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Saddles are always in
short supply! Despite
Hartland’s early claims of unbreakable plastic, they did
break. Later they changed the comment to “rugged plastic”.
This page contains all the known saddles and variations including
the Stevens sets produced in the early 90’s. Some of the
vintage saddles, such as the Clayton Moore Lone Ranger saddle,
had holes punched in the fenders to be used on later Semi-Rearing
and Full Rearing horses. Notes will be made with those saddles,
but I didn't feel an additional photo was necessary for that
slight a variation. Hartland Saddles were rarely marked. In my
experience, the Mountie saddle is the most brittle and hard to
find in complete form. Early on, Hartland seemed to make a new
saddle for each new set but by about 1959 or so, they started
using the standard black saddle with the rifle hole on most new
sets. Some sets, such as Brave Eagle and Chief Thunderbird, shared
their saddle mold (blanket in this case). Dale Evans’ later
saddle is the same mold as the later Lone Ranger saddle and Hobly
Gillman’s saddle is the same as the standard black rifle
hole saddle except both of these examples were molded in brown
plastic. |
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800 Series Saddles |
  Black Champ Saddle with Dots
These are some of the earliest
800 series saddles. Hartland Champ saddles have silver while
Breyer Champ saddles have gold decorations. Some evidence indicates
the saddles with the silver dots or conchos went mostly with
the Cowboys, while the ones with the large laces or dashes go
mostly with the Cowgirls.
Champ style Lone Ranger #801
Red and White Champ Cowboy #801
Black Champ Cowboy #801 |
 Black Champ Saddle with Dashes
The larger Laces or Dashes on this saddle seems to
be used most often with the Cowgirls. This saddle would probably
have been used with the white Champ horse with the black tack,
but possibly with the white Champ horse with silver tack. The
color of the saddle seems to match the martingale and bridle
whenever possible.
Cowgirl #802 |
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 Brown Champ Saddle with Dots
This one would probably go with
the Palomino Champ horses with the brown tack —and since
it has the dots or conchos, it is most often used with the Cowboys.
Brown Champ Cowboy #801
Red and White Champ Cowboy #801 |
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 Brown Champ Saddle with Dashes
This one would probably go with
the Palomino Champ horses with the brown tack and since it has
the dashes, it is most often used with the Cowgirls. When Hartland
switched over to the early Dale Evans with black gloves, this
saddle would have been turned over to her.
Early Green Dale Evans #802DE
Cowgirls #802 |
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 Red Champ Saddle with Dots
Hartland made a Champ Cowboy
with a red and white shirt and this is mostl likely his main
saddle when paired with a horse with red tack. The early Black
Beauties also used this saddle until roughly when they switched
over to the Semi-Rearing horse mold.
Red and White Champ Cowboy #801
Black Beauty |
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 Red Champ Saddle with Dashes
The Red and White Cowgirl would use this saddle when
on a Champ horse with red tack.
Red and White Cowgirl #802 |
 Blue Champ Saddle with Dots
At least two collectors tell
me they own this saddle. I had to adjust the colors of a black
one in Photoshop to have one to show here. It does have the dots
and not dashes. I haven’t heard of one with the dashes.
We can only speculate that it went with a Champ style Palomino
with blue tack since that is the only Champ horse with the blue.
It’s impossible to say for sure at this point, but it might
have been a very early saddle used with Roy Rogers. Maybe not! |
 Black Western Saddle
This is a fairly common saddle
since it was used with one of the most common figures—the
later style Lone Ranger. That set was made almost from the beginning
to the end of production of 800 series horse and riders. Early
Ward Bonds also got this saddle until he seems to have been given
a rifle at which point they would have shitched to the saddle
with the rifle hole or boot. Some have cinch holes.
Clayton Moore style Lone Ranger #801
Ward Bond — Seth Adams #824* |
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 Black Western Saddle with Tie Rings
This the only saddle used by
Matt Dillon and it is unique to him. No other rider uses it!
It is almost identical to the Lone Ranger saddle except for the
addition of the small ring at the edge of the fender.
