A Longview silversmith’s affinity for the Calgary Stampede stretches back to his childhood and now he will help commemorate the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth’s centennial.
As a young boy growing up on his family’s ranch in Saskatchewan, Scott Hardy remembers watching the Calgary Stampede parade on television and being mesmerized by the horses and their gear. So it meant the world to him when he finally got to see the parade live.
“When I was a little boy, my mom brought my brother and I to Calgary one year to watch the parade and we ended up buying one of my first saddles right after at a western store downtown,” Hardy said at his workshop last week. “I was only about four or five years old at the time, so it was a pretty special day for a kid. I’ve never forgotten it and the Calgary Stampede’s always meant a lot to me in that respect.”
Over the years, as the Calgary Stampede evolved as a world-renowned promoter of western culture and lifestyle, Hardy took up his tools as a silversmith and did the same, carving and engraving designs with whispers of the western past and pride in western traditions.
It seemed only a matter of time their paths should cross once again.
Hardy has been commissioned by the Calgary Stampede to design and create 100 limited edition buckles to commemorate the Stampede’s Centennial celebration scheduled for July 6 to 15. It’s a point of pride for the artist as not one of the buckles will contain a hint of mass production.
“Each buckle will be an individual,” he said. “Each letter is hand cut so there’s no casting, there’s no reproduction methods, none of that’s involved. Every figure starts out as a flat figure and I hand sculpt it. Every letter is hand sawn out, they’re all hand soldered on and there’s no ovens or production methods at all. Each one is hand engraved.”
He pored over documents from the Calgary Stampede archives, searching for his inspiration for a belt buckle design to honour the rich history of the Stampede. He said he had been captivated early on in his career by a vintage, one-inch, gold belt buckle engraved with ‘Calgary Stampede 1912’ along with a carving of a bucking horse framed with a twisted rope edge. He found a similar design on a silver championship buckle from the early 1930s won at the Calgary Stampede by famous saddle bronc rider Pete Knight.
Hardy said he was especially drawn to the delicately carved image of the bucking horse found on both buckles. He discovered, after talking with Stampede representatives, the horse was called “I-See-U” and had been used on posters promoting the 1923 Calgary Stampede.
Originally a horse owned by the American military, it had been branded “I-C” (inspected and condemned) because of its ornery temperament. Somehow, word of the horse’s reputation reached Calgary Stampede founder Guy Weadick, who pegged it as a perfect roughstock horse for his fledgling western exhibition. He bought it, brought it to Canada and it participated in the rodeo in the Victory Stampede in Calgary in 1919. Its image was sketched for the 1923 stampede poster by famous western artist Edward Borein and the horse became known as “I-See-U” because of the way Borein depicted it looking back at the rider.
Hardy said he was enthralled by the image of the bucking horse, and the history that went along with it, and incorporated it into the buckle design, along with the centennial dates, the wording ‘Calgary Stampede,’ and the Calgary Stampede brand. The buckles, which will be available in two sizes, are framed by a twisted rope. The back of each buckle will contain a western-style hand engraving, and each will be signed and numbered by Hardy. Two sample buckles will be on display at the Calgary Stampede store, but the buckles will be created individually as orders are placed. Hardy figures each buckle will take him more than 40 hours to complete. There’s no doubt each will truly be a labour of love.
“I’ve been a very blessed guy,” said Hardy, who is a founding member of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association. “I take my work seriously. I’ve always studied silverwork, I’ve tried to progress every year, I’ve worked hard to become a great hand engraver and I’ve worked hard at developing my own style. I’m a student of my profession and I’m quite proud of that. I don’t view it as a job, I view it as a life passion.”
Victoria Austin, merchandise manager with the Calgary Stampede, said this year’s event offered organizers an opportunity to consider unique items to commemorate the Centennial.
“We were looking at doing a one-of-a-kind, limited edition buckle,” Austin said. “Scott Hardy came to mind because of his reputation and his unique approach to what he does. We found him because we were looking for someone special who had that passion and the ability to work with silver like he does.”
The smaller buckle measures 2.5 inches wide by 2 inches high and is expected to retail for $2,500. Austin said the buckle is referred to as a dress buckle and would look great worn with a suit. The larger buckle, which could be worn more casually, measures 3 inches wide by 2.5 inches high is expected to be priced at $3,000. Regardless of which sizes are ordered, only 100 buckles will be handcrafted by Hardy.
Austin said about 10 names and phone numbers have already come in from people who are interested in purchasing a buckle. Hardy has also received names of people who want to be added to the list. She said the buckles represent a truly meaningful commemorative item for the Stampede and for anyone who has the chance to purchase one.
“We’re very excited to be working with him,” she said of Hardy. “It’s really an honour. This product in particular is western, it’s handmade by someone local and it is a piece of history. It’s something that you would hand down to your children and your grandchildren.”
For Hardy, the countless hours he spends studying and perfecting his craft are a touching tribute to the western culture he so highly values and strives to preserve.
“I look at western craftsmanship and western culture as very important,” he said. “I’m extremely proud to be from the west and it saddens me that more people aren’t like that to be honest with you.
“The Stampede’s fantastic. Everybody goes crazy for 10 days and wears hats and boots and I love it. I hope they never quit partying like crazy, but it’s really there about honouring our culture and our heritage and I wish they would just understand what that partying is all about a little more.”
As Hardy carves and edges a flat, rectangular piece of silver into a glittering, gleaming work of art in his Longview workshop, it is apparent he’s doing his part to keep that western heritage alive and well — one buckle at a time.
