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Bill Maupin, Cowboy Saddlemaker

Bill Maupin presenting one of his trophy miniature saddles.
SPRING CREEK, NEVADA SADDLEMAKER BILL MAUPIN
BUILDS MINIATURE TROPHY SADDLES


By Mary Branscomb

Brock Winn of Ferron, Utah, received the coveted Bill Maupin miniature “association” trophy saddle at July 2011's
Silver State Stampede. Brock is the 14th recipient of an exquisitely made little saddle. Maupin has been creating small replicas of full sized bronc saddles since 1998 to be awarded to the Stampede Saddle Bronc Champion. Each saddle is just a little different than the one before, but they all have trees made by Timberline Saddle Tree Company in Vernal, Utah. There is one more miniature tree in Maupin's shop, so there will be at least one more trophy for next year's Stampede, he says.

Maupin donated his first little saddle to be auctioned at the Nevada High School Rodeo Finals in Fallon to benefit a badly injured high school rodeo saddle bronc rider. Other than the mini bronc saddles, Maupin has made some small stock saddles. One is owned by Tana Gallagher of Lamoille who bought it directly from the saddlemaker. He made another one for a high school rodeo coach who lives in Montana and he donated one more to another high school benefit auction.

Bill Maupin and a miniature saddle
Maupin, himself, rode saddle broncs in his youth in Wyoming, so he knows what characteristics make a good competition saddle; and he notes that Charlie Gardner, a Nevada champion bronc rider who lives in Ruby Valley, is the designer of the saddles Maupin builds today. He says he makes 14 to 15 full-size saddles annually for professional cowboys in many Western states: Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, California, Wyoming, Montana and Nevada. Occasionally he builds a working saddle for one of his bronc riding customers, but he does not do other kinds of leather work for the public.

He started making saddles after he returned from the Korean War where his job was to patrol the front lines at night with his German Shepherd, Arlo. He was discharged in 1952 and resumed competing in rodeos and punching cattle until 1964 when he bought a saddle shop in Dillon, MT. Soon after, he hired on as a feed lot rider for the MC Ranch in Adel, OR. From then on, he expanded his career in the livestock industry and did not return to saddle making full time for decades. He managed a number of large ranches throughout the west including, lastly, the IL in Independence Valley. When he and his late wife, Wanda, retired from that job in 1993, he restarted a saddle shop in back of his Spring Creek home where his border collie, Snert, greets customers. Bill and Wanda's daughter, Brandy, is a human acupuncturist in Murraysville, PA. Maupin also works as brand inspector for the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

The winners of Bill Maupin miniatures are: Troy Cattour, John Hammick, Pete Aritola, David Howard, Ira Slagowski, Ira Wines, John Wright, Jess Jones, Stormy Sagers, Devon Sagers, Wyatt Smith, Jake Larsen, Jesse Wright and Brock Wynn.

Bill passed away in the summer of 2013.