The only exception for Dillon might
be when he was temporarily placed on a Semi-Rearing horse where
he might have had a rifle holed saddle?
Matt Dillon #822 |
 Black Western Saddle with Rifle Hole
Quite a few riders share this saddle, probably as
a cost saving measure. Maybe they just thought it looked great!
It appears that Hartland included an optional rifle with some
of these sets on occasions. This is the same saddle used by Hoby
Gilman except his is brown.
Brett Maverick #862
Johnny Yuma, The Rebel #832
Jim Hardie #864
Paladin #866
Gil Favor #831
Lucas McCain—The Rifleman #826
Bill Longley — The Texan #827
Tom Jeffords # 821
Ward Bond — Seth Adams #824* |
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 Black US Mail Saddle
For a while it seemed that each new set got a new
distinctive saddle. Later they seemed to use the rifle holed
saddle for almost everyone but Buffalo Bill did get a special
one for his Pony Express duties. This one is fairly hard to find
loose. It reminds me of a modified Cheyenne saddle.
Buffalo Bill #819 |
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 Brown Saddle with Silver Stripes
As far as I know, this is the
only saddle Tonto ever had. It resembles the later Lone Ranger
saddles, except for the design of the tapaderos, plus it is brown
instead of black. I believe a few of them have the punch holes
in the fenders probably a result of the Semi-Rearing horse he
rode temporarily.
Tonto: #805 |
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 Brown Western Saddle with Rifle Hole
This is the same as the standard black saddle with
the rifle hole, common to a lot of other riders. This is the
standard Hoby Gilman saddle but was occasionally found with Josh
Randall. This saddle was also recast by Stevens Plastics in 1993
and 1994 for use with Dale Evans and Wyatt Earp, but originals
are usually a shade darker in color.
Hoby Gilman #825
Josh Randall #828 |
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 Brown Western Saddle with Rifle Hole
This set was recast by Stevens Plastics in 1993 and
1994 using the same molds as Hartland did earlier. The color
is slightly lighter but it is still a good look alike without
something to compare. Stevens put this saddle with Dale Evans
and Wyatt Earp, historically incorrect saddles for both.
Stevens Plastics Dale Evans
Stevens Plastics Wyatt Earp |
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 Brown Western Saddle
Using the same mold as they
created for the later style Lone Ranger, Hartland changed the
color to a nice russett brown and gave it to the new version
of Dale Evans. It was later used again for Josh Randall.
Green Dale Evans #802 (DE)
Purple Dale Evans #802
Josh Randall #828 |
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 Blue & White RR Saddle
Roy Rogers is shown in a few Christmas Catalogs riding
a similar saddle with unusual trim, but I’m not too convinced
many of them shipped with this saddle. It is extremely rare!
The early Roy Rogers saddle mold has one large star and three
smaller ones, just like this one so we can date it from the beginning
.
V-Fringe Roy Rogers #806 |
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 Early Blue RR Saddle- Four Stars
This is the more common early
Roy Rogers saddle and was used until they made the switch over
to the Full Rearing Trigger. Without cinch holes, this saddle
would not stay on the rearing horse, but it served the walking
version fine for many years.
V-Fringe Roy Rogers #806 |
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 Early Blue RR Saddle- Droopy Eagle
You have to be looking closely
to see the differences in this saddle from the one above. This
one is missing the little star at the front. It also has a different
eagle design on the fender right under where the rider’s
knee would rest. For lack of a better term, I have called it
a “Droopy Eagle”. They are less common but probably
not rare.
V-Fringe Roy Rogers #806 |
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 Blue RR Saddle- One Star
After a few years of selling Roy Rogers on a walking
Trigger, they created a new figure to ride on the new Rearing
Trigger which needed a modified saddle with a cinch hole to keep
the saddle on the horse’s back. This saddle also have one
lare star on the tapadero where the earlier one had four stars.
Early RR saddles were molded in white, or marbled white plastic
and painted blue over the top, then silver trim.
Horizontal White Fringe Roy Rogers #806 |
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 Blue RR Saddle - One Star - All Blue
Around 1992, Stevens Plastics in Missouri began offering
this set through J.C. Penney's mail order Christmas Catalog.
