FAITH LAPIDUS: That was how Nancy Martiny got into the saddle making business twenty years ago. People usually learn about her from others. She does not have a shop. She lives and works in the Pahsimeroi Valley near May, Idaho. She lives on a ranch that has been in her husband’s family for one hundred twenty years.

The ranch has a barn where she keeps her own saddle and the ones she has made for her family. She says most of her customers are ranchers and cowboys and cowgirls who live in the area.

NANCY MARTINY: "I guess that's probably part of my success as a saddle maker, and why men don’t hesitate to order a saddle from me. Because a lot of the people that order saddles from me know me, or they know of me, enough to know that I can rope a little bit, you know. And when we’re talking about horns, I know what you’re talking about, and fitting your horse.”

Many of Nancy Martiny's saddles are simple. Others, such as the one in this picture, have complex flower designs.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Some of her saddles have silver and detailed flower designs. But many others are more simple.

NANCY MARTINY: "I want a plain saddle to be considered beautiful as well as a full-flowered saddle, so if someone says, 'Oh, your work is beautiful,' I want that to mean all of the work. I hope that's what it means. That's what would be my goal."

Nancy Martiny also makes other leather goods, including purses. She may work with cowboys, but she says that does not mean she cannot make something more feminine once in a while.