George Stark Saddles

By Holly Hutchins, Bend Living Magazine

More than 30 years of living and breathing horses has helped hone the skills of the 51-year-old Stark who prides himself on being an individual American saddle maker. Stark maintains that production saddles do not have the quality to last. We seem to have lost that in America. My goal is to make a saddle that will look good and stand the test of hard riding and time,” he says. Stark admits he was born into the horse business, noting his father once trained horses for Bing Crosby in the late 1930s in Southern California. For nearly three decades, he was a horse farrier. Eventually, the intolerable aches and pains of shoeing gave way to his love for leather crafting, leading to his “new career” as a saddle maker.

Being in the middle of prime horse country, Stark’s clients range from equestrians to ranchers to basic cowboys. While he builds a variety of saddles, his trademark and favorite is the working ranch saddle. This particular saddle is big, heavy and intended to hold up to the demanding task of roping cattle. I enjoy the challenge of making a saddle that will go the distance,” he says. Each year, Stark will handcraft between 9 and 12 saddles. Understandably, they are not inexpensive. Saddles start at $2,000 and go as high as $3,000, depending on amount of personalized tooling.

Stark says he’s retired. But it’s unlikely he will find much time for leisure activities in the future as his reputation for extraordinary leather crafting continues to spread throughout the West.

INFO: 541-536-9503 • www.starkssaddlery.com

Please call us at (541) 536-9503 or email us at info@starkssaddlery.com to discuss your specific saddlery needs.