Livestreamed & In-Person
from the G Three Bar Theater

Tune in, or drive in, as we celebrate the future of the rural West with a day of gear, conversation, poetry, and music from up-and-coming talent. Let’s just say, the future is in good hands.

Featuring:
Jade Brodie (music)
Morgan Buckert (cowboy boots)
James Gullion (bits & spurs)
Eric Hannig (leatherworking)
Carson Jorgensen (bits & spurs)
Clair Kherberg (leatherworking)
Annie Mackenzie (poetry)
Dachuneeh Martin (music)
Justine Nelson-Graham (rawhide braiding, leatherworking, saddlemaking)
Hunter Ostler (music)
Tony Pedrini (leatherworking)
Jake Riley (poetry)
Natalie Teichert (cowboy boots)
Forrest Van Tuyl (music)
Bryce Williams (saddlemaking)

Unfortunately, Cat Clifford will not be able to make it. We’ll miss you this time around, Cat.
We’re lucky to have Hunter Ostler joining the lineup.

Pictured (left to right): Annie Mackenzie, Eric Hannig, Forrest VanTuyl. Leather carving (background) by Clair Kehrberg. Photos courtesy of the artists.

Schedule:

10 am - 10 pm
Gearmakers from around the West meet to show off their latest handiwork, connect on skills, and discuss their craft and the future.

Stop by throughout the day to check out their displays. Or, listen to the makers take the mic at special sessions.

Gearmakers “Open Mic,” 10 - 11 am
Anyone is invited to talk about their gearmaking practice or a special piece of work. Interested? Sign up in advance, or show up and ask for Ian.

Gearmakers Rendezvous 1, 11:15 am - 12:15 pm (livestreamed)
Roundtable discussion with Morgan Buckert (boots), James Gullion (bits & spurs), Clair Kehrberg (leatherworking), and Natalie Teichert (boots). Listen in as they talk shop, talk trends, and talk tradition. And whatever other topics arise! Q&A at the end of the session.

Bootmaking Demonstration, 1 - 2 pm (livestreamed)
Morgan Buckert, custom cowboy boot maker, will explain some of the over 300 steps required to build custom cowboy boots out of at least 58 pieces, including measuring points, last alteration, patterning, vamp crimping, inseaming, and more. She will have a variety of tools specific to cowboy boot making as well as boots in multiple stages of construction to illustrate the complexity of construction that is hidden from the wearer.

Gearmakers Rendezvous 2, 2:15 - 3:15 pm (livestreamed)
Roundtable discussion with Eric Hannig (leatherworking), Justine Nelson-Graham (rawhide braiding/leatherworking/saddlemaking), Tony Pedrini (leatherworking), and Bryce Williams (saddlemaking). Listen in as they talk shop, talk trends, and talk tradition. And whatever other topics arise! Q&A at the end of the session.

6 - 9:30 pm
Back-to-back evening shows featuring the future and freshness of the rural West, with music, poetry, and a dash of budding panache.

Big Skies, 6 - 7:30 pm (livestreamed)
Featuring Annie Mackenzie, Dachuneeh Martin, and Jake Riley.

New Visions, 8 - 9:30 pm (livestreamed)
Featuring Jade Brodie, Hunter Ostler, and Forrest Van Tuyl.

How to Watch:

In-Person–$30/pass (includes entry to all events 10 am - 10 pm)
Tickets available at WFC Gift Shop or 775-738-7508. Same-day tickets available at the door.

Livestreamed–Free, select shows as noted, watch on Facebook or Member Portal

Need a place to bunk in Elko?

Two hotels are offering WFC visitors discounted rates all year long for our 2022 Wild Ride! Call their local booking lines for details and reservations:

Home2Suites. Call 775-234-5354, then push 0 to talk with the local reservation agent. Mention "Western Folklife" for special rates.

Thunderbird. Call 775-738-7115 to talk with the local reservation agent. Mention "Western Folklife" for special rates.

Morgan Buckert

Morgan builds custom cowboy boots with bespoke patterns, traditional construction techniques, and vintage machinery in Hailey, Idaho. Morgan studied footwear at Penland School of Crafts and apprenticed with a master cowboy boot maker in Idaho. She is seventh-generation of a Texan ranch family and the influence of cowboy culture is evident in all her work.

Photo courtesy of artist.

James Gullion

James Gullion has spent many years cowboying around Wyoming and Montana. He has always been fascinated with bits and how people use them. He studies the spade bit tradition, learning from Allen Taylor and Ernie Marsh, and also uses them on his horses. In 2015, James took the big step to become a full time silversmith and a part time cowboy.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Eric Hannig

Eric Hannig first got involved in leather work at just nine years old, after walking into a Tandy Leather shop with his aunt in Cheyenne, Wyoming. From this early start in the craft, he continues the tradition of fine leather carving and craftsmanship. Drawing inspiration from the Visalia carving of greats like Bill Maloy, Eric blends a multitude of leather carving styles to create something truly unique. Now based in Wheatland, Eric builds everything from saddles and gun holsters to travel bags and iPhone cases.

