Iddings Makers began in the early 1990's when a saddle was given to Mike Iddings by his wife Evelyn's Grandfather Jerome Prokop. Jerome purchased this saddle from a drifter near the Pickstown Dam on the Missouri River, close to Spencer, Nebraska in 1926. It had been sitting in an old hog building on the family farm for an untold number of years and badly needed repairs and preservation. This saddle peaked Mike's interest along with his son (co-founder) Zach who was at the time in elementary school. At that time Mike had been riding horses and fiddling around with saddle repair for family friends and neighbors. Eventually Mike decided to begin the switch from primarily repair to production, which led to our future in leather craft.
Around this time Mike befriended Vic Heyden of Heyden Quarter Horses and began helping out on his ranch and with saddle-tack repair in exchange for horseback riding. Little did we realize this friendship would cause a spike in our leather craft production in years to come.
A combination of long South Dakota winters and a growing interest in leather craft were all it took to convince Mike to start out making brand new products. With a starter kit from Tandy Leather Company, and a fist full of how to books, a basement workshop and lots of spare time Iddings Makers was born. Mike started out small, both small business and small projects, mostly Christmas and birthday gifts for the family. As Mike began to stamp out belts, checkbook covers, wallets, key cases, and pouches Zach observed and made "projects" of his own.
During the winter of 1996 Mike was convinced his skills had advanced enough to try for the granddaddy of all leather projects. Having thoroughly read the three Stohlman Encyclopedia of Saddle Making books he set out on what seemed like an insurmountable task. After logging long hours in their makeshift shop during that winter Mike managed to finish his saddle. Since that spring Mikes first saddle has proven again and again the Quality and Longevity of an Iddings Makers Saddle, and has 100% of the integrity it left the shop with almost 13 years ago.
The summer of 1997 marked changes for Iddings Makers; the family moved into a new house which happened to allow a larger working space for the Iddings boys. It wasn't for a few more years that Mike began taking on custom saddle orders, but it didn't take long for tack requests to start pouring in. During the spring of 2005 Zach finished his first saddle and Mike finished his sixth. Both continue to work hard in the leather shop, for now still mostly during the winter, but it is progressively becoming more than just a hobby for Zach.
Zach graduated from Colorado State University of Fort Collins, Colorado in May 2008 with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Equine Science. In June Zach made the move to the Bear Paw Mountains in north central Montana to fill the position of Horse Program Manager and Trainer with Cowan Select Horses LLC. Here he uses his recently accredited education and past experiences to train and manage horses on the ranch and continue building custom saddles for customers all over the country. The two professions complement each other very nicely.
Zach worked with the Packing and Outfitting class for two and a half years as a teaching assistant while he was a student at CSU. This class and a summer packing in the mountains has helped develop a line of pack saddles that are now being produced by Iddings Makers.
The first pack saddle was created for the Mountain Riders Horse Club of Colorado State University. Additionally for CSU, Zach is proud to be a co-sponsor and saddle maker of the Colorado State Colt Training Competition trophy saddle for the fourth year in a row. The 2008 edition saddle was presented on April 26 and the 2009 edition saddle is on display at the Equine Center in Fort Collins, CO.
Mike continues to build a saddle each winter, he also keeps busy with bridles, chaps, breast collars, and a plethora of other small items. Pictures of all of Mikes most recent work can be found under the saddles, chaps, and small items pages.
We have now entered our 13th year as a custom saddle and tack shop. We look forward to providing the highest quality equipment available to our customers as we at Iddings Makers move toward a future in full time custom saddle and tack making. We hope to build something for you some day, Happy Trails, Sincerely Mike and Zach Iddings.
