10/02/2026
5 years ago today I finished building my dinosaur saddle. My mentor, Duncan Vezain, taught me how to build my first saddle. After a few weeks of practicing on smaller projects, I dove in to about 2 weeks worth of work to build my saddle while still riding colts that summer. I really wanted to carve and make something unique, so I chose my two passions: dinosaurs and cowboying. I found an artist who had made almost all the artwork you see. His name is Shaun Keenan and is currently working on a movie titled: Dinosaurs of the Wild West. I reached out to him and got written permission to use his artwork. I stenciled each design on to leather by hand, carved it, textured it, and then finally painted it. Hardware placement was the hardest part as I did not think of where to place my conchos while carving the design. We still enjoy doing leatherwork and plan to be purchasing a larger sewing machine to begin making saddles from our home in Minnesota.