The set was later sold direct and also through specialty stores.
They used the same mold as the later RR sets, but molded the
entire saddle in blue plastic. Then they painted the silver trim.
This is a dead give-away on this piece.
Stevens Plastics Roy Rogers |
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 Plain Blue RR Saddle - Stenciled RR
This saddle is a bit of a mystery. It is an original factory
piece with several collectors owning one. Whether it was a very
early RR saddle, or just one used temporarily while waiting for
more regular saddles to be produced, we’ll probably never
know. It does seem to go with the walking version of the horse
based on the style of saddle (without the cinch holes). Mine
came with a walking Trigger set.
V-Fringe Roy Rogers #806 |
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 Copper McClellan Saddle
Cheyenne is one of the most common and popular sets
but finding this saddle loose is fairly difficult. The color
of the saddle matches his jacket. Most seem to have the punched
cinch holes. No other set used a similar saddle, with the exception
of Buffalo Bill who has a modified version of the saddle.
Cheyenne #818 |
 Brown and Yellow Plain Saddle
Wyatt was one of Hartland’s first characters
and remained in production almost to the end. This saddle is
fairly common. It is the only figure using this exact style of
saddle and I’ve never seen a factory piece with a different
color scheme. Stevens plastics recast Earp in 1994 but used the
brown rifle holed saddle on the shipping sets. Some of the white
blanks created during production show up on eBay once in a while,
often painted solid black or brown.
Wyatt Earp #809 |
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 Black & Green with Bedroll
This special saddle is shared by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie,
also both from the same mold. It is fairly hard to find loose.
Davy Crockett #807?
Jim Bowie #817 |
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 Black & Green without Bedroll
Cochise is the only figure to get this saddle. He
is a fairly common set but due to the fragile nature of all the
McClellan saddles, many have been broken creating a demand for
them.
Cochise: #816 |
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 Blue & Yellow US Military Saddle
All the McClellan saddles are in high demand from
today’s collectors. This one is no exception. It was created
originally for George Custer, but was later used with Col. Mackenzie.
Col. Ranald Mackenzie #829
General George Armstrong Custer
#814 |
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 Blue and Cream Military Saddle
George Washington was the only figure to use this
saddle. The cream color around the edges of the saddle are a
bit more muted than the saddle Stevens Plastics recast in 1993
and 1994, plus the paint job was a lot smoother.
George Washington #815 |
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 Blue and Creme Military Saddle
This set was recast from the original molds in 1993
and 1994 and looks quite a bit like the originals. The paint
is not as glossy or smooth and the cream color is much brighter.
Of course, the gold eagle medallions are much more bright and
vivid.
Stevens Plastics George Washington |
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 Gray and Yellow Confederate Saddle
Lee was the first of the generals and is generally
easy to find. Loose McClellan saddles are tough to find loose.
Lee saddles always seem to be in short supply. To make matters
worse, some collectors rob this saddle from Lee to put with their
Rebel sets (Probably not the way Hartland ever sent them out).
General Lee
#808 |
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 Gray and Yellow Confederate Saddle
This saddle is from sets recast by Stevens Plastics
in 1993-1994. The paint is not as glossy and the yellow is much
brighter than the vintage saddles, but this one is still a nice
piece.
Stevens Plastics General Lee |
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 Blue and Yellow Mounted Police Saddle
For a long time, I thought there was only one Mountie
saddle but a collector did point out my mistake. Yes, there is
a difference. You will have to study the two photos to see it,
but this earlier saddle flairs a bit near the chopped off back
corners near the lettering. This one goes with O’Rorke.
Sgt. Lance O’Rorke #804 |
 Blue and Yellow Mounted Police Saddle
If you study the two photos of the Mountie saddles
you see that this saddle does not flair quite as much in the
rear corners as the O’Rorke saddle above. It was produced
for Preston. I can’t seem much of a difference in the stirrup
length, but Preston was a slightly larger figure and may have
needed a new saddle. Also, I believe this saddle was included
in the new Preston mold so they didn’t have to run two molding
sessions to get the parts.
Sgt. Preston #804 |
