Hide and Horn Ian Hallagan

Born to a long line of Buffalo descendants, George Fraker has been building custom saddles and trees over a career spanning fifty years. With our first episode of 2020, George Fraker discusses the development of style, the intricacies of building saddle trees, and much more on this episode of Hide & Horn. 

For inquiries, comments, sponsorships, and all other requests, contact Project Director Ian Hallagan: ian@hideandhornpodcast.com

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The push towards working solo often comes with a series of challenges. This is just as true in custom saddlemaking as in any other craft, where if you’re not working, you’re not making money. But while there are plenty of starving years working independently, the benefits for many in custom saddlemaking to pursue a passion almost always outweigh the times of barely scraping by and being able to make ends meet. In this episode, George Fraker reflects on working other jobs, becoming his own boss, and how there’s no such thing as retirement in saddlemaking.

Born and raised in Southwest Wyoming, Dusty Smith has been building custom saddles since 2006, and custom saddle trees since 2015. In this episode, Dusty Smith describes the intersection of these two crafts, how the changing role of horses impact the industry, and more on this episode of Hide & Horn.

Though building saddles for over ten years, since 2015 Dusty Smith has been building custom saddle trees from his home shop in Buffalo, W. As one of the few individual tree makers in the world building for the public in large numbers, Dusty’s keen attention to detail in every tree built is an art form all in itself. In this episode of the Hide and Horn Sampler, Dusty Smith describes his early work in building saddle trees, and balancing artistry with production.

For over 25 years, Andy Stevens has continued a family history of functional artistry through saddlemaking, leatherworking, and silversmithing. In this episode, Andy discusses his development in these art forms, the relationship between spaghetti and artistic design, and more on this episode of Hide & Horn.

In a career spanning 25 years, Andy Stevens’ work in leather and saddlemaking has also included workshops and exhibit curation. In this episode, Andy reflects on his experiences at the Western Folklife Center during his time working and living in Nevada.