{"id":22459,"date":"2025-06-11T00:17:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T06:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22459"},"modified":"2025-06-09T15:17:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T21:17:58","slug":"the-dollar-saddle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/11\/the-dollar-saddle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dollar Saddle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Bryce Angell – The outdoors has always been a large part of my life. My father was an outfitter and guide for 35 years and I was there to shoe and care for the horses and help him do the cooking. We took many great trips into the Yellowstone area. Even now that I\u2019m older, we still ride into the Tetons, Yellowstone and surrounding areas. My poems are mostly of personal experience. I am now retired and enjoying life to the fullest. I plan to do more riding and writing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The yellow sign said Yard Sale, so I stopped to look around. I saw the saddle in the dirt. Could not believe what I had found.
\nThe leather on the horn was gone. The seat all caked in dust. The conchos and the buckles were seized up from years of rust.
\nThe leather straps were torn away. Both cinches looked well used. That saddle needed someone\u2019s help. For sure it\u2019d been abused.
\nThe old man took a look at me and got up from his chair. He said, \u201cThat saddle\u2019s been around. It shows a little wear.\u201d
\nI asked the old man what he\u2019d take. He stretched and scratched his head. \u201cI\u2019ll take a dollar for it, son.\u201d That\u2019s what the old man said.
\nIt seemed his eyes looked through me. \u201cThat saddle\u2019s meant for you. I hope you\u2019ll fix it up one day and show me when you\u2019re through.\u201d
\nI handed him the dollar; threw the saddle in the truck. Most yard sales are a waste of time. That day I had some luck.
\nSo I wrapped the horn in leather and I glued it down in place. I cut new leather straps and tied the conchos down with lace.
\nI stitched two rawhide stirrups with a worn-out boot shoelace. I opened both the skirts and slid the stirrups down in place.
\nI tied a brand new latigo and buckled on the cinch. Then I oiled up the saddle, and I didn\u2019t miss an inch.
\nThe old man\u2019s worn out saddle was now good enough to ride. I couldn\u2019t wait to show him, and I felt a certain pride.
\nI drove out to the old man\u2019s home. He met me at the truck. I showed him my old saddle. Said, \u201cI\u2019ll sell it for a buck.\u201d
\nThe old man kinda chuckled; then he handed me a one. A handshake sealed the deal. I felt a good deed had been done.
\nThe old man said, \u201cI\u2019ll keep this saddle for a day or two. It brings back good old memories, but it\u2019s really meant for you.\u201d
\nI told him that I\u2019d buy it back in just a week or so. He smiled. \u201cI\u2019ll take a dollar. That\u2019s the going price, you know.\u201d
\nWell, I never made it back again. I\u2019d heard the old man died. But that worn-out dollar saddle helped me find my kinder side.
\n\u2013 Bryce Angell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The yellow sign said Yard Sale, so I stopped to look around. I saw the saddle in the dirt. Could not believe what I had found. The leather on the horn was gone. The seat all caked in dust. The conchos and the buckles were seized up from years of rust. The leather straps were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160,62,2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22459","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-cowboy-poetry","7":"category-art","8":"category-commentary"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22460,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22459\/revisions\/22460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}