Triumph and Tragedy

#312

From the moment I pushed open the door at the “Cowboy Place” I began listening to a tale unfold and unfurl that was epic and novel worthy. I had to pay close attention because I didn’t have a piece of paper or writing implement, but when I met Bub Warren I was captivated by his presence, his craftsmanship/artistry and his compelling stories.

Saddle making has been his passion for 30 years and when he delivered a saddle to Charlie Daniels and then went to his concert, Charlie said Roy Rogers is here, why not take a photo with him? Roy was wearing a ball cap, by the way.

The Smithsonian bought a saddle and then hired him to come to Washington D.C. and show people how he worked.

These saddles, on average, sell for $35,000-$45,000. They are exquisite and as you can see by this example, the tooling is intense. He wanted to show his hands because they are huge and we went palm-to-palm so I could say, definitively, that they are one knuckle bigger than mine. (I also like having big hands.)

When I mentioned that his countenance was serious he told me about the greatest tragedy of his life, which happened about 10 years ago. His grandson Blakely was shot and killed here in Redmond. The police never investigated, calling it self-inflicted, even though the location of the wound, where the body was found and the gun on a table in another corner indicated otherwise. He said that he has finally come to being able to forgive the young man (there was one other boy in the room) who caused the death.

“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ~John Wayne

He is 70 years old now and said that his health has begun to cause him some “itty-bitty nuisance” but that chopping a cord of wood is relaxing after a day in the shop.

I told him about my ranching brother-in-law and he quickly grabbed a copy of the Paragon Foundation magazine to show me. I said, yes I knew about this publication because my brother-in-law was on the board of directors. Then, I found the page that listed his name.

I didn’t know what the stirrup protectors were called and now I do. Tapaderos.

I told him that the next time I stop in, I am going to bring him a beautiful 8×10 photo that I have of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  ~(**)~  Gipsy