Saddle up

This pair of saddles is part of the permanent collection on display at the Saratoga Museum. The standard western saddle, left, belonged to Thad Sowder. Named the first world-champion bronc rider, Sowder was a Saratoga resident in the early 1900s. In 1902 he rode Steamboat, the bronc pictured on the Wyoming license plate, to a finish-becoming only one of five men ever to do so. The tapestry covered side saddle was made for Madeline McPhail in 1904 as a gift for her 15th birthday. McPhail was raised on the North Spring Creek Ranch near Saratoga. Her brothers gave her the saddle so that she could ride with them as they tended their cattle.