Dec 14 2009
Beautiful things come in small packages. Ty Skiver, known for his championship saddles, is crafting a limited edition series of miniature saddles to commemorate the 100th Pendleton Round-Up. The first in the series of this miniature will be sold at auction during the Let ’er Buck Ball Dec. 31 at Hamley’s. Saddles numbered 2-25 will be sold for $5,000 dollars. Round-Up’s share of the proceeds for the saddle will be donated to the rodeo’s centennial celebration the second full week of September.
Skiver has incorporated designs that hearken back to saddles crafted by Don King of Sheridan, Wyo.
“He invented the Sheridan style of carving in the 1950s and 1960s,” Skiver, who began his career of making saddles in Wyoming, said. “His work has awesome craftsmanship. He was the Duff Severe in my area and he made some tools for me.”
Severe also served as an inspiration in the design of the miniatures.
“Doing the miniature was inspired by Duff’s work,” Skiver said. “There’s a miniature he made that’s at Pendleton Underground Tours. Pam Severe helped me very much in studying that.”
Round-Up Director Tim Hawkins, who co-chairs the centennial committee, said collectors will be proud to own the saddles.
“We are proud to offer such quality craftsmanship,” he said. “These saddles are a work of art and with such a limited number available they will quickly become a collector’s item.”
Creating a miniature for Round-Up’s 100th birthday dawned on Skiver about two years ago.
“When I built my first one the idea hit me that this would make a great collector’s item and I should see if Round-Up was interested in. It was close to two years ago when I first met with (Round-Up directors) Dennis Hunt and Tim Hawkins.”
The prototype saddle Skiver crafted is on display in the Round-Up gift shop on Southwest Court Avenue. Skiver is now taking orders for the remaining 24 saddles.
“They’re handmade, hand-cut and hand-tooled,” he said. “Even the trees are handmade of wood from Tom Penner.”
The saddles will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis with half the cost due when the saddle is ordered and the other half when it’s completed. All of the saddles will be done before the 2010 Round-Up. People interested in purchasing one can do so at the Round-Up gift shop.
