It’s starting to crack and is too fragile now to use, but I have a bridle that has intrinsic value to me. It was my Dad’s. He was born in 1926 and got the headstall and a set of reins for his 13th birthday I believe. He told me the story of going to the Denver Saddlery with his Dad and getting to pick it out. The visit to the saddlery was quite a treat in and of itself for the ranch boy, and not a regular occurrence. He recalled all the saddles and other gear for sale, and the smell of the leather shop itself. The array of bridles was incredible and it took a while for him to pick just the one he wanted. It was of the style then with the wide, scalloped cheek pieces and browband, fully tooled in a floral pattern, and had nickel conchos on the head piece where the browband and crown piece go together and also at the bottom of the cheek pieces where the bit was hung. He remembers it being nearly too beautiful to even use, but it was made for a purpose so use it he did. I’m sure his favorite horse at that time, Pepper, got to wear that headstall first. Many horses wore that headstall. It was cared for as best he knew how, and many different bits hung in it. The reins were used up by horses that pulled back and broke them (his Dad was a horse trader so they had many ringers through the lineup), or stepped on them after bucking Dad off. But the headstall itself held up well. When I was a small girl, I remember it being used on the snorty Rusty. He had a pretty head and I always thought the bridle looked nice on him. Later it was used on the sweet mare Brandy for many years, again looking pretty on her neat head. Even though it was outdated and newer bridles were sleeker and more streamlined, it remained a classic in my eyes. The last horse I remember it on was Sailor, and it really stood out on his palomino coloring. After my folks sold the ranch and retired, Dad still had his horse at their new place and he’d come and help me ride on occasion, riding Sailor with that bridle. I had admired it for years and knew its history as I’d asked for the story on it once in a while. Dad finally retired completely from riding and had laid Sailor to rest so had no need for his bridles anymore. I don’t know why I was the chosen one of six kids to get it, but he must have thought about it for a while. I was there at his place one day when he wanted to walk over to his barn and look at something. We went to his tack room and he got down the bridle, dusty and stiff from not being used. He handed it to me. I admired it once again and tried to hand it back, but he insisted I take it home. I was astonished but thrilled! I cleaned it up and hung it on my wall. At that time it was almost 80 years old. I’ve moved since then and need to get a good hanger for it and get it back on the wall. It’s getting fragile, of course, and needs a good cleaning and some olive oil. Recently I got it out and showed it to my two oldest grandsons. They remembered Grandad and thought it was a neat story about him getting it for his birthday. It has suffered some with being stored in a long tote under my bed. Storage is usually harder on leather than actual use. So, I’ll get it fixed up and let it hang on my wall until I’m gone, then it will be passed to my son. That headstall and the man who picked it out, are both of intrinsic worth.
Jan was raised on a ranch in far western South Dakota. She grew up horseback working all descriptions of cattle, plus sheep and horses. After leaving home she pursued a post-graduate study of cowboying and dayworking in Nebraska, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota....
