The Evolution of Evolutionary Saddles TM
1987 Cathy and Don are dating and Cathy shares her passion
of horse camping. Cathy came with horses and Don knew then he was in trouble...
But his love and his lack of a lobotomy kept him coming back for more. Don
says that the attraction for Cathy is that he had a strong back and a hay
baler (actually it was his love for animals, his work ethic and
most of all his sense of
humor that made her laugh, told Cathy that she met the man of her dreams.
1988
A
bite to change history. As Don was cinching up his horse Bill, Bill turned
and bit him in the side. This was nothing new, but this time was the straw
that broke the camel’s back. This time, Bill really got hold of Don and
this bite was through insulated coveralls. Bill had a strong history of this
behavior and when Don was mounted up he would have to box Bill in the ears
to get him to stop bucking. (This was a horse that Cathy bought for Don as
a calm riding horse, as the horse was when she went to test ride him, later
she discovered that the horse had been drugged!) Naturally, after Don came
into the house with this bite Cathy - then 5 months pregnant – went out and
got on this horse bareback (so as to come off clean and not get hung up on
equipment if he got to bucking which he always did with Don). Well, the
horse was perfect and after working him hard for 4 miles, all she could do
was pat him and put him away. What did this say? So was the bucking and
biting a clue that something was wrong? Was it the saddle? Cathy and Don
sold the horse - honestly, the next day because of this behavior. Hind site
is 20/20. How many good horses are sent down the road due to a bad
saddle and how many people get injured or worse due to bad or ill fitting
equipment?
1989
With children on the way, Don and Cathy move away from tent camping
and into a pick-up
camper.
1990, 1991, 1992 & 1993 After years of pain Don announced that he would not be riding any more due to his painful knees and walking bow legged for days after riding. Don said that he would accompany Cathy on her riding adventures and watch the kids. It was during this time that Cathy realized something had to be done. She had gotten rid of the bucking horse, as Don rode hers and she got another, but what could be done about Don's knees?
1994
Don
saw an ad for a saddle that made claims about riding for 8 hours and feeling
just as good at the end of the ride as you did before you rode. $1,600.00
was a huge sum of money back then, but it would be worth it if Don would be
able to ride with Cathy. They bought their first Delrin Panel saddle and
purchased a second for Cathy the following year. The difference was
incredible in how much easier the horses learned when Cathy trained them
with the new saddle. Previously, Cathy had 7 different saddles - for the
various horses she rode.
1995 Cathy and Don bought cheap saddles for the kids. The kids were tough and rubbery, and could manage being sore and besides the kids did not weigh that much, and so the horses could easily take a kid for a nice ride. Cathy and Don did not realize back then how wrong they were. Even with just a little weight in the saddle the ponies would buck if they did not like the tack. Rhea, Kelly and Sonia took dozens upon dozens of nose dives and headers off of all those ponies until, the light came on for Cathy that regardless of weight.... a proper fitting saddle can make the difference in having a child being bucked off or not. What price do you put on your children's safety?
1996 
Cathy
began looking for a replacement horse for Pete as he was the worse bucker of
them all. So much so that Rhea refused to ride him. He also had
a horrible sway back. Cathy found Rhya, who also was a problem horse
and upon inspection realized it was a saddle that bothered Rhya and so
riding her bare back Rhya did great. Cathy told the people that she was getting
her from the problem but at the time they were not in the mind set to accept
that the saddle was the reason for Rhya's bad behavior of taking off, running through
the bit and needing to be cross tied to be saddled as so not to get bitten.
Cathy bought the mare and rode her in the panel saddle with her youngest
daughter on behind. 
While Rhea rode Cathy's horse - who did not buck even
with the a crappy pony saddle on. But there were still the other two
ponies and as the family and horse herd
grew Cathy realized that Rhya needed to be Rhea's horse and the only way to
ride Rhya was with a panel saddle and they needed three saddles for the
children. So phone calls were made.
The
company had since gone to dealers. So Cathy made a call to the nearest
dealer. When ordering Cathy realized that the dealer did NOT know horses or
the parts of the saddle! She did not know the difference between a cantle
and a fork! How in the heck could Cathy fork over $6,000.00 to someone who
knew nothing about the horse or the customer? So she called the company
back and within one month, Don and Cathy - Hill View Farms
® LLC
became dealers for the Ortho-Flex Saddle Company. But it must be noted that
it was Don's farming line of credit they borrowed from to buy into this
dealership. The $25,000 loan had to be paid back at the end of the 1997
farming year. They struggled as a young family of 5 just starting to farm,
with no real assists. It was tough going for the Tauer household.
1997,
1998, 1999 and 2000 With the farming loan paid back and Cathy's
reputation with the bank secure, she was well on her way to forming and
expanding her
company. The children Rhea, Kelly and Soina were all now riding
panel saddles. And guess what...no more bucking, biting or sore knees!
It was then that Cathy pledged that no more horses would dumped off to kill
because of bad saddles.
