G.S. Garcia grew up in San Luis Obispo, Calif., home of the vaqueros, long considered some of the best horsemen in the world. It was from them that Garcia developed an interest in the art of making high-quality cowboy gear and at age 15, Garcia found a job as an apprentice in the Arana Saddle Shop, the finest saddle shop in all of California.

Garcia seemed to have a natural talent for gear making and it wasnt long before he opened his own shop in nearby Santa Margarita. Some of Garcias first customers were the Nevada cowboys who trailed cattle to California each year for wintering and he soon earned a reputation among working cowboys for making saddle that were not only pleasing to the eye, but functional as well. He began hearing stories about Elko, a thriving little cowtown in northeastern Nevada.

In 1893, Garcia and his new bride, Saturina, came to Elko with two suitcases filled with bits, spurs, reatas, rawhide headstalls and reins. He opened G.S. Garcia Harness and Saddle Shop near Sixth and Commercial streets. Business thrived and Garcia was known to work late into the night engraving a pair of his famous spurs or putting the finishing touches on a saddle. By 1903, Garcia was filling custom orders throughout northern Nevada, which his brother would deliver by wagon. He soon had catalog orders from around the world and his impressive list of customers.

Garcias most famous saddle was one that brought home the gold medal from the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair. A year after winning the gold medal at the Worlds Fair, the saddle won another gold medal at the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Ore., making it the only saddle in history to win two gold medals.

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