Western saddles at the Carriage Museum

Colorado is a state with a rich Western heritage so it's no surprise that the Carriage Museum in Colorado Springs has several nice old Western saddles in its collection. Perhaps the most impressive of these is Spencer Penrose's parade saddle which is proudly displayed on the main floor of the museum. Here's the signage:And here's the saddle itself! I think this is an absolutely lovely parade saddle. Of course, I'm biased. I like saddles of this era with their stand up cantles (no Cheyenne roll), hard seats and long saddle strings.

The matching bridle hangs over the saddle horn. You can see it here, but you have to use your imagination a bit. It would have been better if it had been displayed on a fiberglass horse head. Oh well, you can't have everything!

Unfortunately there is not a lot of information about the rest of the museum's Western saddles.My memory is a bit hazy, but I am relatively certain that this is the Lancaster. Look closely at this one--at first glance it looks all Western, but closer inspection reveals an English type flap and stirrup leather. It's a very interesting combination of styles.

A closer look at the tooling.This is the saddle made by Frank Carrick.
It is a loop seat style saddle. The stirrup leathers loop through the seat-cover as they pass over the bars.

This saddle is undated, but the loop seat style was most common from the early 1900s to the 1920s.

Here's a good look at the tapaderos. Western saddle makers should pay close attention to the shape of these. I see a lot of parade saddles in the hobby that have simple hooded stirrups rather than true tapaderos.

I am almost to the end of my carriage museum pictures--hope you've enjoyed the photo tour as much as I have!