Meet Nancy Martiny
Martiny Saddle Company is located in the high mountain deserts of the Pahsimeroi Valley near May, Idaho. Saddlemaker Nancy Martiny considers it a privilege to be able to build custom saddles from her home shop found on the Martiny family ranch, which has been raising beef cattle for more than 125 years. Nancy spends most of her time building custom saddles, as well as helping her husband Jim on the ranch.
Nancy Martiny built her first saddle in 1987 after receiving two Harwood-made trees as a Christmas gift. That spring, Dale Harwood was gracious enough to “coach” her thru building herself a saddle.Armed with a notebook from her time at Dale’s , she built the next saddle on a 12″ Homestead tree for her children to ride. Orders from friends and family followed. Trial and error, with the occasional phone call to Dale, were the lessons of saddle making.
A trip to Oklahoma City to attend a leather carving class, taught by Dale Harwood and Don King, as part of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association annual show in 2002, opened up a new world of learning opportunity. A scholarship from the TCAA to a week long saddle making class with Dale Harwood became the second chance at higher education.Workshops with Cary Schwarz and Steve Mecham, as well as another trip to Oklahoma City, have continued the education.
Nancy continues to study various resources to improve both her saddle making and leather carving skills.