This fascinating exhibit swings open the gates to a grand era in Santa Barbara history, and it does so on horseback. Featuring more than two dozen classic, decorated, Western-style saddles dating from the 18th century to the present, In the Saddle: Horses, Santa Barbara, and the Way of the West looks at Santa Barbara through the eyes of ranchers. From the humble vaqueros who worked the stock to the fine folks who owned the land, everyone had to ride — and that meant having a saddle. The majority of the examples on display illustrate the tradition of decorative saddle-making, with its elaborate embossed leather designs and silver ornamentation. Some of these fancy saddles would now fetch upward of six figures at auction. As signifiers of status within the ranchero culture, saddles were second only to the beautiful animals to which they were strapped.
Looking at these saddles today, particularly in the context of this informative and elegantly designed show, they are a powerful reminder of the intimate connections between land, social standing, and the so-called “way of the West” that still underpins much of what counts as tradition in Southern and Central California. The men (and it was mostly men, although there are some women’s saddles on display here, as well) who built Santa Barbara loved to ride, and they loved a parade, as can be seen in two of the county’s enduring traditions: the Santa Ynez Valley’s Rancheros Visitadores and Fiesta’s El Desfile Histórico.
Cleverly crafted around an electric campfire, the show’s central pavilion displays the names and work of several of the most important saddlers in the region. The first saddle that comes into view as you approach is perhaps the most spectacular — a “Charro” style in black leather loaded with 1,500 silver buttons. This Visalia saddle was a gift from Will Rogers to Silsby Spalding, the oil and sporting-goods magnate who created Goleta’s vast Rancho Tecolote.
