Dixie Thompson Saddle

 

The SADDLE shown is known as the Dixie Thompson Saddle from the Dixie W. Thompson Estate; donated to M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA. The silver saddle, once on display in the Historical Society museum, was a wonder of its age, long before “Hollywood cowboys” began showing off their saddles under preposterous loads of sterling. In June 2015 the saddle was auction through Brian Lebel's Old West Auction, closing bid at $195,500. The proceeds benefit the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s acquisition funds.

Dixie W. Thompson, was one of Santa Barbara’s most colorful pioneers. He arrived in 1858 and became a future owner of the Ontare Ranch which comprised the San Roque-Rutherford Park district of today. Dixie was born in Maine in 1826 and went to sea as a cabin boy, winding up as ship captain of his own vessel by 1848. When he heard of the discovery of gold in California, like many others, Dixie joined the Gold Rush of ’49 heading first down the Atlantic coast to Panama, then crossing by land until reaching the Pacific side where he caught a ship for San Francisco, California. Though with scant success mining for gold, Dixie returned to the sea and made his home port on Santa Rosa Island opposite Santa Barbara. The island belonged to his relative, Captain Alpheous B. Thompson, one of Santa Barbara’s earliest Anglo settlers. After several years of shipping sheep and cattle from Santa Rosa, Dixie had made enough money to purchase two tracts of land, one in Ventura County, the other on the outskirts of Santa Barbara – the Ontare Ranch.

On the ranch, he raised sheep and cattle, but the other land was cultivated for farming. Dixie introduced the crop Lima Beans to the California area and developed a walnut orchard. To the locals of the area, the bean harvest was a spectacular sight with itinerant crews bringing in their steam engine, separator, cookhouse and bedroll wagons. A man of great personal charm, Dixie Thompson was better known as a boniface than a rancher. He managed the original Arlington Hotel and invested into local businesses. At times, Dixie mounted on a prancing Morgan stallion from his Ontare breeding stables, then would ride down State Street backwards, just to the delight of tourists.

By the 1880s, his growing wealth allowed him to live in some comfort and as publications of the period note, he became very famous for the outfit created for riding his horses named Canute and Tecuinseh. Thompson acquired the best gear possible and consciously celebrated the Hispanic traditions of early California.

Thompson commissioned Loomis Saddlery to make him the best of saddles. The making around (circa 1880) and took two years to finish. Sherman Loomis, a native of Pennsylvania, moved to California and established his Santa Barbara saddlery in 1858. His business prospered with a growing well-deserved reputation employing some of the best leather toolers and silver smiths including the renown Jose Alvino Mesa, master saddler and stamper. By 1875 he employed seven saddlers and harness makers though Loomis never lacked competition in Santa Barbara. His firm was the earliest, largest, and longest-lived. Judging from surviving examples, his work was also superior in terms of design, craftsmanship and decoration. Loomis Saddlery was the shop of choice for wealthy rancheros, both Hispanic and Anglo. This reputation was further enhanced in 1883 when Princess Louise stopped to admire a saddle in Loomis’ shop, and asked if the art form used to decorate the saddle could be applied to smaller items. She returned to England with several portfolios and ladies’ belts done in the style that became known as Mexican Art Leather.

In designing the works of the Dixie Saddle, the saddle was built by Al Loomis, working in his brother’s shop, and the tooling is clearly the fine detailed floral work of that shop. The edges of each component are also embroidered in the piteado style with cactus fiber and the loop seat was quilted and padded; adorn with solid engraved silver corners with attached rings; extensive and fine silver mountings in floral designs with lions and other decorations at the front; silver-wrapped, tooled stirrups. Separate bottom third-skirt, combination saddle pad, with tooled edges and silver accents. The bridle features a massive head plate, hand engraved in scroll, “D.W. Thompson. Santa Barbara. 88”; domed conchos and huge silver buckles. The bit was also overlaid, engraved silver by Jose de Jesus Mardueno. The reins were of knitted silver wire with engraved chain connectors, with attached romal with six ball-tipped chain poppers. The martingale was knitted silver wire with a large, heavy silver central heart with repose flowers and leaves. Often remarked by on lookers as the most breathtaking and perhaps finest saddle outfit ever seen. The saddle pad is also tooled on the edges. As evidence that silver was added after initial manufacture, one can see conchos overlaying the delicate tooled leather.

Dixie rode the saddle in numerous parades, and it was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The saddle is discussed in detail in numerous newspaper articles of the time, including the May 4,

1896 “San Francisco Call”, which referred to the saddle as having “the reputation of being the most gorgeous thing of its kind in the world.”

Dixey was 77 when he fell victim to a flu attack in April, 1903. His widow, the former Nancy Swett of Maine, resided in the stately white colonial home at 1415 Chapala Street. Today, this address is now the office of the Southern Santa Barbara County Board of Realtors. She had donated Dixie’s saddle and even his sombrero to Historical Society Museum. Thompson’s large barns at the breeding stables stood decades after his death, though caught fire in 1928. By the 1950’s, Thompson’s Ranch remain merely a memory lost through a housing boom of Santa Barbara and while he was prominent in the Ventura area of California, today Thompson Boulevard is named for him, through his legacy best remains through the exquisite works of his Loomis Saddle where time has forgotten the many vaqueros and cowboys who once worked the Santa Barbara range.

Story by: Roger Edison