The Cowboy Way

My last post was about the great Animal Planet series “Last American Cowboy” which features the Galt Ranch in White Sulphur Springs Montana, and several other ranches. I thought I’d share a fascinating book that also takes place on the Galt Ranch.

The Cowboy Way: Seasons of a Montana Ranch by David McCumber is an eye-opening look at what life is really like on a modern working cattle ranch. The Galt Ranch is a bit more modern than many ranches today, but it’s a good look at the skill set and incredible hard work that’s required to be a good hand.

David McCumber abandoned the corporate world and spent a year learning the ropes as a bottom-of-the-totem pole ranch hand. It was a learning experience, to say the least.

The Cowboy Way is a great read for anyone interested in the western lifestyle.

The Last American Cowboy

There is a great new series on Animal Planet that you just don’t want to miss. The show is called “The Last American Cowboy” and it follows life on three working cattle ranches in Montana. You see up close the very tough, but rewarding reality of this traditional lifestyle. I just love the show.

It’s especially enjoyable because I have a connection to one of the featured ranches – the Galt ranch. The Galt Ranch is a neighbor ranch to my good friends the Voldseths who own the Voldseth Ranch and the Bonanza Creek Country Guest Ranch. Both of these ranches are located north east of Bozeman, around White Sulpher Springs.

I’ve met Bill and Jill Gault and was lucky enough to have Bill give me a personal helicopter tour of his beautiful ranch.

It’s also great to see Tanya Hill on the show. Tanya is the wife of Galt foreman, Tyson Hill, and is a wrangler for Bonanaza Creek in the summer guest season. Tanya’s just a great gal with a lot of talents. She speaks French fluently, has traveled the world, and is a heck of a hand and horsewoman. I always enjoy riding with Tanya.

Last American Cowboy is on Mondays at 10pmET. The show started on June 7th, but if you set your DVR, you should be able to catch the earlier episodes on reruns. You can find more about the show on the Animal Planet Website:

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/last-american-cowboy/

And make sure to check out my favorite Guest Ranch in the world – Bonanza Creek Country:

http://bonanzacreekcountry.com

Used Saddle Pick of the Week: 16″ Leddy Ranch Cutting Saddle

The “Used Saddle Pick of the Week”

Every week we scour the Internet searching for a particularly juicy bargain on a high quality used western saddle and feature it here on the WSG Saddle Blog. The saddles featured are listed for sale on ebay as of the date of the post.

The Western Saddle Guide is not the seller of the saddles featured and does not make any representations about them. We encourage all potential buyers to do their own due diligence on the seller and the saddle before purchasing.

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Last week’s Pick, a very nice 14″ Tex Tan Hereford Roping Saddle, remained undiscovered without a single bid place. I suspect the lack of activity was due to the smaller seat size, even though roping saddles tend to be smaller than ranch or trail saddles.

This week we’ve chosen a saddle from a longtime quality maker – ML Leddy’s out of Fort Worth, Texas. This 16″ ranch cutting saddle already has some bid action with the current bid at $510 as of this writing.

This is a saddle that has obviously been put to work with some real miles on it, but its solid craftsmanship means there are many miles left in it. The saddle has a 6 3/4″ gullet, a replacement smooth leather seat, basket weave tooling, and nicely turned stirrups.

Looking at this saddle, you know it’s going to be a great ride.

We present the Saddle Blog’s Used Saddle of the Week:

16″ Leddy Ranch Cutting Saddle

Check out other Leddy Saddles for sale in our tack shop.

Used Saddle Pick of the Week: 16″ Genuine Billy Cook Wade Ranch Saddle

The “Used Saddle Pick of the Week”

Every week we scour the Internet searching for a particularly juicy bargain on a high quality used western saddle and feature it here on the WSG Saddle Blog. The saddles featured are listed for sale on ebay as of the date of the post.

The Western Saddle Guide is not the seller of the saddles featured and does not make any representations about them. We encourage all potential buyers to do their own due diligence on the seller and the saddle before purchasing.

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Last week’s Pick, a  very nice 14″ Courts Sharon Camarillo All-Around Saddle – was another saddle with a lot of action. With 15 bids, it ended up selling for $566.  I think both buyer and seller made out well on this sale.

This week we’ve found a really handsome and classic Wade ranch saddle from Billy Cook – Genuine Billy Cook of Sulphur, Oklahoma.

This saddle is in great shape (only two years old) and has obviously been very well cared for. The seller states that it’s never had a dally taken on it. It it is a solid and heavy duty saddle with a 16″ inch seat and 7inch gullet. It’s a smooth out saddle with tooling on the skirt, fork, cantle and back jockey.

I’m extremely partial to Wade saddles. If you’re going to be spending quite a bit of time in your saddle, nothing beats the comfort of a wade. And this is one handsome Wade.

We present the Saddle Blog’s Used Saddle of the Week:

16″ Genuine Billy Cook Wade Ranch Saddle

Check out other Billy Cook Saddles for sale in our tack shop.