# Real or Fake Billy Cook Maker



## willowacresfarm (Jul 13, 2017)

I bought a headstall and it wasnt told to me that it was a billy cook, but the inside cheek pieces have "Billy Cook Maker" etched into them?? no serial number or stamp anywhere


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Billy Cook headstalls probably own't have a serial number or anything like that - they're mass produced, but they aren't cheap either. 

Here's a nice selection of them, and I'm pretty sure I just looked at that one new while typing this: Just a little pocket change north of $80.00 new.

The work on this one and those on this site suggests that's the real thing, not a knock off.

http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/billycook-breasstraps-headstalls-reins.html


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## 6gun Kid (Feb 26, 2013)

Billy Cook opened shop in Greenville, Tx. many yrs. ago after serving a time in the military where he had met Bill Potts. After a time they got together because Billy had the shop and Bill had the money. It became Billy Cook Saddlery/Potts Longhorn. The Billy Cook saddles were the upper line saddles, and Longhorn were the lower line. The Billy Cook saddles had better trees, Herman Oak leather, beveled stainless dees, hand tooling, and hand sewed rigs to skirts. Longhorn were lesser priced trees, regular stainless hardware, synthetic wool, and machine sewed rigs to skirts.

Tooling patterns were often pressed by a huge press, which is what made a lot of those saddles really hard and stiff. The people that worked there were proud of their work and proud to work there and made one of the best production saddles of that day. Jay Lynn Gore was the head tooler there for many years. The tooling look of Billy Cook saddles was largely the work of Jay Lynn.

Billy was the manager of this operation for many years, designing all the saddles, making patterns, and then having a complete set of dies made for every new design. Billy believes in dies.

Billy later started another shop in downtown Greenville making harness. It was called Billy Cook Harness. Eventually he started making saddles there too. He would work at Longhorn in the morning and go to the harness shop in the afternoon.

Billy Cook Saddlery/Potts Longhorn had coorporate offices in Dallas. In the late 80's Bill Potts passed away. The Co. continued to be run from Dallas. The co. had tons of orders but there was corporate embezzlement in Dallas and the co. went chapter 11, and then chapter 7. Everybody wanted to buy it and it went up for auction. Don Motsenbokker bought it. (I dont know if I spelled that right) Don was originally a bookkeeper for the Shoelkopf family. This was the family that used to make Jumbo Saddles. Don knew the saddle buisness and already owned Action, Tex Tan, Simco,which is in Chattanooga, Saddlesmith, and now Billy Cook Saddlery. He then advertised as the largest saddle co. in the world, which he probably was. That is how Simco and Longhorn came to be associated. Simco is still in Chattanooga, Longhorn is still in Greenville, Tx.

They did combine the coorporate offices in Chattanooga and call it Simco/Longhorn.

Billy Cook did not sell his name, he just couldn't keep it. When the Co went bankrupt everything went up with it, including the name, which had international recognition, Which is what made it valuable. He did keep building saddles at Billy Cook Harness until the I.R.S. shut him down for not paying his taxes, or not doing witholdings correctly for a number of years which amounted to a ton of money, which put him out of buisness in Greenville.

Sulphur, O.K., had one of those grant type situations to get new buisnesses in their town and Billy got one. That is why he has his buisness there while still having his home in Greenville, Tx.

No one who works at the Greenville plant is an original employee, but all the dies and patterns were done by Billy Cook. When those companies fuse like that they can buy literally truckloads, traincar loads of leather, synthetic fleece, glues, threads, etc. everything and distribute them to their various plants, also much cheaper than any small shop can do. This is one reason why a custom shop can't compete with a production shop, and shouldn't even try.

The bottom line is if you have a Billy Cook saddle/headstall then it was made in Greenville, Tx. Billy Cook saddles have never been made in Mexico, or in Tn. Saddles labeled genuine Billy Cook saddles are made in Sulphur, O.K. where Billy wants it to be clear that that is where he is, the real Billy Cook. If you have a Greenville, Tx. Billy Cook saddle and you like it, just enjoy it. So there is no real or fake Billy Cook, just different companies, using the same name.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

^^^ what he said. That's a very informational post, 6gun. Thank you.

I've heard a few fireside, beer-fueled tack talks in the past couple of years. There's two factions of people: Sulphur is the better stuff! No GREENVILLE! NO - SULPHUR!

GREENVILLE AND I'LL FIGHT YOU ABOUT IT.

Okay, not that bad, but yeah. Always a spirited discussion.

My daughter has a Greenville 15" roping saddle. Its nice... but I'm sold on Paul Taylor's stuff, especially the SRS saddles they make, and the oiled leather headstalls/reins they sell. Soft as butter, Amish (OR ARE THEY?) made. (The tack, not the saddles)

OP - Depending on what you paid, you probably got a deal regardless. Enjoy it!


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## Aspen1 (Dec 16, 2013)

Just so people know, most of 6gun Kid's post came from leatherworker.net, from a post written in 2008 by Troy West, a top notch saddle maker from Texas. Troy knows what he is talking about, so the information there can be trusted. Here's the link to the original source about 1/2 way down the page. The whole thread there may be worth reading. Billy Cook saddle History - Saddle Identification, Restoration & Repair - Leatherworker.net


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## 6gun Kid (Feb 26, 2013)

Aspen1 said:


> Just so people know, most of 6gun Kid's post came from leatherworker.net, from a post written in 2008 by Troy West, a top notch saddle maker from Texas. Troy knows what he is talking about, so the information there can be trusted. Here's the link to the original source about 1/2 way down the page. The whole thread there may be worth reading. Billy Cook saddle History - Saddle Identification, Restoration & Repair - Leatherworker.net


 Yep that is where I got it, I thought I had left the part in where it listed Troy's name, I did cut some of the info out and I guess his name was in there. I hate linking from my phone cuz fat fingers small screen. I don't want anyone to think I was taking credit for someone else's knowledge.


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## willowacresfarm (Jul 13, 2017)

Thank You everyone!!!


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Thanks for sharing, everyone!
What an interesting read, 6! <3


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