The Tauer family rides and Cathy made good her promise to the horse
continuing to expand her knowledge and becoming a certified equine sport
massage therapist. She worked hard and with Len Brown designed and developed
better saddles and products for the horse and rider. Her work in
marketing and sales earned her the top sales awards for the company bringing
in over half of the companies annual revenues. It was during
this time that Cathy drove down monthly to the Original
Ortho-Flex Saddle Company in Missouri to pick up saddles, it is also when
she and Don took a keen interest in saddle construction and got to
know the employees personally. One
of the employees she met was a woman named Cindy who at the time, worked in
scheduling and receivables. Cindy is a TALL woman – easily 5’10". She was
always beautifully dressed and had the most incredible taste of style -
rarely seen
on women of her stature. As a seamstress, Cathy noticed Cindy’s clothes and began to ask questions, discovering that Cindy too
was a seamstress - but only for herself only. Naturally they both ogled each other’s clothing, looking
at the bottom side of each other’s work. A friendship was born.
2001 brought changes in management as decisions within Ortho-Flex, beyond Cathy's control took place. Determined to continue her quest, Cathy implored Richard Watson to build saddles as he had once done for Len. Rocking R was in business but again...management from within took Richard down another path leaving Cathy to once again seek out a company who shared her vision. It was also at this time that Cathy was looking for a seamstress to make the leather goods necessary for Hill View Farms ® LLC designed and built to Cathy's specifications. The only person who had the skill and design insight that she knew was CINDY! Cathy assured Cindy that she could provide her with enough income to start a home business. The biggest obstacle in launching this new career for Cindy was purchasing the machines necessary for sewing leather. The good equipment is expensive (and if you know a seamstress, you know that they are picky!). At that time neither Cindy nor Cathy had the funds to invest in such equipment, but Cathy’s husband who is a farmer did. Together they figured they could get Don paid back by the end of the year, when his yearly operating loan was due. Don approved and together they called Cindy, only to discover that Cindy in the meantime had spoken to her mother who cashed in several CD’s thus making the loan to Cindy and launching Eldorado Saddle and Tack. In one year, as forecasted by Cathy, Cindy was able to pay her mom paid back with interest. But what about the saddles?
2002, 2003, 2004 Cathy was contacted by American Saddles of Germany. Mr. Kai Klee. He too had been working with Len in years past and he had his shirt taken also by Richard Watson. Being linked in this way, Cathy thought helping Kai out with his project would also help her with hers. Cathy and her friend Paul, (who was a genius at web site design) came up with the website name for this company "American-Flex" which is still seen today as .com and .net. While later American Saddles adopted it as their own now as, .uk and they even went so far as to trade marked it in Germany and took the Ortho-Flex Pegasus horse, making it a unicorn as their logo. Improvements were made to the panel function and marketing was underway. Hill View Farms ® LLC again generated revenues for American-Saddles that represented over half the companies gross profits. It was also during this time that repairs needed to be made to the saddles - as shipping over-seas was ineffective. So Cindy was employed by American Saddles to do this, as they worked out a relationship it became clear that they did not see eye to eye. Caught in the middle Cathy had to choose sides and she chose to side with Cindy (Eldorado Saddle and Tack). That decision cost her dearly as Kai refused to either return her pre-paid money for saddles or send the saddles on order. Now more than ever Cathy needed Cindy to produce the disparately needed saddles that she needed for the horses. In order to do this Eldorado Saddle and Tack needed to expand, and Hill View Farms® LLC was rapidly becoming known as a family who worked together, putting the horse first.
2005
& 2006
Eldorado
Saddle and Tack moved from Missouri to Northwestern Illinois, expanded into
a new building and began making saddles. The many of the products produced
were the designs inspired by Cathy’s experience of trial and error and who
drew upon her extensive riding and knowledge within the equestrian field
2007 Times change. Cindy and her husband Harold no longer wanted to be contract builders, but wanted to do what they wanted, make products how they wanted and use the materials they wanted. Basically that was it in a nutshell.
It was after all this that Cathy and Don realized; just how many more companies do they need to get started just to be used until the companies got what they wanted or mismanaged the profits they made. It seemed that with these companies, it is only about the money. How much can be made and how fast seemed to be the rule not the exception.
Don told Cathy to concentrate on selling the other products she developed and forget about the saddles. But for Cathy this was not an acceptable answer. What about the HORSE? Who will care about the HORSE? Does anyone CARE? It was because of Bill, Rhya, Tito and many thousand of countless horses that do not have a voice that Cathy owes this new Evolutionary Saddle to. It was the SADDLE that made the company Hill View Farms® LLC a registered trade marked name, a name that is known as "The company who puts the horse first" and does things based on principle and not what the product can do financially for the company, but what the product can do for the horse.
It was during this time that Don did what no man in his right mind would do, and he said, "to do things right you must do it yourself". And making saddles is exactly what Don had in mind.
