ProRodeo Sports News - August 5, 2022

King’s Saddlery and King Ropes have been an institution for more than 60 years in Sheridan, Wyo. WESTERN Tradition

BY TRACY RENCK N estled in the small town of King’s Saddlery and King Ropes. This store, however, isn’t an ordinary Western store. It is literally world renowned. Today, there are thousands of ropes hanging in their shop with countless varieties. Cowboys from the rodeo arena to the ranch use their ropes. Don King is credited with developing a left-handed twist for left-handed ropers. Sheridan, Wyo., population of just under 20,000, is a seemingly inconspicuous western store –

“I want to keep grandpa’s empire going and mom (Mary) and dad (Bruce) aren’t getting any younger,” said Don King, grandson of the patriarch and founder Don King. Don believes the only countries King’s Saddlery and King Ropes doesn’t send merchandise to are North Korea and Cuba. “We send a lot of stuff to Germany, Australia, and Brazil,” Don said. The motto for King’s Saddlery and King Ropes – fromDay 1 – is “Cowboy equipment for the particular cowboy.” “People get dedicated to what they like,” said Don King, 50. “We are still a small, family business.” Trevor Brazile, PRCA’s King of Cowboys with 26 PRCAWorld Championships, appreciates King’s Saddlery and King Ropes. “I can definitely say it is a destination on its own,” said Brazile, who was inducted in the 2022 ProRodeo Hall of Fame class in Colorado Springs, Colo. “I love the town of Sheridan and the rodeo and everything that comes with it, but King’s Saddlery and King Ropes is a destination place that stands on its own.” Don explained the timeline of what led to where things are today with King’s Saddlery and King Ropes. “Grandpa (Don) opened this store when he came back fromWorld War II, he was in the Pacific,” Don said. “He (Don) and my grandma (Dippy) settled here in Sheridan. Before grandpa went, he asked one of the saddle makers on main street (in Sheridan) when he came back from the War if that saddle maker would teach him how to make a saddle. Grandpa didn’t even have an eighth-grade education and so when my great-grandpa and (Don’s) mother divorced he went on the trail with Grandpa Arch. “They took cattle fromWyoming to Texas, Arizona, California and back toWyoming. My grandpa at 5 years old, went out on the range and any time they stopped in a larger town or larger city he would go to a saddlery. At a place in Arizona, one of the tourists took a liking to him and gave some scraps of leather and he made belts and wallets for the cowboys. His first tools were really crude. It was basically nails.” When Don returned fromWorldWar II, he was breaking horses out east of Sheridan. “He started learning the saddle making trade and then he got contracted by the RCA (Rodeo Cowboys Association), which is now the PRCA, for a number of years to do their championship saddles,” young Don said. “He was doing stuff in his garage and in 1961, he rented out a place across the street next to the Mint Bar. The old Ritz Sporting Goods store used to be there. He rented out a space in the back of the sporting goods store. “Then in 1971-72-ish we bought the main building that we still use today. The rope and saddlery used to be in the basement of our main building. Then, we grew so much, that’s when we opened the rope store in the back in 1977-78.” The Don King Western Museum – within the King Ropes building – is three decades old and allows customers another type of experience while visiting King’s Saddlery and King Ropes.

PRCA ProRodeo photos

The old-fashion business sign of King’s Saddlery, King Ropes & Museum on Main Street in Sheridan, Wyo. Below is the entrance to the Don King Museum, which opened in the early 1990s.

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ProRodeo Sports News 8/5/2022

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