Hundred Oaks, Inc.

The red saddle above is the 1983 prototype Steele that's on display in our shop

Here's a variation on the Steele that features a decorative padding on safe and offside skirt.  This one's called "The Lilly"

In 1982 Marti wrote an article about sidesaddles that was published in "Western Horseman Magazine".     As a result, the late Jack Steele, then  patriarch of the Steele Saddle Tree Company contacted her, wanting to produce a modern sidesaddle.  

 Steele has been producing saddle trees since the mid-1800's, and in fact the company was shut down by Union forces during the War Between the States, so that the Confederate cause would not have a supplier of saddle trees.     The company was founded by Jack's grandfather, who had emmigrated from England.

Jack fondly remembered the many Ruwart style sidesaddle trees the company once produced, and he wanted to get back into the business.

 About a year later, Jack's son Wayne took over the production of the sidesaddle trees.    Wayne was not satisfied with the old Ruwart style design, and he undertook the design of an entirely new sidesaddle.    His first effort was introduced in 1983 at the SouthEast Aside clinic in Raleigh, NC.  His new design was adapted to feel comfortable to the majority of riders, and to fit the majority of horses.

Marti and other SEA members rode the first Steele and pronouced it a success, but also requested a few changes to make the saddle more appealing and to balance the seat better..    Production began at the Steele factory later that year, with Steele contracting out the saddle building to independent saddlers Pete Harry and Wayne Webster.     For more photos of Steeles and examples of Pete's work see his site here:    Petescustomsaddlery

That first Steele is now on display at our shop, and is pictured at left.

Wayne's initial saddles came in 3 sizes - a QH bar, a wider Arabian bar, and a narrower Paso bar.     All three sizes were in production through the mid 90's when a devastating fire swept the Steele factory. 

 Wayne's original factory patterns were destroyed in that fire, but the patterns were not completely lost, since Marti had samples of each size at Hundred Oaks.    She shipped the bare trees back to Steele where they were disassembled and new patterns were cut.

However, the wider Arabian tree proved to be the most popular seller, and the other sizes while available, were largely out of production until 2005, when the market began to demand a narrower tree to accomodate horses of a more refined build.    The Paso tree was put back into production and is now readily available, along with the standard Arabian width (called the "extra wide" by some of our competitors who don't seem to realize it's been in production all along, and who incorrectly label the size as "rare"!)

 In addition, a Friesian tree was developed, but demand for it is limited, so it is available on special order.

 Steele sidesaddles continue to dominate the market, but the original Wayne Steele design is available only through Hundred Oaks.    Our company assumed responsibility for production of the Steeles in 1995, purchasing the trees from Steele, the best leather available, and the strongest hardware, then contracting out the work to Pete Harry after Wayne Webster retired.  You can find the links to Pete's page in our links section..   Unlike other companies, we do not tinker with the fit of the saddle to the horse, and our Steeles are true to Wayne's original ideas.

Each genuine Steele will be marked with a unique production number, and the saddle can be traced to the original owner.

1/21/2010