Don said, "I will give you two years of my life to get this project
off the ground". And Don got to work. The very next day Don started
straight out to look for a proper place to begin production and
picked out a building with the location that he liked and bought
it. A building mind you that was not even on the market! But it
was the right building in the right location and so in less than
30 days the ink was dry on the paper. That is how things get done
right the first time. Don now, gets up before dawn and works well
after dark, rain or shine, cold or hot, helping to make Cathy's
vision a reality. Cathy meanwhile began her search for contract
builders, to help with the set up work for the saddles. After
touring 7 different saddle manufactures, picking their brains, she
selected those individuals who shared her passion. But this time it
is different. All those little things that Cathy wanted to have
fixed have been fixed. All those little details that other
builders’ thought would not matter DO MATTER. Hill View Farms
® LLC
is in the drivers seat and Cathy is on a mission.
And shoot, it is not like they do not have any experience working
with this type of thing – building and repairing panel saddles. For
during the past years of 1996 to 2007, which is 12 years of dealing
with and trying to get saddle companies to do what needed to be done
has been a roller coaster ride at best. The knowledge Don and Cathy
gained by dealing with the mix of good, poor and horrible saddle
assemblers has given them a lifetime of knowledge. Those years of
repairing and fixing what the others could not, has paved the path
for this adventure. The biggest challenge Hill View Farms
â has always had in the
past, was finding a saddle assembler that would build to their
specifications using the materials specified. Based on what Don and
Cathy have accomplished on both a personal and profession level,
they are so thrilled that they can have their production house under
one roof. At last, they are in charge of quality control. All those
details that were consciously overlooked or deemed unimportant,
using inferior materials by shoddy builders are a thing of the past.
Hill View Farms â can not
be more excited and proud, for it is here at Hill View Farms
â LLC that you will find the best quality functional saddle, so
great in fact that it carries a 30-day money back, horse and rider
satisfaction guarantee.
Follow Cathy and Don on this marvelous journey.
With the support of friends, family, manufacturers, trainers, tradesmen and hundreds of other supporters who SHARE the passion and understand the love between horse and rider are making the vision at Hill View Farms® LLC a reality. Your daily calls and emails fill us with pride and joy and we all thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
This is a story of Evolution: This is a story
of passion, this is for those horses who don't have a voice and need a saddle that
will fit and can go from one horse to another with out trouble.
This is a story of
love and dedication from passionate people who love their horses and love
what they do.
...Tauer Manufacturing Presents...
Problems that are fixed once and for all are: The encasement on the panels, the tree, the way the foam backing is cut, the wear on the panel and panel assembly, the inserts, the rigging, the foam, the leather, the hardware, the lack of proper ride time to test ride the saddle for fit for both horse and rider and get your money back, a strong warranty and lastly the over zealous pricing by greedy companies and individuals have all been addressed
The encasement is tough. It is the same material used
on the Ranch Handler water & muck carts and the fabulous kangaroo feed bags. The
heavy gauge wear slide plate and the nickel/aluminum rivets ensure a life long usage of neglect.
The foam and backer layers are fingered and designed to keep washers in place and
counter sunk to keep working with absolutely no pressure spots.
Sharing their passion, Dick (one of the Tauer's dearest
family friends), the panels are developed, cut and assembled using the latest in
technology.
A new insert design operates as a true ball and socket or
ball bearing. This insert combined with the specially designed radius of
the washer delivers pure fluidly of motion to the panel so that it can conform
to the different widths of the horse. The panel thus independently produces the
classic fit parameters like gullet width, flair, twist, rocker, etc. The
flexibility of the material also helps it to further nestle against every curve
of a horses body.
The saddle trees are designed for the panel - not the horse! The panels are
not designed for the saddle tree - as so many are. This panel is designed so
that it will fit the horse and it is the tree that must be designed fit the
panel and STRONG too. Cathy worked hard with Dave (Black Masa Saddle Co.) and together they had a
passionate drive to create what would be the perfect tree pattern.
Cathy tests the new panel system as it performs on
the troubling wide backed broad shouldered horses -the most difficult to
fit. The panels flexed and moved like soft butter on warm toast. With Susan in
the seat Cathy puts her hand under the panel and flexed it up, with her knuckles,
nothing bottomed out on the tree and the panels conformed to every curve of the
horses back - total and complete even pressure through out every inch of the
panel - front center and rear - Glorious Perfection.
As a rider Cathy has
designed, fit, cut and sorted all the pattern pieces
for each size and model of saddle. As she had done in the past, but
this time it is for Hill View Farms
®
LLC
Evolutionary
Saddles.
Cathy hand selects the quality leather and foams that will be used in
production. She does all the buying, ordering, sampling. Every detail
she dives into and purchases the best product for the job that is needed.
Multi-tasking is what Cathy does best - so when the phone is answered you
can bet she is involved in two other projects, but drops them all when
listening carefully to a customers needs and she would be lost if it were
not for her computer.
From paper patterns a die is made and then clicked out for saddle and
tack assembly. Cathy learned tooling as a youth at summer
camp but now tooling takes on a whole new dimension. Cathy tests the
tooling tools and works on future pattern designs.
