|
Dakota
Custom Saddles
Our
customers are sometimes amazed at the results of Cultured Cowboy,
working through our saddle makers. Below are some very detailed
pictures for those of you who really like to see the finer points
of what to expect in a customized Dakota Saddle from Cultured
Cowboy. This
is a really nice hand tooled arena roping saddle.
Currently,
proper mix of a
chocolate brown and pink happens to be our most popular combination
of ladies boots. Doesn't seem to matter whether Justin
Gypsy, Ariat FatBaby, or Tony Lama RRR boots. The color
combo is hot! So this saddle was built to follow fashion! We
show the saddle with 3 shades of pink blankets by Mayatex,
so you can see what might be done to complement your attire. |
|
|
Dakota
206 Roping Saddles
Shown with
a Full Quill Ostrich covered NASA foam seat for
ultimate rider comfort. The fit of the seat of a roping saddle
usually makes a great pleasure saddle for trail riding. Laced
cantle makes it easier to lift the saddle and place it
on your horse. This DAK-206 is
shown with Montana Silver top quality conchos. You
could add some front breast collar dees, a roping pommel dee
and strap, extra heavy fleece, a hoofpick holder on the flank
billet, or any of the
other options. This owner wanted clean lines on a great
saddle for all her riding needs. With a roper tree
base, this is accomplished. It is important to build
your saddle based on the heaviest use.
The
Pro Brown color shown, was hand rubbed to really make details
of the tooling outstanding. You can use this tooling pattern on another saddle model,
whether team penner or cutter, if you prefer!
You
can give us your true inseam measurements and we can have the
saddle fitted for your best comfort. This is especially handy for youth, ladies,
or tall cowboys! (Measure from your crotch to the ground while
barefooted, with feet about shoulder length apart. if
this is 30 inches, we will actually have the stirrups
ready to set at 28 inches, so you can sit with
pressure comfortably in your stirrups. Yes, the
leathers will still adjust with the other
holes.)
Choose between full or regular Quarter Horse bars.
This roping saddle comes with nylon girth tie straps
to lay close to the horse, but can ship with leather
latigos if you prefer. When using nylon tie
straps, I like to double wrap around before I take the
last dive though, so I'm going under 2 loops rather
than 1. This allows binding on both sides of the tie
strap and holds without slipping.
Seems
so hard to get a good picture without glare on
the conchos. But the concho at the tie strap
carrier and concho under the cantle, at jockey,
shows some of the detailing: black enamel filled
into a floral Montana Silver, silver overlay.
Though MSS has discontinued the corner plates,
and bridle plates, the conchos shown can still
be used on your saddle, or bit ends, or as rosettes
on your headstall.
|
|
Intricate
floral hand carving with the border basket stamp
is a winning combination. One you are sure to
appreciate. One that adds value to the saddle
way down the road, as well as when new. Stitch
color chosen was white, but could be offered in
brown or black. Notice the seat is hand popped
to the cantle binding.
Here
you see some detail of the back of the cantle,
and the rear end view of Dakota's best synthetic
fleece bottom. The better the bottom fleece
used, the more air pockets are trapping air for
a better fit on your horses. Even with a good
pad, the saddle fleece is important for your
best ride, and comfort.
Front
view of Full QH bars, a good look at the MSS
conchos, stainless steel breast collar dees and
thickness of fleece...OK, I am trying to be a
photographer. I left the right side fleece as it
comes and pulled the fleece back on the left so
you could see each side from thickness of fleece
and thickness of the leather skirt. Like most
saddlers, a double layer of leather is on the
outer edges of the skirt. The second layer
skives down to 0 about 2.5 inches inward. By
using real sheepskin, you can add another layer
of leather throughout the entire skirt.
|
|
|
|
Dakota
normally uses an Argentine type leather. Good
body, lasts well when conditioned properly, not
stretchy, not hard and brittle. As a class,
normally right in the middle of quality. Expect
range scars, tick bites, and other properties of
real leather that add to character. ( I took a
close up of this pommel with lots of flash to
show true character of leather. The marks did
not show up this severe to the naked eye. Same
photo specs, un oiled on this fender. Pretty
clean saddle overall!) Truth is, Dakota knows we
are somewhat picky at Cultured Cowboy, and they
are very good at selecting the better leathers
from pallets received, to use in our customer's
saddles. We appreciate this. At the same time,
we never beat them down on price, ask for the
cheapest, or bother them with unnecessary
requests, returns, and such. This relationship
between CC and Dakota, lands you a better
product. Should you request "best"
quality (Herrman Oak type) leather, the hides
can be ordered and used. Because hide costs
fluctuate, special order hides with additional
cost will be determined a few days after your
time of order. (Ya need to know what yer spendin!)
|
|
|
|