Photo courtesy of artist.

Carson Jorgensen

Carson Jorgensen was born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, UT. Carson married Amy Broadhead (of West Jordan) and they are the proud parents of four, almost five, daughters.Carson is a sixth-generation Utah rancher. He and his family run approximately 5,000 head of ewes, grazing nearly 200,000 acres of rangeland. They also farm several hundred acres, primarily alfalfa, wheat, and barley. Carson works on the ranch nearly every day. In between he runs his small business, producing high quality bits and spurs that are shipped worldwide.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Clair Kherberg

Clair’s leather working journey began under the tutelage of local saddle maker, Tom Berry, and continued with a degree program in saddle making and apprenticeships, under the guidance of Verland Desgrange, Randy Severe, and Dale Harwood. Since 2004, Clair has operated her own leather arts business, winning numerous leather tooling and handbag making competitions. Today, she spends as much time as possible with her little girl and makes leather goods when she can.

Photo courtesy of artist.

Annie Mackenzie

While known as the family rambler, Annie has her roots planted firmly at the fourth-generation family ranch in Southeast Oregon. Thirty miles north of the small town of Jordan Valley, she spends her days assisting her two brothers and father tend cattle, start horses, and manage the unruly pack of border collies that inhabit the place.

Photo courtesy of artist.

Justine Nelson-Graham

Born in the Magic Valley of southern Idaho, Justine built her first bridle at age seven, using green yarn. Her sister’s stick horse wears it proudly to this day. Currently working on a cattle ranch north of Gillette, WY, Justine splits her time between outside ranch work and her shop where she does leatherwork, rawhide braiding, and saddlemaking.

Photo courtesy of artist.

Hunter Ostler

Hunter comes from a family farm in rural Nevada. Between work, he writes songs about everyday life and the things he experiences.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Tony Pedrini

Tony has been around leatherwork all his life, as the son of well-known saddlemaker Pedro Pedrini. Tony does custom handmade leatherwork, while also being a full-time welder. He grew up in Loma Rica, California, worked at Hamley’s saddle shop in Pendleton, Oregon, and is currently based in Spring Creek, Nevada.

Photo courtesy of artist.

Jake Riley

Jake grew up, for the most part, in the Upper Arkansas Valley of the Colorado mountains, and now makes his home in Nebraska. He began roping and rodeoing as a kid, and was introduced to cowboy poetry as a young teenager. Much of Jake’s work involves first-hand ranch and rodeo experiences, often chronicling the contemporary "cowboy" who may not cowboy for a living but has ties to cowboy culture. His original poetry runs the gamut from cowboy wrecks to philosophical reflections on life.

Photo courtesy of artist.

Natalie Teichert

Natalie grew up in southeast Idaho, one generation removed from an agricultural lifestyle. That changed when she married a cowboy. Her husband, Seth, learned leather work from another ranch hand in Ruby Valley, and that led him to pursue boot making right as they got married. Over the years, she began contributing more to each pair of boots that went out the door. In 2018 they participated in the traditional arts apprenticeship program with Idaho Commission on the Arts, and since then Teichert Boots has been a definite two person team. Knowing that cowboys are willing to invest in a pair of their boots is gratifying–it's a real privilege to make boots for anyone who values them.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Forrest VanTuyl

Forrest paid for his songwriting and wandering addiction with all sorts of jobs, from tugboat deckhand in Seattle, to sheep dairyman in the Alps, lawn mower in New Mexico, to potato harvester operator in Nebraska, but when he got on a horse in Northeast Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains, he never left. When he’s not packing, starting colts, and riding, he’s playing shows on the West coast and trying to explain where Wallowa County is without explaining how to get there. His songs, both original and traditional, are inspired by riding down a mountain in the dark, the camp cook’s jokes, and the joys of riding a good horse in good country.

Photo courtesy of artist.

Bryce Williams

Bryce knows first hand the challenges a working cowboy faces of owning quality gear. For the past eleven years, he has been striving to produce high-quality saddles and horse gear for the working man and the collector all while filling a hole he saw in the industry. Bryce began building and repairing saddles while working on ranches in southern Idaho. Bryce was granted the opportunity to complete a saddlemaking apprenticeship in 2017 and opened his own storefront in 2021 located in southern Idaho. He is most active on his Instagram account where you can follow daily life as a saddle maker and overall leatherworker, along with educational videos on proper leather care and debunking industry myths.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

…

It’s all a part of the 2022 Wild Ride–a year of performances and thought-provoking programs recognizing the unfolding stories of life in the American West. Because your story is still a story to tell.