Cathy visits not only her teams of builders located around the country
but has visited over 7 different saddle manufacturers. This work
ensures that the proto-type saddles are built to HER exact specifications
and matching with historical accuracy. Those teams Cathy selected represent
both modern and historical saddle builders.
Upon the Cathy's
approval, the paper patterns from the prototype saddles are then sent in for
dies or cookie cutters to be made. It is from these dies that the various
pieces of the saddle will be clicked out, (using a 25 ton hydraulic press)
and then assembled.
2008 was
a
new beginning for Hill View Farms
® LLC.
Located just 8.5 miles from the farm, Hill View Farms
® LLC
is manufacturing saddles and tack in their new 6,000 plus square foot
building located on an 1.5 acres of land west of Springfield. MN. This
new facility provides an expanded retail store, a huge show room for the
Brendup Horse trailers, a manufacturing/assembly room where saddles and tack
are being made, an enormous amount of storage space for inventory along with
a shipping and receiving area. A state-of-the-art fitting room for horses
with stalls and flooring. An outdoor wash station for trailers and horses
and an outdoor riding arena. The Springfield airport is located just a mile
away and Springfield has a beautiful hotel which includes an indoor swimming
pool, for those who wish to fly in for personal consultations. During the
riding season, feel free to join us on the trail camping, as we can provide
you with a mount to suit your needs. It is for the LOVE of the horse and
the passion of making things wonderful between horse and rider that drive
our vision in providing only the best for the one you love.
Inside
the first of three bays, the one shown is the smallest and the wall
with doors, enters
into a break, storage and rest room, that within two years will be remodeled.
The center area of
the building is the trailer show room, shipping and receiving with
additional work area for saddle production. Located in the back of this area
is a large door way that leads into last section of the building 48 x 30,
that has its own over head door, that will be split into two areas and
finished out into two rooms. One, a saddle assembly room and the other an
area for customer fittings with two comfy stalls.
From
Remodeling to Learning... that never ends.....November and December 2007.
After the crops are harvested, Don gets to work learning the skills needed
to start a saddle company. Tauer Manufacturing LLC, with Don the
President.
Cathy and Don hit the road and travel south. They learn the skills, machinery and techniques needed for production from Master builders. Cathy and Don know first hand the work and effort it takes to make a product that will carry the Hill View Farms ® LLC name.
Don and
Cathy cannot thank or express their gratitude enough to these incredible
persons in taking time to share with them so freely their priceless
knowledge. "We hope to make you all VERY proud".
In business since
1919, the Veach family is the oldest family owned saddlery in the United
States. Shown right are Don, Peggy, Robert and Craig who taught Hill View
Farms ®
both classic and modern saddle building. From the Veach Family, Don and Cathy traveled further south to meet up
with three of the Best; Earl, Clint, and Art who's combined work
experience exceed 100 years. These incredible men have worked for numerous saddle
companies over the years and have seen many come and go. They not only
share their time and knowledge but all the pit falls that beheld so many of
the other saddle companies. Don and Cathy could not be more grateful
in their honestly, sharing their wealth of knowledge.
The shop is taking shape.
The north wall has three work benches for panel
mounting to the finished saddles as well as other miscellaneous tasks needed. The east wall shelving stocks leather, foam, neoprene and
trees along with the boxing area. You can see Don waving in the back of the
shipping and receivable end of the wall shelving. The area in front of
Don is an additional large area for trailers and storage. With the
Brender up Trailers on display.
Don is in the the main area, working on mounting the delrin panels to the
new saddles. This part of the assembly needs to be absolutely
perfect so this job Don and Cathy will be doing themselves to insure
perfection. They know all too well how many panel saddles have the
panels mounted incorrectly which is the cause
of many saddle fitting nightmares.
Don and crew frame out and finish the cutting, sewing and tooling room.
Then comes the insulation Don, Cathy and Rhea are the crew here. The
lighting of this room is critical for anyone sewing and cutting using their
eyes and hands. Cathy spared no expense when ordering the proper
number and type of lighting fixtures along with the bulbs that throw the
correct lumens and light spectrum which is pure luxury for anyone working,
(this room is even better than Cathy's sewing room at home!)
Below Don is putting up the counter and shelving. The other photo to
the right is the room completed with two complete work stations for
builders, a parts bin, huge 9-foot square cutting table in the center and
two Adler sewing machines.
Don and Cathy strike off to Illinois to visit Roger at Tarpin Hill who is
passionate about historical re-production and accuracy. His knowledge
in combining building skills, organization along with modern machinery is priceless.
Then Don and Cathy travel cross county to learn from 5 of the best saddle makers
in the industry. Don and Cathy learn the never told before
secrets of building and share some with them the priceless skills they
have picked up along the way. (Thank you Bob and Kathy - shown below)
Hill View Farms
®
is learning exactly what it will take to survive in today's world against
cheap foreign labor, imports and shoddy building practices
From the oldest saddling family to experienced veterans,
blended with modern technology these dedicated MASTER builders will continue
to guide Hill View Farms and their builders to produce and develop products for future equestrians.
