Garry McClintock

Southern Border European-American Visual/Craft/Material Arts

Master saddlemaker Garry McClintock started building saddles in 1973 after attending the Dewitt and Hendrickson School of Saddlery in Eugene, Oregon.  After graduation, Garry continued working with saddlemakers throughout California and Mexico, notably Granville Martin and Forrest Knott.  Garry has spent twenty-five years on and off of the mountains of Baja California, riding mules and packing burros with California vaqueros to ranches inaccessible by roads.  He is the founder of the annual Vaquero Days which honors ranching heritage on both sides of the border.

Garry participated in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program in 2010 with apprentice Ronald Titus.  Gary taught Ron—himself a master leather braider and leatherworker—how to construct a saddle from beginning to completion.  Areas of focus included rigging, seat work, fenders and stirrup leathers, and an introduction to wooden saddle tree construction.  The apprenticeship took place at McClintock Saddleworks in rural Descanso.