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"At the age of sixteen Pete was competing across Australia in bareback, saddle bronc, and steer riding"
Texas
Based
‘Th
West of th World’
Hennessy Custom Rodeo Equipment to: Rodeo Equipment Catalog Parade and Show Saddles click To:Pete Hennessy Cowboy Artist Chaps and Article chaps, saddles, and bareback rigs. Hennessy bareback rigs are popular world wide. 12 World Championships have been won on his rigs. Pete says, "Having twelve world champion PRCA cowboys certainly has helped bring me rodeo customers. Colorado cowboy Bruce Ford was bareback world champion in the PRCA five times and Marvin Garrett from South Dakota is four time bareback PRCA world champion. Both of these men and their achievements have helped promote my gear." Pete’s work is on display in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs and the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. To Contact Pete 903 326 8366 |
| Texas - Australian saddle maker, Texas
resident, craftsman, and custom rodeo equipment maker to twelve PRCA world
champions. This saddle maker stresses the importance of custom fit
in relationship to both rider and horse. The horse being first.
To Contact Pete 903 326 8366 |
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Pete Hennessy was born the son of a railroad
man in the “Silver City of the South Pacific” Sydney Australia. In the
era of Pete’s childhood bakeries and dairies still delivered milk and bread
in insulated horse drawn wagons. The clip clopping of the clydesdale’s
hooves up the street would send young Pete running to the curb. The deliverymen
would place him on the back of the horses and with great pride he would
follow the route. The “horse crazy” boy found himself a job and with saved
earnings bought his first horse at the age of fourteen. He worked long
hard hours in order to purchase feed and tack.
It was during a traveling Wild West
Show that Pete got his first taste of rodeo. Under the big top tent, he
climbed on a bull and was promptly thrown over the fence. Pete was hooked.
He joined “The Metropolitan Rough Riders”. At the age of sixteen he was
competing across Australia in bareback, saddle bronc, and steer riding.
Needing to supplement his rodeo winnings he went to work for J.P. Talty
a famous Australian saddle maker. The ninety six year old craftsman shared
his skills with Pete and taught him a trade. The Quarter horse was coming
on the scene and the American influence was producing an Australian interest
in western saddles. With an adventurous spirit and a bit of wonder lust
Pete sought advice from the US Embassy. He wanted to come to America, learn
to make the saddles and then return to Australia. The Embassy workers told
him that US regulations wouldn’t allow him to learn a new trade in the
United States.
The feisty twenty three year old
took pen in hand and wrote a fiery letter to President Richard Nixon. He
asked why Aussies could fight along side Yanks in Vietnam, but couldn’t
learn a trade in America making western saddles. In two months Pete had
a visa. The determined young man crossed the ocean. He competed in rodeos
and worked in saddle shops in Texas and Idaho. He used his Australian cowboy
skills working on the Hunt Brothers Ranch in Eastern Texas.
At a rodeo Pete ran into cowboy equipment
and spur maker Bob Blackwood. Bob offered Pete a job building bronc saddles
and bareback riggings. Pete estimates he built 1500 Blackwood riggings
in less than three years. Wanting to be his own boss he opened a little
shoe repair shop. Offering to purchase new equipment, rodeo notables Neal
Gay and his son Donnie lured Pete back into the rodeo equipment business.
With the equipment, Pete opened a new shop and built bareback riggings
for the Gay’s until he could repay the loan.
In the early eighties IPRA Champion
Bobby Cooper and PRCA Champs Bob and Chuck Logue asked Pete to build a
new rig for them. Combining Pete’s knowledge and the rider’s advice a new
style rigging was born. Countless cowboys endorse the Hennessy rigging
including legends Bruce Ford (5 times World Champion) and “Marvelous” Marvin
Garrett (4 times World Champ). Wayne Herman and Mark Garrett have also
claimed World titles using Hennessy riggings. In 1995 thirteen of the fifteen
NFR bareback riders used Pete’s rigging. Today Cleve Schmidt hopes to be
riding Pete’s rig in the 2004 NFR.
Besides making rodeo equipment and chaps
Pete builds working cowboy stock saddles and of late has been creating
beautifully tooled California style, silver adorned, parade saddles. He
expresses his artistic side painting on bull skulls and designing custom
leather items. Pete’s work is on display in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame
in Colorado Springs and the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.
| Pete is easing back to his first love
- saddle making and has some good hands to help to tool and build his saddles
and along with his friend and saddle partner, Tom Stevens. They are producing
some fine parade and show saddles.
Custom Saddles Real Man From Snowy River from $1200 I might add, a conversation with a Rodeo Cowboy: One time I was in Celeste Texas getting Pete squared away on one of our parade saddles, a Rodeo Rider came in asking for something, I don't remember even what he wanted now, but he introduced himself and Pete says. "I am Pete Hennessy." The cowboy says, "Oh, you are the Legend." And Tom Stevens is saying "what, what, what? What Legend? The Rodeo Cowboy said, " He is truly a Legend, all my Cowboy friend's have Pete's gear." Tom Stevens, " Well that was nice to know, especially when you are trying to selling parade saddles tooled by Pete Hennessy" to: More Saddle Pictures To Contact: Pete 903 326 8366 To Contact: Tom Stevens 800
889 5546
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Pete says, “We’ve also started a
western decor shop selling cowhide rugs and related products. We
called this shop ‘Th West of th World’ and it’s growing monthly, especially
our custom tooled leather products including Bible covers and belts, etc.”
| Bruce Ford Colorado
Cowboy
This week's Hall of Fame profile is bareback rider Bruce Ford, inducted in 1993. A trademark riding style of feet high up for greater leg extension with his riding arm absorbing the horse's movement separated Bruce Ford of Kersey, Colo., from other bareback riding contestants. That, and shattering every record in the event - all-time bareback riding earnings leader; the first cowboy won win $100,000 in a single season in one event (1982); most Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bareback riding qualifications (19); and a share of the most world championship bareback riding titles (5 - 1979-80, 1982-83, 1987). Ford, who joined the RCA in 1972, has been the bareback riding champion at most every major rodeo in North America Bruce Ford Cont. more Bruce Ford Colorado Cowboy |
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