To
do a job right one MUST invest in quality machineries that will hold their
value and perform the tasks needed. And when it comes to machinery Don,
being a farmer, knows all too well the value of investing in good
equipment. The proper tools make a job go fast and allow the quality to
shine. Off to Texas... machinery, machinery and more machinery 12,000 square feet
of machinery. Can men ever have enough? Cathy is overwhelmed with the
selections, but her diligent reading and months of research paid off.
Don soaks it all in as Corry spent over 9 hours teaching Don and Cathy
hands-on as to how to operate, maintain and trouble shoot the machinery.
Thank you Rae Bogle and Sharon for the great equipment and to Kory for answering all
of our questions.
The machinery is in, the sewing room complete, the fitting room and
stalls are ready and we are busy completing the prototype saddles.
Since September 2007 Don
has been traveling to study for a nearly a week each month with the various
saddle builders. The incredible wealth of
knowledge is priceless and learning the tricks, just blows us both away...
Now we know why others have failed and why quality lacks in other saddles.
We take the time to listen and learn from experience and wisdom of others.
Back at home: Don is planing down the leather on the leather splitter machine so that an exact thinness is achieved. So many times builders just build without regard to the thickness of leather. On our Journey we asked each of the builders what their favorite piece of equipment was. One builder told us he would go NO WHERE without his splitter. So we made sure we got one of those. A Fortuna machine was selected.
Cathy is at home on any sewing machine and as another builder told Don and Cathy, he would be NO WHERE with out his ADLER machine. We bought two of them!
Another extremely helpful suggestion was to have an area designated just for
leather gluing and dying. So that is what we did. Don built a
wonderful gluing and dying area.
You can see all the
billets and Cathy putting the nylon webbing on the inside for strength.
Cathy is adamant about not having billets wear out. A different view of this
table shows the boxes and drying rack.
Cathy
directly supervises each step in the production of all products Hill View
Farms produces. Everything is built to exact standards. Only dedicated
riders can appreciate this care in design and production. Clarice, who is a
fantastic and incredibly talented employee, is sewing (photo to left) and is
cutting webbing on a hot knife (photo to right). This step is done in
another room that is well ventilated. Clarice, like most builders
/assemblers, knows nothing about horses and has only been on a horse once.
Thus, Cathy provides the guidance and explanations of the how to and why the
saddles are built the way they are. Clarice does her work based on Cathy’s
input.
Cathy fills orders using
a shopping cart, as Hill View Farms has completely moved from the farm to
the shop in Springfield. The very small retail store will have to make do
for now as Don and Cathy's plates are too full this year to begin adding on
additional retail space. With her shopping cart Cathy collects the daily
orders and drives them to the shipping and receiving area where Don boxes
them up and ships out.
Inside and out of retail area is full. Above this area is the
mezzanine where additional product is stored along with product in the 28
foot mobile tack trailer.
Sonia is filling an order from inside our mobile unit. Then off to Don where
he reviews the order, packs, weighs and ships the order out according to
the customers instructions.
Back inside the Sewing Room, you can see the huge cutting table
and Cathy in the back ground using the hydraulic press cutter. So easy
and safe is this machine that Sonia is busy clicking out rigging using one
of the numerous dies that are stored in the metal shelving just to the right
of Cathy. What fun "It is like a giant cookie cutter"!
Below you see Cathy using the burnishing machine,
This machine, next to
the stapler, is the most incredible and versatile tool. One of its uses is
making all the leather loop keepers. Then in the foreground is the strap
cutter. Perfect strings, straps and anything straight is made on this
machine. What a cool toy to have. Machines you know.... Looking down from
where Cathy is working is another table that has all the billets that need
burnishing and Cathy's extra Bernia sewing machine and surger from home.
(They were her spares). Then you see the strap cutter and the blue bins at
the end, where all the bits of hardware are kept for production. The sewing
room in full production and under our direct supervision. How cool is
that? Great thing that Minnesota is so cold in the winter. Just when would
Cathy ever have the time to get this job done otherwise...by the way her
Camping video lost several months of editing due to this project. There are
only so many hours in a day. The last photo is of Don making a rear flank
using the kick press machine. This machine makes riveting a breeze and
eliminates human error as the weight applied is equal with each Kick
or step of the petal
Back
in the big shop area you can see all of the leather and another machine in
the foreground. This is the beveling machine. This machine
makes the edges of the leather soft, tapered and smooth so that there are no
lumps or bumps. Cathy just hates a saddle that has a seat edge that is
lumpy. She has fought for years and years telling earlier builders
this, but how would they know about lumps or bumps? As they don't
spend 6+ plus hours with their butts in a saddle.
