Ken Raye

The Origin Story

From the kitchen table to San Angelo

Raye's craft started in winter, at the kitchen table, building belts with his father — a pipe fitter at a nuclear plant who was a cowboy at heart. As a young man Raye apprenticed under longtime Denham Springs saddle-shop owner Harold Chambers, then in 1991 took a job at Piland Saddlery in San Angelo, Texas, one of the great training grounds of Western leatherwork. He came home and opened Ken Raye's Custom Saddlery in 1993, at just 21.

"As a youngster, I actually wanted to be a horse trainer. That's where my passion was. But horse training is a pretty tough way to make a living. Saddle making is, too, but at least you're out of the elements."— Ken Raye (inRegister)

Something Interesting

Where the hours go

Raye is best known for a saddle called the ranch cutter — built to go "from the show pen to the working ranch" — and his work has a years-long waiting list. A fully hand-tooled collector's saddle of his can run to roughly 600 hours of labor (as documented by the Louisiana Folklife Program), and his pieces have been shown in the Museum of the Big Bend's "Trappings of Texas." He doesn't romanticize the grind:

"I may sit here for nearly a week at a time — sitting and pecking."— Ken Raye (WAFB)

"You can't run a marathon if you don't have the right shoe, and it's the same with a saddle on a horse's back."— Ken Raye (inRegister)

The Next Generation

Passing it on

Raye's influence reaches past his own bench. His protégé Jared Riddle — documented by the Louisiana Folklife Program — got his start at sixteen when Raye called to ask if he'd fill in for his brother; he began by cleaning stalls and edging cinch straps, built his first saddle in his late teens with Raye coaching over his shoulder, and took first in show (beginner class) at the 2010 Wichita Falls Round-Up. His attitude is pure Raye:

"I don't like slacking. If I'm going to do something I'm going to give it all I got."— Jared Riddle (Louisiana Folklife Program)

Raye, for his part, has no plans to slow down: "I strive to get better and better. I imagine I'll do it till I can't do it anymore."

Sources: inRegister, "Riding High"; WAFB, "Meet Your Neighbor: Ken Raye"; Louisiana Folklife Program, "Folk and Traditional Arts in the Capitol Region" (note: the folklife site's security certificate is currently expired); Museum of the Big Bend. See the craft in time to make one piece.

Contact & Connect

Reach Ken Raye's Custom Saddlery

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