Every year, we dedicate these pages to helping you find the best the team roping industry has to offer in this department. Whether you value form and function equally or you just need something to fit and feel great, we’ve got a saddle for you on the following pages. And don’t miss the accessories featured, either, because they’ll make your trip to the practice pen, jackpot or rodeo that much more profitable.
Cactus Saddlery
If you’re in the market for a new saddle, Cactus Saddlery’s new Team Roper features a beefier front end and a narrower ground seat for rider comfort, as well as a great fit for your horse. And the company’s reputation for its hand-made custom saddles has made Cactus the “Choice of Champions.” These saddles are 100% hand-carved and assembled in Greenville, Texas. Every Cactus saddle goes through a 10-point inspection process to ensure no detail is missed.
Cactus also produces the Relentless Extreme Gel Pad, which offers both protection and comfort to maximize your horse’s performance. Designed by Trevor Brazile, the pad displaces areas of impact evenly across your horse’s back, alleviating pressure points and soreness. And the Extreme Gel Pad is made with a layered system of felt, gel and fleece to make it fit well and be plenty durable.
866-605-6567; CactusSaddlery.com
Reinsman
Reinsman, founded in 1993, is now a brand of Circle Y Saddles, Inc., and offers a complete line of handmade bits, saddle pads, leather strap goods and saddles. Reinsman dealers are spread out across the United States and internationally, making it the number-one maker of completely American-made Western tack.
In January, Charmayne James joined the Reinsman team. The 11-time world champion and first million-dollar cowgirl has coordinated with Reinsman to release six new saddles that will be arriving in stores soon. James’ tree is one she helped develop more than 20 years ago that fits a wide range of horses and has a lifetime warranty.
Her signature saddles feature suede skirts, which help keep the saddle in place and eliminate roll, as well as a layer of foam padding for the horse’s comfort. James’ signature products
are designed to her distinct personal style and preferences, and hers and other Reinsman saddles are fully customizable.
800-548-2487; Reinsman.com
Bar H Equine
Bar H Equine builds a complete line of custom and stock saddles including the Ryan Motes Signature Team Roper.
This year, the Weatherford, Texas-based company is introducing the new Ryan Motes Ranch Roper, again designed exclusively by three-time NFR heeler and world- record holder Ryan Motes. The Ranch Saddle is built with the same specifications as the Ryan Motes Team Roper, but it has a few modifications that set it apart from other ranch saddles, including a close-contact skirt, an easy- access hoof pick holder on the stirrup and six saddle strings, including front tie rings on both sides. With a sanded heavy oiled finish, palm tooling, lariat border, and a hard seat with a rawhide pencil rolled cantle, this saddle is both durable and good-looking.
“I designed this Ranch Saddle to be punchy and comfortable to ride outside all day, yet still functional enough to take to the roping arena.” says Motes. “Like my Signature Team Roper, it has the standards I want and I think everybody wants.”
The folks at Bar H have spent five generations in the livestock business and over a decade in the tack industry, with saddles available through more than 700 authorized dealers across North America and in several foreign countries
877-594-9820; BarHEquine.com
Martin Saddlery
One of the newest revolutions in saddles is Martin’s XT Team Roper, launched last year with a redesigned tree to give you the utmost balance and control. The ground seat lets you get to the front of the saddle quickly, but because the stirrups are positioned slightly forward, your feet won’t get behind your center of balance.
“A header can now explode to the front and be right with the horse as it leaves the box,” says
Ken Bray, president of Equibrand Corp. “At the same time, heelers can stay centered riding through the corner and then easily sit down when that horse comes under them in a big stop.”
The other cool new feature? You can choose the diameter of your horn cap, so heelers can choose bigger to keep their dallies from popping off and headers can go smaller so it’s easier to get around fast. Plus, the cap features a dome shape to deflect impact and potential injury to your hand while dallying.
If that wasn’t enough to love, the saddle features double-reinforced billets so you can’t stretch or pull through holes, and half-holes in the stirrup leathers so you can get your length just right.
Guys like J.D. Yates, Clay Smith, Luke Brown and Clint Summers aren’t paid to ride it—they just want to.
888-308-2386; martinsaddlery.com
Court’s Saddlery
Not even losing everything in a devastating fire could slow down one of the nation’s oldest saddle shops—one that has been in the same family now for almost 60 years. Last summer, Court’s Saddlery moved into a new building in College Station, Texas, and the family is focusing on returning to full capacity.
“We still have our valued employees and customers and are fortunate to be growing our customer base,” says Kathy Court, who is hoping to host an open house soon at the new location. “We still hold true to our quality saddles and tack and great customer service.”
Tony and Zella Court started Court’s Saddlery in Bryan, Texas, in 1956, and Jimmy and Kathy Court and their kids later took over. Today, the company has a handful of employees celebrating anniversaries of more than 20 years.
Court’s trophy saddles have long been sought-after by prestigious events, and its endorsee saddles have stood the test of time from the days of the original Dee Pickett roper. Court’s contemporary Competitor Series offers you an affordable and good-looking saddle.