With the overhead view you can see completely Don's room, as he is busy assembling saddles and reading them for customers. The shop has changed a lot from when Don first started. Man... it is a good thing he is so handy and so talented. Not only does he have a great head on his shoulders with brains to go with it, but he has the drive and motivation needed. As a farmer he knows what hard work can produce and now- at last during the long Minnesota winters he has a place to get away from Cathy when she bugs him too much at home! What an incredible guy.
Speaking of
customers.... Just who are they? Well, here’s one (photos below) and look
how good they have it. State of the art in stalling and stall flooring.
There are two stalls, one 10 x 10 and the other 12x 12. The one has the
ventilated door that is very handy in stuffy areas. It also has a back wall
displaying a new walling material that eliminates the need for wood (this
material is currently used at the Canterbury Race track in Shakopee, MN.)
Both stalls also have the optional head opening along with openings for the
hay feeder. Naturally the stalls under the 4 inches of shavings have Stall
Skins, which is a must in any situation, but remember this room... it was a
concrete floor. So linear ring mats were put over the concrete and the
skins then installed over that. Perfect. The entire fitting area has the
alley mats also by Linear. These mats interlock and STAY in place - no
curling of edges. You can see some of our inventory of the Stall Skins
in the boxes stacked high up in the corner, along with shelving for other
essentials and on the other side we have a saddle rack, waiting bench along
with bridle hooks. Nice and comfy these horses are for their overnight
stay. These customers drove over 360 miles - one-way, and through a
snow storm just to get fitted properly. They now wait patiently to
try on their new saddles. And before you know it, Cruser - a difficult
to fit horse - who has owned MANY name-brand fancy saddles in the past, can
actually be fitted correctly for the first time. Cruser and his owner
now know how to check saddle fit on a moving horse and are proud owners of
an EVOLUTIONARY saddle that is DESIGNED to function and fit a moving horse! Like how cool is that!
From November 20th, 2007 when the papers were signed for the building
to January 20th, which is TWO months - including all those holidays.... This
is what Don and Cathy have accomplished. Hard work and faith have
blessed Don and Cathy who are both committed to the task at hand and to
helping each ONE of their customers.
As this incredible Journey continues, new employees and passionate riders learn the techniques necessary to build quality products for everyone to enjoy. New patterns, ideas and products are consistently being evaluated for the market place. Don now pass on what he has learned from visiting 8 saddle manufacturers and learning from 10 master builders. In Don's own words. " Saddle building is not rocket science". "But details and quality is everything" and "if the consumer is not satisfied - return it".
What a great looking crew of builders; all having great fun and boy are we all hard on each other.
Quality and function is everything.
Now we are in June..... Things have not slowed one bit!
We are still running about 30 saddles behind and the wait can be up to three months. But we are becoming more efficient. We sort trees and this is the pile that needs inspection, filing, sanding and hanger brackets put on. Each saddle is assigned a work order and on the back side of the laminated sheet is the customers invoice (if the saddle has been claimed or ordered).
After this stage the saddles are set up for base seats. Here is a pile waiting. The one saddle has the bar covers on and the others the base seat is started. We try hard to group saddles so that way we can be more time effective. One can see below, the stack of rigging which we make new every month as we rattle through the orders.
Flaps and parts are cut also in quantity. Above are 4 sets of flaps that have been cut and are ready to be used.
Below are the saddles that are in final assembly. This is what awaits Cathy when she comes in on Tuesdays and Wednesday to work. This is also the time that the customer will get a call saying that their saddle is in final assembly . When a saddle gets to this stage it will be just two days or so before it will ship out. Providing the saddle has passed the two person inspection team that sign off on every detail.
During this final assembly the panels are measured by Cathy and then put on by Don.
If a saddle manages to make it through the complete process without being snatched up it goes into inventory. Keeping our storage trailer full during peak riding season is a full time job as many spaces need to be filled.
We are continuing to work hard and find the quality of employees that meet our needs.
Tauer Manfactuing LLC and Hill View Farms LLC, are really, REALLY working hard to meet the needs of our customers. As a family business we will continue to pursue quality and produce a product that we can be very proud of. We currently are working on efficiency so that our customers wait times are shorter and we can have and maintain a bountiful inventory (75 to 100 saddles) without having to raise prices to slow demand. So far is it a slow start...but we will get there.
During the off season we are able to catch up and hopefully can maintain an inventory for speedy deliveries.
As a dear friend once told me; was something that her father told her when she was a child as she was looking over a 40 acre field making shocks with her sister. He said to her, "Don't look at the overwhelming task ahead in despair, but but look back at what you have accomplished". And this indeed is what we have done, for in a span of one year Don and Cathy started a saddle company with 100% full production in all model lines (194 saddles built in 2008) plus tack and new product development. Now the job ahead is to work on mainstreaming this incredible saddle line into national retail stores though Tail Tamers our national distributorship. For more information on these saddle and how to properly fit all saddles, purchase the Hill View Farms Saddling video, which you can get your full money back, if you end up purchasing a saddle.
