Back in the saddle

After retiring from cattle ranching in 2000, Morgan Hill resident Bill Adams was looking for a hobby. Instead he found a new career: making custom fit saddles. He enrolled in a saddle making school to pursue what he thought was going to be his new hobby. It didn't take long for him to make a business of it. Later that year, "Tumble Saddlery" was born. Within just a short period he was getting more customers than he anticipated. Rather than just buying factory made saddles off the shelf, customers eagerly come to Adams to get one made specifically to fit them and their horse. While other custom saddle companies exist, they are few and far between. "It got built into quite a business right away because nobody else around here was doing it," Adams said. Additionally, Adams offers a service that most other custom saddle makers don't; he invites his customers to bring their horse over to his workshop so he can take measurements of the horse right there. "Some of them (other companies) will let you send a drawing of the horse's back. You can bend a coat hanger or something then draw it on paper. Hardly any of them will let you bring your horse there and fit it," Adams said...more