A well-designed and well-made saddle fits both the horse and the horseman. No matter how pretty the saddle is, if it is not comfortable to both horse and rider, it is not a quality product. Often the best saddle makers are cattlemen, riders themselves who know from experience what it is required of a good saddle.
Conrad Koppenhafer is a saddle maker with experience as a cowboy. He learned the cowboy trade as a child from his father, great uncle and other cowboys in Colorado. In 1975 he started making saddles at Texas State Technical Institute in Amarillo and gained more experience at Ryons in Fort Worth, Texas, and J.M. Capriola, in Elko, Nevada. Curently, he builds saddles and makes and repairs all the equipment used by the cowboy trade at ButteValley Saddle Company in Dorris, where he enjoys demonstrating and teaching leather craft to 4-H members and others in the community. In 1997, Koppenhafer was recognized among the top thirty saddle makers in the United States by the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada. He once built a saddle for President Ronald Reagan.
Koppenhafer has known Bryon Hadwick over nine years, ever since the young man enrolled in a 4-H leather craft project. Although Hadwick has completed many smaller leather projects, this apprenticeship will provide the opportunity for making his first saddle. Like Koppenhafer, he has grown up around horses and the livestock industry. He says, "I expect to learn from Conrad's years of experience both in riding horses and the craftsmanship that goes into making quality equipment."
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