All About Saddling – A 2 disk set: Get a front row seat to a saddling demonstration. See first hand how saddles work, how they are they are designed and how technology is changing the way we saddle the horse. l Learn how to properly tack up both English and Western saddles and how to properly fit, cruppers, breast collars, bridles, bits, pads, girths, cinches and even breeching. l Learn how to identify various back shapes and how to test for proper saddle fit. l Learn how to use shims to correct saddle fit and how to palpate your horse's back for condition. l Lastly learn how to identify problems associated with your tack and how to care for it. Nowhere else will you find a more complete DVD set chucked full of so much information that took over a decade to assemble. Making horses, mules and even donkeys comfortable along with their owners was the driving force behind this production, which is guaranteed to change the life of those you love. Running time 128 minutes. ISBN 0-9776591-0-0. Free, if you end up purchasing a saddle. Item # BK-DVD - Price $ 19.95
2009 Growth continues despite trying economic times.
What we have learned about business is: Companies that produce quality products, support home grown industries, market fairly, provide superior customer service and have strong product knowledge - from start to finish, will succeed! DAY 1
Remolding is under way for the retail store. As we have production in place, it is time to work on making the retail shopping pleasing for the walk in customer. Out go the walls and ceiling and clean-up begins for the next stage of re-modeling - flooring. (Patti and Don with views north and south in the 15x 60 feet of retail area)
bathroom in
the cente r-
Acid stain on floor, next comes the barbwire border trim appliqué and epoxy
finish, then ceiling, wall work, doors, cabinetry....etc...
The horrid job of spraying the ceiling
South and North views of our 15 x 60 sq foot
retail store area.
You can see the bathroom area behind Patti that has to be completed. Cathy got her desk moved in and is operational in the store.
So far, from day one we are 18 days in the making.
Next we start on trimming. All of our materials were salvage and reclaimed/recycled product. All appliances, lights, from ceiling to floor was done on a strict budget. A lot of long hours and hard work.
The hardest job for Don was installing the French Doors, that cost only $47.00 each. But it took many measurements and loads of patience, but boy oh boy does it look SWEET!
And how about that kitchen trim? A piece of cake after those doors!
Then comes the detailing - moving in and finishing work.
Then comes Decorating!
See the wall hangings? When Cathy was in college she had her own business then called MacroWeavings. She did wall hangings and sold them via shows, stores and galleries. Well they are back. She knew that some day she would come to find a nice display area for them! And yes they are for sale and she takes commission orders.
A lovely bathroom/dressing room with a full length mirror.
Taking down the old signs and putting up the new. With one of our employees checking on us from time to time.
So when you are in the neighborhood and driving by and see this building
- swing on in! As we built this all just for you!.jpg)
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When you step into the doors you will find product waiting to see you and
then head straight back to the kitchen and join us for lunch or coffee.
Turn by the wagon, and you will see you have LOADS of maneuvering room
and parking for your pleasure.
Go Through the French Doors or walk on back to the rear door. Or
just mill around the building - We are busy making all those WONDERFUL
saddles and tack.
Don, The true Master builder! Remolding job done in 37 days for less than
$5000.00. Complete building/manufacturing plant and business plan
completed in 15 months, ONE YEAR ahead of schedule.
You can also visit Hill View Farms yearly at the Minnesota Horse
Exposition third week in April located at the fair grounds in St. Paul.
Visit the Tauer family, employees and the many merry members of our sales
team.
Thanks to the incredible performance of the Evolutionary Saddle we hired
another saddle builder. We were so blessed when Dave happened through
our doors - (thanks to his father-in-law who was a boot maker in Texas - who
encouraged him to fill out a job application). Dave totally rocks and
we all adore him.
We also are able to get some great part timers employed. Anahi, Kayla, John,
and -with new students along the way.
The quest to continually better our product and
understanding the word EVOLUTIONARY SADDLES
our very diligent search for perfection led us to
The Precision Saddle Tree Company.
Using modern technology not previously employed by the saddle tree industry,
Precision Saddle Tree Manufacturing is able to deliver quality and uniform
trees. They use only the best material. Tradition is disregarded when these
superior, modern materials are available. Precisely engineered designs and
hands-on production ensure quality saddle trees that last a lifetime.
Precision Saddle Tree Company uses Three-Dimensional
Scanners and Computer Aided Design (CAD) software to engineer parts that are
cut on Computer Number Controlled (CNC) Machines. This equipment allows
parts to be produced that are precisely the same each and every time.
The right bar is a mirror image of the left bar. The right side of the swell
is identical to the left side. This unmatched precision allows the
tree parts fit perfectly together (i.e. without the use of fillers),
providing greater strength and the highest level of consistency in the
industry. Once these precision parts are cut, a jig is created for each tree
style. These parts are then assembled in this jig to deliver the same
precision to which the parts were cut. The saddle trees are made with
Ponderosa Pine followed by a fiber glass strainer or ground seat and then
two different type tree coverings are applied.
