08/06/2026
Family Tradition.
Every horse I’ve owned since I was about 13 years old has been saddled for the very first time in this old antique Porter saddle. It all began with Belle Starr, my first Tennessee Walking Horse, and the tradition has continued with every horse since.
Before that, I rode everything ba****ck.
The cowboy who taught me to ride owned this saddle before I did. He worked as a wrangler in Yellowstone National Park and cowboyed on ranches throughout Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. This old saddle has carried more miles and memories than I could ever count.
I spent an entire summer saving every dollar I could so I could buy it from Jerry Wayne Combs. Not once have I ever considered letting it go.
Years later, my younger brother, Jason, took this very saddle to Roosevelt Lodge in Yellowstone and rode it all summer while working as a wrangler. I often wish he had gone back.
My momma, Janice Kelly, was always there for each horse’s first saddling. This is the first one she’s missed. It’s been almost a year, and I still miss her every single day. She would have absolutely loved this mare.
Some family traditions are simply too meaningful to let fade away.
I still have a few saddle and tack adjustments to make for this tall girl, but she’s coming along beautifully. She has one of the calmest minds I’ve ever been around.
Her barn name is Big Sky—or simply Sky. It seemed fitting for a mare this tall, and as a quiet tribute to the country where this old saddle began its story.
Some traditions aren’t just about leather and horses. They’re about the people we love, the lessons they gave us, and the memories we carry forward every time we swing a leg over a saddle.