Photos by Lee Raine

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  • Home
    • Web Site Design >
      • Privacy Policy
    • Links
  • Gear
    • Pistol River Saddlery
    • Cowboy Gear - Tips and Tricks: >
      • Three-Way Hobbling
      • Piggin' String
      • Stirrup Hobbles
      • Tying Your Rope Up
      • Buckaroo Scarf Knot
      • Cowboy Night Latch
      • Cut-away saddle pad
      • Center-firing your Cinch
      • Pack Saddle Latigo Safety Knot
      • Quick Keeper
      • Tire Changer Aid
      • Safety Tie-Up
      • No Roll Saddle Stand
    • Saddle Makers >
      • Wade Saddle History
      • Don Howe Working Cowboy Saddle Maker
      • Hamley and Co.
      • Bill Maupin
    • Spurs >
      • E.F. Blanchard Spurs >
        • How to tell authentic Blanchard spurs.
        • More Blanchard Spurs
      • Garcia Bits and Spurs
      • Amozoc Spurs
      • Prison Made Spurs
      • Adolph Bayers Spurs
  • Arts
    • Poetry >
      • Cowboy Poetry by Gary Vorhes
      • Charlotte Thompson Poetry
      • Mike Meaux Poetry
      • Audrey Hankins Poetry
      • Carole Jarvis Poetry
    • Rodeo Photos
    • Cowboy Photos
    • Horse Photos
    • Cattle Photos
    • Gear Photos
    • Dogs and Animals Photos
    • Reminders of the Past Photos
    • Windmill Photos
    • People Photos
    • Ready to Rodeo
    • Books by Dale Woolley
  • Horses
    • Diamond Z English Shire Horses
    • 5 Tips for Traveling
    • Harnessing A Team
    • The Dameles and the Curly Horse
    • Rounding Up Wild Horses
    • Extreme Horse Camping
    • First Pull on the Latigo
    • Twister Heller Starts a Colt
    • Cowboy Martingale
    • Cowboy Training Halter
    • Cowboy & Colt Clinic
    • Using the McCarty
    • Teach a Horse to Stand
    • Cowboy Draw Reins
    • War Knots >
      • Tying War Knots
    • Tail Knot for Pack Horses
    • Cavvy Marks
    • Deworming Your Horse
    • Safe Fall Trail Riding
    • Horse Remedies
    • Hormone Implant
    • How to buy a mule
  • Brands
    • Brands II
  • Chuckwagon
    • Dutch Ovens
    • Recipes
    • Sourdough >
      • Grant's Sourdough
    • Cowboy Coffee
  • Articles
    • Grubbing Hoe Ranch
    • Trevor and Emily Fuhriman
    • Land of Extremes
    • Jersey Valley Cattle Co
    • Diamond Tail Ranch
    • Gang Ranch of British Columbia
    • TS Ranch of Nevada
    • When the TS Ran a Wagon
    • IL Ranch
    • Basque Ranching
    • Crystal Rose Cow Dog College
    • Wyoming Honor Farm Inmate/Wild-Horse Program
    • Cowboy Etiquette
    • Arizona Trigger
    • Longhorn Cattle
  • Stories
    • For the Love of a Horse
    • Breakheart Station Master
    • Freighters Outbound
    • DK Cowboy Stories: A Prophet With Antlers
    • Ben's Trail
    • Spendin’ Time at Cow Camps
    • Slewfoot The Black Bear
    • Orphan Boy
    • Mooney's Stories - The Circle A Ranch of Nevada >
      • Cotton the Horse
      • Wigwam, the Wrangle Horse
      • Spanish Ranch 1
      • Spanish Ranch 2
      • Spanish Ranch 3
      • Spanish Ranch 4
      • Miss Beymer’s Boyfriend by Bill Mooney
      • Recollections by Bill Mooney
      • Branding out of a Rodear on the Spanish Ranch, Part 1
      • Branding out of a Rodear on the Spanish Ranch, Part 2
      • C Ranch
    • Wild Horse Casey >
      • ​A Dirty Ole Mustanger Like Me
    • Hero Cattle Dogs
    • Ranching Traditions
    • Life Lessons
    • Dave’s Summer Adventure
    • Fire-Proofing the Range
    • Cowboy Superstitions
    • Cowboy Humor
    • Portrait of a Cowboy >
      • Cowboy Obstricition
    • Tons of Silver
  • History
    • Fort Worth Stockyards
    • Horseshoe Ranch
    • Andrae - Marvel Nevada Oral Histories
    • Texas 6666 Ranch Historical Photos
    • Gerlach Cattle Company 1906
    • Cattle Roundup Photos
    • Cowboy Historic Photos
    • Sheepcamp
    • Comstock Lode
    • Pony Express
    • Horn Iron
    • Historic Sites
  • Cowboy Profiles
    • Victoria Jackson
    • Flying M Ranch Women's Team
    • In the Big Nevada Desert
    • Mike Laughlin, Cowboy
    • Bob Tanner
    • Bill Kane
    • Wally Blossom
    • Ian Tyson The Legend
    • Allie Bear
    • Marge Prunty
    • Bryan Neubert Cowboy Clinician
    • Rex Blackwell
    • Wiley Carroll - Legendary Hunter
  • Glossary
    • Horse Terms
    • Cattle Terms
    • The People & The Land
    • Saddles and Gear
    • Personal Gear
  • Cowboys of the World
    • Cowboys of the Dark Continent
    • Scrubber Running
    • The Day it Nearly All Ended
    • The Goring
    • Horse Breaking
    • Honduras
    • Mexico