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AA website devoted to providing a glimpse at the great parade saddles of yesteryear.
Ted Flowers was probably the most prolific parade saddle maker. His shop was in Indiana and he produced most of his saddles in the fifties and sixties. It is believed he stopped producing saddles altogether sometime in the mid seventies. This saddle is a "Flowers Special".
Most of the Ted Flowers Saddles were made of a German Silver or Monel (or mixtures of these two materials). Some of the lower end saddles and accessories had stainless steel conchos. There were also some Ted Flowers saddles that were made of sterling and gold plate-- though these are fairly rare. It is also common to see some German silver and monel sets that had brass or gold plate medallions on them for extra decoration.
The Ted Flowers saddles were very popular for use in parade horse classes at shows (Saddlebred, Morgan, & Palomino). The German Silver and Monel did not require near as much labor to keep polished, and was more affordable.
When a saddle was ordered from Ted
Flowers "Spot Shop" each piece was ordered and priced individually (saddle,
bridle, tapaderos, breast collar etc). The fancier sets also offered a
choice of indian head or horsehead decorations. Many customers wanted their
saddle to be unique-- so there is tremendous variation in the remaining
saddles you see today.
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