Pat Hooper may have grown up in east Texas, but he has been a part of rodeo culture all across America. His father James Hooper owned and operated Rawhide Productions and was one of the leading producers in the black rodeo movement of the early 1970s. The rodeos ranged from Memphis to D.C. and attracted greats such as the Bobby Blue Bland and B.B. King to add melody to the magic. These adventures continued at RFK Stadium and even led to a Saudi Arabian sheik calling the elder Hooper and asking him to come produce a rodeo. Pat traveled across the U.S. with his father and followed in his footsteps as a calf roper.
As he grew up, he switched his interest to steer wrestling, but maintained his appreciation for first-class productions and functional yet stylish tack. Pat had several saddles custom made but kept finding himself disappointed when he picked them up. He realized the issue was not with the makers so much as it was having someone else try to tell his story and bring his vision to life through their work and creative process.
Always one to look for a solution, Pat decided he would learn leatherwork for himself. While new to leatherwork, he had a background in craftsmanship as a child helping his grandmother with her work. His grandmother made custom draperies for big name stores in Chicago and New York and young Pat was always helping in the shop, building valances, matching colors, and learning how design paralleled functionality. In addition, his years in the rodeo industry meant he knew lots of saddle makers, and they were glad to help mentor him. The conversations with them continued, and Pat would make saddle trees and take them apart, rebuilding until he found the perfect fit. Makers like Ed Mathis who designed lots of trees in the 1960s to DJ Wright and Trent Ward all became teachers.
Today, Pat runs Pat Hooper Leatherwrks and puts his creativity to work to provide others with their dream tack. He will often spend 60-80 hours building a saddle and only envisions the very next step, letting the saddle come into its own story. His trust in the process he has developed leads to total confidence in how his saddles and tack fit a horse and hold up throughout years of usage.
When not building saddles, Hooper competes in the PRCA and the UPRA, and helps Stan Branco and Rodeo University with steer wrestling clinics.
You can explore more of his leatherwork on his Facebook page: Pat Hooper Leatherwrks.
