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AA website devoted to providing a glimpse at the great parade saddles of yesteryear.

Courtesy of Tom McCully

STERLING SILVER "CHIEF DELUXE" TED FLOWERS PARADE SADDLE - This saddle was custom ordered by A.E. McCully of Merced, CA from the Ted Flowers shop in 1964. It was used in the Rose Bowl Parade in 1965 and 1966. His son, Tom McCully, was kind enough to share the photos and history of this saddle with us-- please scroll down and read the history below the photos. Congratulations to Julie Brussel of Palos Verdes, CA the new owner of this saddle-- she intends to use it in the Rose Bowl Parade as well! (There are 6 photos in this gallery use the arrows to scroll over and see more pictures)

Photos are a little grainy-- but you can still see the richness that only sterling silver has!

The detail on the horn is differnet that on most TF saddles. The standard horn probably had to be encased to make it "sterling."

This saddle was custom made and A.E. McCully was engraved in the cantle.

Breastcollar with Horsehead motif.

Serapes

The detail on the pommel is different than seen on the monel or german silver saddle.

This saddle has a brown padded seat.

Though difficult to see in this photo-- there is a ridge or seam on the swells. Probably had to made differently given the different medium of sterling silver.

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Photos are a little grainy-- but you can still see the richness that only sterling silver has!

About Arlen Edward McCully:

In his younger years he was a working cowboy in Oklahoma and Texas. After he married and the kids started coming he became a game warden around Asher and Shawnee Oklahoma. He went on to become a deputy sheriff in Pottawatomie County. He met Pretty Boy Floyd, and knew the woman well that ran with Machine Gun Kelly. She lived down the street from my parents in Shawnee Oklahoma. As his family grew he decided to move to California. He sold his farm in Asher, and we arrived in Merced, CA on December 7, 1941. We arrived in Merced on the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. So needless to say, he went right to work in the Naval Ship Yards and later took a job driving a crash truck at the Army Air Force base just outside of Merced. After the war, he worked for about 25 years for the Merced City Police Department. His first love was horses so he bought a German Silver Parade saddle, but they refused to let him ride in the Rose Bowl Parade (only sterling saddles were allowed in the Rose Bowl Parade). He was a hard-headed Irishman, so he had this saddle made by Ted Flowers; and insisted that Flowers send a letter with the outfit stating that it was made of "STERLING" silver... The saddle was made in 1964 and used in the 1965 and 1966 Rose Bowl Parades. - Written by A.E. McCully's son, Tom McCully,  4/23/2005