From Daddy's notes:
Bath County at one time produced some of the finest saddles obtainable. The saddles were custom made to fit the individual. There are today some of those saddles still around. Doris Darnell Kincaid owns one of those prized saddles as do some other Bath Countians.
Eugene Minihan founded and operated the saddlery business in O'ville. He surround himself with several skilled employees and produced the renowned Minihan saddles. His shop was located where Dr. D.C. Cameron now has his office on the west side of Jefferson St.
Mr. Minihan only made saddles for the individual, in other words, tailor made. The finest leather was used and the workmanship was excellent. Great pride was taken in the comfort and fit built into the saddles.
The author has one of the small anvils used by Mr. Minihan in the making of his fine saddles.
After 50 years of the Minihan saddle hanging first in a garage and later in a hot garage, my mom sold the saddle to a collector of saddles in Cynthiana. He cleaned and repaired the saddle and it is on display in his workshop.
From the internet about Minihan:
"Eugene Minihan is credited with originating the “Kentucky Springseat” saddle. Mr. Minihan made these saddles in his shop in Owingsville, KY from the late 1880s to the time of his death in 1926. Many knowledgeable horsemen consider them the finest riding saddle ever. Minihan took a standard Somerset Broad Cantle saddle tree and removed the center of the tree bars, then spliced in pieces of stiff leather to make a sort of “hinge”. This was the first, and most successful, flexible tree design. It is very labor intensive to construct, and new saddle trees of this type are not commercially available. Original Minihans are highly prized, and several skilled saddle makers rebuild them on the original trees."
Below is a link to a News-Outlook page in 1900. There is an ad for Minihan in the top right corner.
http://nyx.uky.edu/dips/xt7hmg7fs20q/data/0101.pdf
Don
