Plastic Western Saddles

Three years ago Christie’s sold the one pictured above for $22,000!

The All Western Saddle Company was the brain child of Bill Vandegrift, a Colorado resident who came up with the idea of a plastic western saddle in the late 1940s with leather still in short supply following WWII.

The huge sheets of plastic, called Geon, were about 1/4″ thick, and basically the same material as today’s PVC pipe – coming in a variety of colors. It was possible to place a seamless cover on the saddle seat by heating the sheet and wrapping it while still warm around the form. The few seams that were necessary, such as around the horn or the stirrups, were covered by decoration, according to plastic saddle aficionado and historian Wyoming rancher Tom Harrower.

The All Western Plastic Company began operating in Lusk, WY., in 1946, moving to Scottsbluff in 1949. Vandergrift enlisted Tommy Nielsen, a saddle maker in Lusk, WY., and Bernard Thon, an excellent craftsman, to produce each hand crafted saddle.

Of the 65 or so that were made, about 37 have been located, and Harrower owns ten of them. Cowboy legend, Roy Rogers, was both a promoter and collector of the novelty saddles – frequently riding his flashy and unique plastic saddles in the annual Pasadena Rose Parade.

From the Western Saddle Blog:

“One plastic saddle he won’t get his hands on is the Rose Parade Saddle made for Roy Rogers. It’s on display at the Roy Rogers Museum in Branson, Missouri.

“The plastic saddles were built on traditional bull-hide covered wood trees with leather ground seats. From there, the remaining pieces were cut from plastic and soldered together. For color and decoration, were cut out and overlaid.

“Plastic saddles are certainly durable, and also waterproof. But they do get stiff in winter and a bit sticky and stretchy in summer. Plastic saddles never really caught on and production ceased in 1949. In the end, folks just preferred leather saddles.”