Nine-time NFR qualifier David Key not only favors the rigging and fit of his Court’s saddle, but also appreciates “the friendly people behind the products.”
800-800-5598; courtsaddlery.com
Cowboy Collection
Jeff Smith’s saddles are gorgeous and priced so well that his trophy business has skyrocketed. From his headquarters just east of Dallas, in the back of the 7,000-square-foot Tack Store, Smith works his magic.
Cowboy Collection saddles can be made in any size from juniors to ladies and men and in any discipline, and their fit on a horse is one of the things Jeff Smith is known for. The other difference is that every saddle is hand-made, from the stitching to the tooling. You can tell by looking at the details that no expense is spared in quality, from the Hermann Oak leather to the stainless steel hardware, thick latigo and matching rear cinch. Custom conchos are available, too, and the saddles come with a five-year warranty on custom trees
The saddle pictured here looks custom, yet retails for just $1,299.99 with even more discounts for quantity orders.
“You can’t beat the quality for the price,” said sales associate Gus Benavidez. “These are all hand-made and they are really nice. We make all kinds, from barrel racing to all-around to roping.”
Organizations across the country are providing the coveted saddles as trophies, including the Texas High School Rodeo Association, Brothers-N-Law Productions and more.
972-563-3300; jeffsmithcowboycollection.com
Dally Post
Heelers, do you ever get tired of searching for rubber and wrapping your horn? Did you ever stop to think that your rubber strips may be costing you time off the clock when your rope slides—and money out of your pocket?
The Dally Post was developed specifically for team roping saddles and features NevaWrap, which packs the same amount of rubber as 20 conventional strips into a single device. And because you can rotate it and turn it upside down, it will outlast and outperform up to 100 strips of rubber.
A recessed push button conveniently located on top of the Dally Post cap releases the bearings in the steel locking pin, which allows the cap to be removed. The NevaWrap slides effortlessly over the Dally Post and the cap securely snaps back into place. The cap can even be customized with your brand, logo, or initials or even ordered with a remote control for your roping chute right in the horn.
The Dally Post and NevaWrap will save you time and money while protecting your ropes and fingers. Order it for your next new saddle or simply have your local saddle shop swap out your old horn.
866-427-3876 • TheDallyPost.com
Corriente Saddles
Owned by team roper Wayne Baize of southern New Mexico, Corriente Saddle
Company produces what many feel is the greatest kid’s saddle in the world.“We produce more children’s saddles than anybody in the country,”
Baize says. “These saddles hold them in there and give them a more secure ride.”
Indeed, the high-quality but affordable saddles come in 10, 12 or 13-inch seats and with 10, 12 or 13-inch stirrup fenders and are completely customizable. The kids’ association, roper and barrel saddles offer a deep seat so kids feel comfortable. And the youth roping saddle is
a great way for kids to get used to a roping saddle before moving up to an adult size. What’s more, the company’s rawhide-covered pine trees fit horses so well that one customer—Dr. Sean Eastman of Twin Oaks Veterinary Clinic—tested several with his thermographic camera and found the Corriente to fit his two very different horses perfectly.
915-525-9009; CorrienteSaddleCo.com
Circle Y Saddles
Circle Y kicked off in 1960 in tiny Yoakum, Texas, and is still there, producing high-quality saddles and tack with the heritage of its founders.
Its Xtreme Performance line of roping saddles is fully customizable from the all-wood
tree out to the tooling designs. Trees come in two widths, are reinforced at stress points, fifinish-coated with DURAhide to lock out moisture and add strength—and pack a lifetime warranty.
The Xtreme Performance 2759 Gunnison Roper is designed to help you rope from the correct position with roughout seat jockeys and fenders for extra grip. The saddle also features a 7/8” in-skirt rigging and deep rawhide stirrups. Expect it to be hand-tooled and hand-stitched with
several custom options available. Choose your own tooling, seat, cantle, and adorn your stirrups with your favorite conchos or upgrades like painted backgrounds and spot or crystal trim. You can be riding your own creation in just eight weeks.
800-831-3600; CircleY.com
Len Brown Innovations
Len Brown’s Team Roper is the result of 32 years of research and innovation, with a tree made by the company itself. But the added value about buying a saddle from Brown is the innovation in the accessories. The complete saddling system comes with a cinch that works beautifully even on round-backed horses; stirrups tilted to help you keep your toes down and legs underneath you; and a pad that can be adjusted for every horse. The saddle itself features a balanced seat and close contact with the horse, but it fifits today’s horses thanks to its wider gullet. Plus, it’s cut from Hermann oak leather and comes with a matching breastcollar.
“I’ve tried to design a saddle where you can sit in the middle of the seat and it’s low in front so you can get forward easy and stay in that position while you throw,” said Brown, who operates his own online store.
Together with the Perfect Rider stirrups; supreme comfort Protector pad and NearTight Cinch, you’re money ahead with the total package. It’s no surprise coming from Brown, who has put top ropers in his saddles since the days of Dee Pickett and Jerry Jetton. Check out his system also in the Lite Roper or Ladies’ Roper.
816-625-0333; TheCorrector.Net
