A young man of ambition, drive and grit, Bruce Smith followed his passion for riding and opened his own Saddlery in 1970 with one goal – to design and build Australia’s best saddles and accessories.

Completing his apprenticeship with Colin Duffidy and working for Harry Downes throughout the 1960’s, Bruce quickly learned the tools of the trade from both Master Saddlers, developing his own unique style of craftsmanship whilst still respecting the strict traditions of the English Saddlemaker. Initially going from show-to-show in his workshop on wheels, a converted caravan, Bruce saved every penny from his travelling repair work, saddlemaking, horse breaking and even cart-building, until he and his wife Cheryl opened the doors to the Cranbourne shopfront on the 5th of April, 1971.

Since opening his doors, Bruce and his family have set a standard for not only Australian Saddlemakers, but also on the international stage for quality, craftsmanship and intelligent design. A reputation built over 50 years of faithful service to the Australian riding community, Bruce now is accompanied by his two sons who followed in his footsteps. Master Saddlers like their father, both Adrian and Mark have spent decades honing their craft – with their own design philosophies and individual saddlemaking styles, Mark specialising in Western saddles and Adrian in Stock saddlery. With an eye for detail and a perfectionist approach like their father, both names are highly respected in saddle building and design, and their saddles – highly sought after. 

Over the years the shopfront has grown, especially following the partnership with Saddleworld in the early 2000’s, to stock a huge variety of equestrian supplies, clothing, tack, saddles and accessories across a range of industry leading brands and suppliers, as well as our own in house, handmade products. With the help of our saddler and repairs specialist Chris, and Jan, our showing and turnout expert, we work as a team at Bruce Smith Saddlery to serve our loyal customer base and local riding community with expert advice, quality repairs and the highest quality products and service.