In the shop
During the winter months I build custom saddles. It is quiet work and slow work, and it is where everything the summer taught me about how a saddle actually holds up gets built back into the next one.
Sheridan, Wyoming
Paul & Amber Van Dyke
Two apprenticeships, a lifetime of horses, and one shop at the foot of the Bighorns.
How it started
Good horses and good gear
My interest in good horses and gear began early in life. It was no surprise that this interest led me to pursuing both as a career.
As I served two saddlery apprenticeships — under Ron Silverman and Don Butler — I also kept developing my skills as a horseman. I did that primarily by working with different horsemen, cowboying, and starting colts. The two sides have never really been separate for me. You learn things about a saddle from riding hard in one that you will never learn at a bench.
In May 2004 I officially went out on my own. My business is certainly a reflection of my passions.
The way it was taught to me
A trade handed down, not looked up
I learned this trade in a traditional apprenticeship background — all but gone now in this day of instant information and the significant value placed on degrees. It is the reason I teach the way I do, and the reason I insist on the why behind every step and not just the how.
The year has two halves
The saddles and the horses are not two businesses that happen to share an address. Each one keeps the other honest.
Horseback
Most months find me at home near Sheridan starting colts, and also travelling across the country starting colts for different breeders. I am often out in the hills on the ranch or day working, using my horses in situations that only genuine cowboy work can do to develop them.
It gives me great satisfaction to go to a branding and see a horse I started quietly dragging calves — and then turn to see a good hand riding one of my saddles.
& Stock Horses LLC
The horses
Horses have always been a critical part of Van Dyke Saddlery and Stock Horses. For many years we had great success training and starting outside horses for the public. As of 2023 we made the switch to solely making and selling horses we train.
We offer everything from horses that are started to a more seasoned, money-earning older horse. These horses are used on our ranch and on some of the largest ranches in the west. Beyond ranch use, we show them in:
- Versatility Ranch Horse
- Reined Cow Horse
- Team roping
Our horses get a blend of real-life use that is uncommon today, along with the training that prepares them for a show pen. If you are looking for one, get in touch — what is available changes through the year.
On the horsemanship
“One of the greatest horsemen I have met in a long time. Can break one quicker than anyone I know, and good.”
“I have been raising Thoroughbred polo ponies for almost 40 years. I remember how much better the colts became once Paul began starting them. Paul has a gentle but no-nonsense ritual with the youngsters. If he thinks a colt needs more time, you can be sure it does. He is trustworthy and, most importantly, a horseman.”
The other half of it
Amber
Amber works alongside Paul in the business and is the reason a good deal of it runs at all — the orders, the students, the horses coming and going.
She also runs Hope Adoptions & Consulting, a certified adoption service in Northern Wyoming offering home studies, TBRI and Circle of Security training, and one-on-one consulting for adoptive families.
Get in touch
Thank you for your interest
Whether it is a saddle, a class or a horse — I look forward to any way I can help you and your needs.
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Shop
757 Highway 14 East
Sheridan, WY 82801 - Email paul@vandykesaddlery.com
- Phone 307-673-5783