“ People like to invite Jim out to have a look at their horse , because he can just point out where the saddle isn ' t fitting right ,” Taylor ' s managing partner , Sylvain Gauthier , said .
When he can ' t visit horse owners , Taylor sends kits that customers can use to make a cast of their horse ' s back , so a saddle can be tailored to fit . Another key feature used to make saddles as ergonomic for the horse as possible is the “ shoulders free ” design of their saddle trees ( frames ), which reduces pressure in the area above the horse ' s shoulder blades .
While “ ride-ability first and pretty second ” may be Taylor ' s philosophy , meticulous hand-carved tooling also is a focus .
“ We made one saddle for a fellow in Holland who wanted a tulip pattern carved into the leather ,” Taylor said . “ For it , we looked at several photos of tulips , came up with a design , and our toolers carved it in freehand .
“ Leather carving is a very labor intensive process that starts with cutting the basic shape , then beveling it out , and eventually adding in the veins and other little details until it ’ s a full 3-D effect .”
With the completely custom nature of its saddles , Jim Taylor Saddlery generally completes about 10 to 20 saddles per month . Despite the wait time and price tags that can range from $ 4,000 to $ 12,000 , the maker ' s reputation for quality is known the world over , with 60-70 saddles made annually for customers in Europe alone .
Helping with the company ' s growth is Gauthier , who hails from Quebec and is vice president of Western Rawhide , a distribution company of tack and equestrian supplies .
Like Taylor , Gauthier has a long history of working with horses . In fact , his family was instrumental in introducing the quarter horse to Quebec in the 1950s .
“ One of the things I ' m doing is helping reorganize the company as we grow ,” Gauthier said . “ In a year or two , we hope to open an actual show room where people can see examples of the saddles in person because it ' s easier for people to point and say they like the seat from one and the back from another — Things like that .
The cantle of a saddle gets some tooling along its trim .
Intricate basket weave style leather stamping can be seen on the pommel of this saddle .
An assortment of pliers , edge bevelers and other tools stand at the ready .
SPRING 2022 15 GREENVILE LIFE