...with Pistols, SPURS, & History!
Congratulations to The Horse Culture Museum of China on their acquisition of this fine parade saddle.
Since this model was very expensive there were not as many purchased and hence you do not run into very many today.
The conchos (silver pieces) on this model are much smaller than what you generally find on the other Ted Flower’s models. The pattern that the conchos are laid out in are also much more intricate. For that reason they would have been more expensive to produce than the other models.
This particular “Special” was originally purchased as part of a “His & Her’s” set. The couple who originally owned it had a son who competed all over the US and Canada (Calgary Stampede)in rodeos. They followed their son to all his events and rode their own horses in the Grand Entry parades. They used the 2 Flower’s Special saddles.
When they retired from rodeo they sold the two sets to a lady from Texas who entered many parades all over Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana with her Tennessee Walking Horses.
She had quite a collection of parade sets. It was not unusual for her to tack up several of her horses, load them in the trailer, and head out to a parade. Her horses were so well trained that when she got there she would ask others if they wanted to ride with her group! (Yes, you need very well trained horses to do that). She and her parade horses won many “best in parade” trophies for her efforts! Her name was Felicia. Felicia was such a big collector that her boyfriend built her a separate air conditioned building to house all of her saddles!
When Felicia retired she sold the 2 Special models to the owners of PSA. The “Her’s” saddle is now in a Roy Roger’s museum in Canada. This particular saddle is the “His” saddle and has now been part of the PSA collection for many years.
This particular saddle has the larger padded white seat. Over the years the owner of PSA has done some restoration to this set and also added some accessories to it.
This set consists of the following:
The saddle
(2)tapaderos (stirrup covers)
breastcollar
Headstall
Fancy black Aluminum Western Bit with Etching
(2) Full silver reins
Serapes – ( 2 panels)
Hip Drop
Genuine Vintage Wool Corona Blanket
A set of Fancy Crockett Parade Spurs
A double holster Gun Belt
2 Nickel plated Pistols
Read more about the holster, spurs, and pistols farther down this page…
The story of a very unique Ted Flower’s Saddle continued:
The gun belt and the Crockett Spurs originally belonged to A.E. McCully a longtime lawman from Merced, California. A.E. McCully was a very interesting man who owned a custom sterling Ted Flower’s set that he used in the Rose Bowl Parade. You can read more about A.E. McCully by going back to the gallery page and clicking on “A.E. McCully Saddle.”
A.E. McCully worked for the Merced City Police for about 25 years. He sent one of his gun belts to Ted Flowers to have it decorated to match his saddle. So the leather belt itself was not made by Ted Flowers… however all the silver work on the belt was done by Ted Flowers. If you look closely you can see the signature Ted Flower’s “horn flower” on each pocket of the holster. This same flower is engraved on many Ted Flower’s saddles with a solid metal horn.
The spurs are Crockett spurs and have big rowels that jingle! Over the years I have never come across another Ted Flower’s holster! So this is a unique piece. PSA acquired the spurs and holster from Mr. McCully’s son when he was selling his Dad’s equipment. Last we heard his sterling saddle was still being used in the Rose Bowl parade!
The guns shown are nickel plated movie prop guns. The silver guns with the ivory like grips are very appropriate for a vintage parade saddle. The gun barrel spins and you can load the fake bullets — but don’t worry… they do not fire!
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