Utah couple builds a business making custom saddles and tack. 

By Lynn Ascrizzi 

“Saddlemaking takes attention to detail, a pursuit of excellence and sticking with a mission until it’s accomplished. The same can be said of the U.S. Army’s Special Forces.” 

    —  William “Bill” DeGolyer 

You might find it amazing that someone who served in the U.S. Army for 22 years, including almost six and a half years as a Green Beret, would also develop a singular passion for creating custom leather saddles and tack. 

But if you take a moment to talk with William “Bill” DeGolyer, founder of Utah Territory Saddle and Tack, based in Taylor, Utah, you’ll learn that a meaningful connection between a straitlaced military career and a creative artisan lifestyle is more than possible. 

In 1983, at age 23, DeGoyler enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after he and his wife, Elizabeth DeGolyer, had their first child. “I went in as an infantryman. I was a ‘grunt.’ I felt like an old man. So many who signed up were younger,” he recalled. 

What prompted him to join the Army, at that time? 

“That was back in the early ‘80s. The economy was not that great. Before enlisting, I was working on a logging crew in northern Florida and Georgia that paid well. But it was not a future for someone trying to raise a family,” he said. 

Once in the Army, however, Bill longed to make something creative with his hands. He had done small saddle repairs in his early teens. So, he started to do some leatherwork on the side, an activity that in time would lead him into saddlemaking. 

After serving eight years in the Army, he was ready for a change. 

“To be honest, I was serving in Colorado at the time and thinking about getting out.” But then, he got caught up in a selection process for the Army’s Special Forces Green Berets. 

“I thought, ‘What the heck! If selected, the Army trains you.’ In my mind, Special Forces was the highest achievement you can accomplish.” In 1991, he put in for the legendary, elite unit and was selected. The demanding training process that followed took about two years and led to his service as a weapons sergeant on an A-team. 

Looking back, however, he feels that serving as a Green Beret was not his highest achievement. “Altogether, I made it through 22 years with the Army and went out with the same woman I started with. That was my major accomplishment,” he said. 

BACK IN THE SADDLE  

Before retiring from the U.S. Army in 2005, Bill had already begun to pursue a rapidly growing passion — saddlemaking. In fact, he made his first leather saddle while still in the Army. “Working leather is one thing, but making a working saddle is another. At the time, I thought it was unachievable,” he said. 

But after retiring from the Army, he signed up for yet another eight-year stint. This time, working for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs based at the agency’s Salt Lake Regional Office in Salt Lake City, Utah. Among other tasks, he processed disability claims for veterans. Yet, despite the demands of his new career, his passion for leatherworking kept growing. 

His interest quickened when he found an old worn-out, high-back saddle. It was almost falling apart, but originally it was built to tough out the rigors of ranch work. Instead of tossing it, he took it apart and copied the saddle parts. “I used the old saddle as a pattern. I traced around it. And I ordered another saddletree.” 

His practice saddle project turned into a labor of love. “I bet I worked on it for a year. I had to build a saddle stand, improvise parts and find tools,” he recalled. Although it took a lot of work and research, happily it served his goal to make a finished saddle. “But if you look at it with a saddlemaker’s eye, you’ll agree that this saddle is never going on a horse,” he quipped. 

While working for the VA, Bill continued to do some leatherwork and to repair saddles whenever he could. Then, in 2016, he took beginning and advanced saddlemaking courses under Dale Moore, founder of Montana Horseman Saddle Building School, based in Belgrade, Montana. Operating for more than 50 years, the school has taught the art of saddlemaking to students from all over the world. 

The courses gave him extra confidence and a creative boost. “After doing saddle-building school, I came back and received my first saddle order. That first saddle locked me in,” he said. 

BUILDING A BUSINESS 

In 2017, the DeGoylers launched a saddle and tack business. Bill set up a leather workshop based on the property the couple own in Taylor. To create the work area, they enclosed a small barn. Last year, they doubled the workshop space to approximately 24-by-48 feet. “The shop has paid for itself,” he said. 

“This saddlemaking work is my bucket list job. I never tire of it. I enjoy making saddles,” he said. Bill, 61, and Liz, 62, have three grown children and seven grandchildren. “I’m happier now with my life than I ever have been. I feel I have more control over what I can do with my time.” 

After its first four years, the business is now growing a good customer base, he noted. “It’s a hobby-turned-business. It’s an additional income. It takes a while to build a saddle shop and develop customers that keep returning and ordering saddles for their family.” 

His main customers are ranchers. At first, he did a lot of saddle repairing, but now he’s building mostly new saddles. “These are heavy ranch saddles that get used really hard,” he said. 

On average, he makes about eight saddles a year. The base price for custom saddles starts at $3,550. He also makes items associated with saddlery, like saddlebags and tack. 

Last year was especially busy, he noted. “The calving season in northern Utah begins in March. These saddles are built heavy duty. We attach medicine bags to them, so ranch cowboys can doctor their cattle. Heavy ranch saddles make up the majority of the business.” 

TEAM SPIRIT 

Bill and Liz have been sharing a positive, hand-in-glove relationship for 41 years. “Mostly, I deal with office-type work — keeping records, invoices, taxes, orders. I keep the website up to date,” Liz said. She also puts to good use her innate artistic talent. 

“She draws the designs for some of the registered cow brands, including the initials that cowboys want on their saddles. They like to personalize them,” Bill explained. “Then, I carve them into leather. If I’m building a woman’s saddle, I rely on Liz’s artistic eye. It always helps to have another person assessing your work who has a different perspective.” 

When asked what it’s like to live with a saddlemaker, Liz replied, “It’s not any different than living with a soldier. Bill is a hard worker, dedicated and ready to learn. I support him in what he loves to do, and he supports me with what I like do. He does the work on the saddle itself. I will do some of the finishing work on it, like oiling. He starts with olive oil and then finishes it off with Skidmore’s Leather Cream. If he’s loaded with business, I go in to help. 

Sales are made mostly by word of mouth; other sales include those made via their website. To advertise, they put colorful fliers about the business in ranch stores — places that sell animal feed and ranch-related products like horse tack. 

“The business has been blessed,” she added. “People love his leatherwork. Sales in the past three years have more than doubled.” 

INSIGHTS 

Looking back, Bill reflected on the know-how he gained from his long and highly divergent careers. “Building a saddle and training for the Special Forces are unique individual processes. Both disciplines do not require team effort. Everything that you go through, you go through by yourself. You have to be self-motivated.” 

He also pointed out that to achieve success takes a keen ability to focus. “Saddlemaking takes attention to detail, a pursuit of excellence and sticking with a mission until it’s accomplished. The same can be said of the U.S. Army’s Special Forces.” 

Ongoing training is another necessity, he added. “You have to continuously train to get better, to educate yourself and practice that skill, to achieve excellence.” 

Moreover, it helps to associate with positive like-minded people. For instance, to boost his saddlemaking expertise, DeGolyer is a member of the Colorado Saddle Makers Association. The non-profit group, composed of professional saddlemakers and leather carvers, is dedicated to preserving and promoting the artistry and heritage of handmade custom saddles and associated trades. 

One more thing. As odd as it may sound, to achieve excellence, embrace creative dissatisfaction. “I am still not satisfied,” DeGolyer freely admitted. “I have to continuously push to learn and grow.” 

LEARN MORE 

Utah Territory Saddle and Tack  

William “Bill” DeGolyer (founder and maker) 

Elizabeth “Liz” DeGolyer (co-owner and assistant) 

utahsaddle.com 

williamdegolyer@gmail.com 

(801) 830-4864 

Feel free to contact by phone, text or email.