The first covering consists of
hand-laid fiberglass that is wrapped on the horn, swell, bars and
cantle and topped with a clear coat resin. The second covering is made
using a product called DURAhide™,
which is sprayed over the fiberglass. In conclusion,
Precision Saddle Tree Company is a stable company who is able to offer the
best saddletree in today’s industry and that carries a lifetime warrantee.
. 2010: The shop continues to grow
with pride, with the continued support of patrons to whom we are very
grateful for. So plan a visit, stay a while, take a tour or just sit down and relax with
tasty beverage..jpg)
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Above: Don (owner - janitor/custodian and maintenance man (also farmer)- best husband and dad in the world - in Cathy's and the children eyes). From left to right: John, David (shop mgr./master builder) Anahi (saddle sox queen) and Kayla (both are seamstresses)
Below is Cathy - (aka. S.C. Supreme Commander – as she is loving called by her husband Don). Cathy performs all the rigorous tasks of running several businesses. This includes: marketing, design, employee and business management, sewing, product construction, printed materials, advertising, purchasing, accounting, merchandizing, legal, finical and government paperwork – (along with being – a great wife and mother), she spends continuous and tireless hours in the, office - computer, in the field and in the saddle testing products – (both ready made and those conceived of in her dreams). Cathy rides, trains/consults, loves to cook and travels around the country and beyond. (Photo taken at: Vasquez Rocks County Park, Agua Dulce, CA - 2010)
A new employee - a lifer for sure. A wonderful seamstress named Barb. We all LOVE her and she now is the queen of saddle sox and helps with other items as time allows. Anahi is 100% on strap goods - oh yhea!
The saddles continue to evolve with our slide and lock rigging with the hang straight rigging ring and rigging flap, oil impregnated bronze washers and our CNC dura-coated trees.
Living up to the name "Evolutionary Saddles"
The YEAR 2011
We welcome our new Shop and Store Manager Denny Wersal and his wife Barb is now our head seamstress and shop/store representative.
The ripple effect.....With the shocking news that the Brenderup Real Horse Trailers pulled out of the US market in January 2011, left us and thousands of customers speechless. What this has meant to us, is that it left us with a 6,000 square foot building (that was purchased in part for horse trailer storage) empty. Not only empty, but with a hefty mortgage for the store to carry alone. So back to the roots of our operation we go. Our old location was great so back to the farm we went where we continue operations. Since we had expanded we had to add on to our old building for additional inventory storage. Plus build a new 32 by 48 building for the Saddle Manufacturing and expanded store front. Below is the storage addition that was added onto the existing location.
The location for the additional building is next to the old show room, in the area that was
once parking. The assault was torn up, ground leveled, drainage
trenched in, holes dug for poles, fill brought in, footings secure, ground
leveled with wire and with the aid of a pump truck the concrete poured
and leveled.
Don was busy either doing the work or helping getting it done....as Cathy works
in town getting items packing up and moved. The upstairs is all but cleared
out.
Before 
and after
The horse fitting area empty.
Before 
and after
Show room once full...before... and now
is clean and empty.
Once so full is now 
spick and span, ready for the new
owners.
A construction company bought our old store/location- sold in less than 24 hours
from word of mouth and a yard sign. Gotta love small towns. Back at
the farm...
Rafters and Roofing with inside ceiling tin and wall insulation, followed by
wall tin and next the wiring with lights.
Moving in begins and the installation of the overhead door. The rear of the
building gets finished.
The old semi box is where we use to stored inventory, and which we will
continue to use. We have framed up the front façade to blend in with
our first location. We have now have it sheathed and are putting cedar
siding on to match the other.
We have cleared out the sewing room in the rear and cleaned out the main
part of the building... WE ARE MOVED OUT! Completed in less than 60 days
with vertically no help. As my dear, dear friend Jones father said to
her as they were picking up wheat by hand, making shocks in a 60 acre field,
" Child, do not look at the task ahead of you but look back to see what you
have accomplished". Those are words to work by.... which I sing...
"one day at a time..."
The siding and staining is done
What a wonderful delight. We are settled in, just in time for out of town customers. Now to gather up the sign from the old building and put it up. Waiting for a warm day!
Below is the back of the shop... the
saddle and tack making area.
For 2012: Time moves on.
As business grows and space and time is limited we have to step back
and put things into prospective. To help with production we have
engaged the assistance of two other saddle builders, Mike and Art who, with
the provided parts, assemble the chassis of the saddle.
The saddle is then returned where it is put into final inspection by having
the panels and accessories put on. This new arrangement has allowed
for Don to have more time to farm and other pleasures as it takes a lot of
stress off of us all.
With out new location, space is at a premium so much of our over the counter store items are being sorted as to priority for marketing. Scaling down takes as much work as growing.
"We
thank all of our patrons for allowing us to continue to provide only the the
best for you and your horse. It is an honor and a privilege."
~ Don and Cathy
Tauer
"Companies that produce quality products, support home grown industries,
market fairly, provide superior customer service, adapt with the times,
committed and have strong product
knowledge - from start to finish, will succeed!"