Ryan Cope has only been making custom saddles for the last ten years. While still attending his
final year in the California State University Fresno, Animal Science program, he began learning his trade under the guidance of accomplished saddle maker, Forrest Shoup, in the winter of 1998. Having recently completed his 100th edition custom saddle, Cope’s custom work has been getting a lot of attention lately. Ryan was invited to compete in the Art of the West Exhibition in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada March 7th to 9th, 2008. The Kamloops Cowboy Festival, now in its 12th year, has gained the reputation of being the biggest and best festival of its kind in Canada as well as one of the best in North America. The festival organizers where happy to be adding saddle-making to the show, saying on the event’s website, “...it is our first step toward exhibiting cowboy crafts that have been developed to the level of fine art.” Making the competition particularly exciting is that festival organizers had Canadian master saddler, Chuck Stormes to judge the competition. Considered by many in the field to be one of the top saddler makers in the world. Stormes is a founding member and past President of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association, a non-profit organization founded in 1998 to preserve and promote fine western craftsmanship.Cope began working overtime on the piece and many times, long into the night, to complete the entry in time for the festival deadline. On February 8th, Ryan was notified that his submission was one of the six accepted for display at the festival. Ryan was the only American to make the finals.
In the days leading up to the festival, Ryan discreetly paid a visit to the Oakdale Cowboy Museum. He later told us that he did so because he knew that he would be representing Oakdale at the festival. “ I wanted to take a little bit of Oakdale with me ”, he said.
On March 12th Cope returned home. Not being the type of man to brag, he kept the results of the competition under his hat, so to speak. When asked how he placed at the festival, Ryan humbly replied “I did pretty well”. But it wouldn’t be long before the word got out. Rumors
begain to spread, in of all places... the internet! First it was a photo of the saddle with the word “Winner”, posted by a friend on a networking site. Then a pat on the back from a Canadian saddle maker in an on line forum for leather working. A congratulatory e-mail from C. J. Hadley, Publisher of Range Magazine. Then Cope was contacted by Cowboy Publishing, producers of Western Horseman Magazine for a story about his win at Kamloops.The winning saddle is a 16’’ Homestead Wade tree, that has an all leather ground seat and inlaid black sting ray hide, with a Guadalajara wood post horn. California half double stirrup leathers, round skirts and 4’’ Visalia Moneel stirrups. The finish is all natural, non-chemical. The saddle took more than 250 hours to complete. Ryan scribed the custom sunflower with carlos border design directly onto the leather. He left out the leaves by request from customer Jake Brown of the YP Ranch in Tuscarora, Nevada. Whom we are told had the saddle on a horse and was roping heifers the day after he took possession of the award winning work of art.
For his achievement, Ryan received a beautifully engraved silver and gold buckle with the 2008 Kamloops Cowboy Festival logo and the words Top Saddle.
Even in the age of the internet. Western American Craftsmanship is not gone, nor has it been out sourced to Mexico or China . It lives on in artisans like Ryan Cope.
To learn more about Ryan or see some of his work visit www.copesaddlery.com
