Jim Rice and Danielle Cole Custom Saddlery

My name is Danielle Cole and I have been working leather with Jim Rice since 1997. Jim has been working leather since 1946. For 50 years we have dedicated our time to making sure that horses and their owners always have equipment that fits properly. We specialize in custom leather products that include, but again are not limited to, saddles, bridles, breast collars, gun holsters, rifle slings, gun belts including cartridge loops, chaps, chinks and saddle bags. Our workshop houses several machines that allow us to specialize in repair and restoration of nearly anything made of leather including ladies purses, leather-adorned headboards, leather knee pads used for construction, boat covers and sailboat sails. Basically if you have something that needs to be fixed…we can probably do it for you.

We have been able to create many leather products over the years that include custom saddles for the Michigan Elk Foundation, the Michigan State University Museum, and the Michigan Reining Horse Association, to name a few. We also had the honor of building a saddle complete with breast collar and bridle for the President of the United States, George W. Bush. We briefly met him and presented him with the saddle while he was giving the commencement address at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI in 2005.

Take a moment to view the pictures of some of our work in the gallery, including the President’s saddle. Then contact us so we can make your dreams a reality. Bring us your ideas and we will work with you to create, repair or restore almost anything you can think of.

Jim has decided to retire this year, and he has handed off the torch to me. Please contact me by phone or e-mail so we can discuss your next project. I look forward to hearing from you soon!