Magdalena, Sonora Mexico

Photo by Samantha Sais

Friday morning, armed with a camera, a recorder and a spanish translator, Samantha Sais and I traveled into Mexico to witness the art of saddle making.

Located on a narrow street corner in Magdalena, Sonora, a saddle maker tinkers away at leather strips inside the small shop with mexican music playing over the am fm radio in the corner. The end result forming a lavish saddle ready for hard riding.

The store started when David Molina's father started making saddles in the 40s. Since then, the Molina family has been making saddles for every rider. From the serious rancher, to rodeo cowboys.

The saddles take 8 days from start to finish to complete. The majority of them are made from cow hide, but Molina's shop has made them out of everything from shark skin to ostrich hide.

People come from all over the world to buy a saddle from David Molina. For five thousand dollars you can own your own custom saddle that is shaped to you and your horse.