CLYDE'S SADDLE

It's just an ordinary saddle.
I found a picture of my grandfather
using it on his horse.
Dad must have inherited it.
Rode long hours over
mountain and desert trails,
herding cattle.
He hauled it to Phoenix
and left it behind in the shed.
We used it as long as
Cracker was alive, 32 years.
Brought it to Brooklyn, Central,
Panguitch...where our horse died.
It sat...until The Boulder Festival
Saddle Show and my neices and
nephews asked for it.
Made it there the first year.
My nephew lost his dad that winter
who wandered off into the desert
and was not found.
I forgot Clyde's saddle
the next year...
MY FAULT
I didn't remember
to load it up.
We were camping on
the mountain.
Husband was mouthy,
blamed.
Nephew called names.
Tempers flared and
fists clenched.
Enmity born.
The saddle bore the weight
of tragedy, of pain, of loss.
It's a good, strong saddle
and has carried loads
for many years.
Clyde's Saddle has been at
The Boulder Festival
since...
We know the work
it has done.
It holds together our
Western Heritage of
Cowboys and
good cattle stock.
We heal the breach.
We know each milestone
takes work. We work.
And we laugh.
We are part of them all
Part of each other.
My hope is to put
Clyde's Saddle to work
borrow, buy, rent
some nag and
let grandkids herd
the cattle boarding free
right out the gate
and down the mountain,
just like the good
old days!