Tales of a Saddle Tramp

This book is about how one man's life can be touched by horses and the bond that develops between horse and rider. That life is mine - "Rick Allen"; ex-navy electrician turned leatherworker turned saddler, horse rider, endurance club president, Saddlery store owner, horseback tour guide and operator of Saddletramp Horseback Tours.

What started out as a hobby, doing trail rides for fun with the club, ended up a profession; eventually teaching other people how to be tour guides.

The horse at the centre of this bonding is “Bobby” (or Bob as I now call him), a 16 hands high bay brown medium Waler. My passion started with the history of military Saddlery and horses, having done leatherwork while in the Navy, (mainly because I was too cheap to buy the accessories for archery; I decided to make them instead).

In those days I took a liking to leatherwork as a hobby, making belts, stubby holders and handbags. My best work involved hand stitching and I became quite proficient at this, which lead me to begin to repair Saddlery.