The work of Hard Handiwork

MEET MONTANA’S CUSTOM SADDLE MAKERS

IN THE SPRING OF 1900, a lone Montana cowboy rode through the muddy streets of Great Falls. His top priority: three fingers of good whiskey. But he also came to see a man he had heard made the best saddles in the West: Victor Ario.

Descended from Austrian saddle makers, “Victor Ario was a craftsman, whose business grew to 10 saddle makers working to produce 500 saddles a year,” says Jeff Gollehon of Grizzly Saddlery, which is essentially the latest iteration of Ario Saddlery. Gollehon represents this traditional craft with pride. “I’m making a piece of art—very functional art. No two saddles are alike.”

Today, cowboys and cowgirls are more likely to trailer their horses into Great Falls than ride them. But “they are still looking for a great fit between rider and horse, ’cause if you’re going to be on a horse all day long, you don’t want to do it on a cheap factory saddle,” Gollehon says.

Riders’ love of well-made working saddles is not lost on Karstan Frecker of Frecker’s Saddlery in Dillon, Montana. His father was a legendary saddle maker, the late Kent Frecker. “I guess I started in this business when I was about 14.

I learned everything from my dad,” Karstan says. Now running the business, Karstan creates world-class saddles with brother Tyler, who crafts custom saddle trees that ensure a perfect fit to the horse. “It kind of sets us apart,” Karstan says, “building our own saddle trees fit to the horse, then the saddle to precisely fit the rider.”

For fancy high-end saddle builds, the intricate tooling and stamping needed to create beautiful floral or leaf designs, or even images of bison and elk, doesn’t come cheaply. Or quickly. “While a fairly plain working saddle might take 40 hours to build, a fancier one with extensive tooling easily takes four times that,” Frecker says.

Investing in an exceptional custom saddle pays off in the long run. According to Frecker, “A custom saddle will last a long, long time. Enough to pass it down to another generation if you take care of it.”

If the looks of these saddles has you licking your chops to order one, be a little patient. “We are booked out several years, and are now taking orders for delivery well into 2025,” business manager Jolly Frecker says.

Saddle-making spoken here

Belgrade Montana Horseman Saddle Building School

Belgrade Cole Custom Saddles

Dillon Frecker’s Saddlery

Ennis Ericksen Saddlery

Great Falls Grizzly Saddlery

Hamilton Bitterroot Saddle Company

Livingston Word of Mouth Leather

Lewiston Sting Saddlery

Laurel Witt’s Custom Saddlery