Hanson:
Charley
SIGNATURE MONTANA | 69
TELL SHOW
&
Written by Denise Czuprynski • Photography by David Sidle
Charley
Not His First Rodeo
Charley Hanson grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, learning to braid,
make rope, and work with leather. "I've been messing with leather since
I was 9 or 10 years old," he says.
Hanson makes handmade rawhide rope using an antique rope maker that
his grandpa handed down to him. "You've got to make rope," Hanson says,
"if you're on a ranch or in a rodeo."
"I rodeoed," Hanson says, "starting out in lile britches rodeo, then high
school, college, and pro. I've done that most of my life." Hanson rode bulls
and was a rodeo clown. "Bull riding was my specialty," he says. "I still do some
team roping. I'm the header and will still compete some in Montana."
Hanson:
This fully tooled saddle was handcrafted by Al Furstnow
of Miles City, one of the premier saddle makers in the
American West in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
