from folks looking to buy but they seem leary because of the price of our saddles, and I have also had one contemporary tell me I need to charge more. I am just afraid with the economy that we will alienate customers if we jump the price. I don't have any qualms about buying better trees, it is just easy to work with Steele. Other than the cost of a custom tree I just don't see (other than the labor in decoration) how our cost in materials could be much higher. I guess one thing I am asking is how do you justify pricing on saddles? Do you find that customers are happier if you charge them more? I know this sounds stupid but there seems to be a "you get what you pay for" mentality, and I know that it is true 90% of the time. However over-paying for what you get can be as bad as not paying enough. I guess in the end we each have to decide what our time is worth, huh? Just looking for your thoughts about the matter.....and really enjoying the other posts on the forums.

You could have a local company that makes cardboard boxes, I know we have several in our area. I can tell you we pay about 4.50 a box for each one.

Hello, I am Jerry and I run Riders Choice Saddle Co. My family has been making saddles and tack for over 40 years. I am happy to have found a place to learn and share knowledge of the craft. I am looking forward to making new friends and swapping war stories. Also I would love to find a few deals on some needed equipment and I should have a thing or two to post in the for sale ads as well. I just bought out a large part of a major saddle company and have equipment, dies, and hundreds of saddles trees that should be a real deal. I have enjoyed reading the forums already and I can't wait to do some posting myself. Have a great day!