Random Maker

Cactus Custom Saddlery

 

AN ARIZONA MAKER WHO’S CUSTOM MEANS COMPETITION

 

Al Levey’s trail to custom leatherwork was unusual, to put it mildly. For years, he ran his own radiator welding shop—quite successfully.  But he’d been into horses since he was 16, riding and training animals in everything from roping to dressage to harness racing.  And when he retired in 2001, Al wanted to so something in the equine field.

 

He decided to do leather—saddles, chaps, holsters and scabbards.

 

“The problem is that no one will teach you the intricacies of leatherworking,” Levey says.  “So I had to teach myself.”  Some of those early attempts were, well, creative.  He used a metal drill to bore holes in the leather, then burned the holes to keep them stable.  He quickly got away from that method, by the way. 

 

Levey must have been a good teacher and student, for today, his Cactus Saddlery, based in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, supplies holsters for 80% of the mounted shooting champions, including 2007 CMSA Women’s World winner Melissa Dragoo, Dan Byrd, Faye Leerssen, and Royce Anderson.  Annie Bianco-Ellett not only wears his holsters, but she also got Al into making gun rigs.

 

“She was looking for somebody who could custom make holsters for her and her clients, and she knew my saddle work.  So we worked together on styles and designs.  After that, it was pretty much word of mouth that brought in new business.”

 

Al estimates he’s made more than 4000 sets of holsters, each one unique.  “I do a set of holsters every day of the week, at least one set of holsters per day—sometimes three or four, depending on what orders I get.”  He works in calf hide, ostrich, rattlesnake, python, lizard, and lots more materials—and offers special extras of floral leather tooling, silver conchos, and silver initials.

 

But they’ve got to be more than good looking; they have to work in the arena, where tenths of seconds can make a champion.  So Levey—who is a mounted shooter himself—is always searching for ways to speed up gun handling.  “Our holster pockets stay open permanently, for example,” he says. “And we know that what works for a new rider, keeping the guns more secure in the holster, will only slow up a level 5 or 6.  That’s why we custom-make each set.”  And the holsters slide along the belt, allowing the shooter to wear them comfortably and use them efficiently when drawing or holstering their pistols.

 

Not only does Cactus make traditional gun rigs, but they also create shoulder holsters, bucket holsters, and scabbards for rifles competitions.  “They’re for mounted shooting; that’s what we make them for.  Standup shooters can use them, and sometimes do.  But we always keep the mounted shooter in mind.”

 

Nowadays, Levey sees more and more shooters moving from a narrow belt to a wider one:  “It offers greater back support, which can really help folks who do several runs in a day.”  And it also offers more space for some fancy customization.

 

It’s safe to say that Al Levey has found his own space.  “What I’ve got is a niche, and it’s a good niche,” he says.  “Sometimes I’d rather be in here working on the leather than outside with the horses.”  And he sure prefers that to the old days of welding radiators.

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