“It is fun to watch kids come to school here and progress, get better and move on,” he said. For the past nine years, Gilkerson mentored youth while working as the rodeo coach at Sheridan Community College. He also welcomed a son, Rio, four months ago with his wife, Lauren. Gilkerson no longer shows horses, but he is still involved with rodeo. I wanted to show with it first, and I ended up winning the amateur cow horse event that weekend.” “I was carrying it down a hall, and a guy who sells bits through his online store called me into his store and bought it from me. “I wanted to make it with a one-piece mouth piece, and it took me a couple days, but I pounded this mouth piece out and put in the shank,” he said. When he showed in the Sun Circuit in Arizona, it was with a spade bit he created with a nice shank. That’s how I came up with what I call the new Fresno shank.” I liked the design, but I wanted to make it a little differently. “It was a Fresno shank spade bit that I showed in,” he said. One bit was used in the American Quarter Horse Association world cow horse competition, and Gilkerson split third and fourth place with it. Gilkerson designed different bits while competing in national reined cow horse events with Sherri, who passed away in 2006. Sometimes, it takes a week or two to get everything set and balanced correctly.” “I hand file the back side of the bit and the part that is against the cheek of the horse. I can make a pair in a couple days, but bits take longer because they have to be balanced,” he said. “I really like to engrave, so I like making spurs the most. Depending on the design, it can take anywhere from a few days to a week. More complicated items, like bits and spurs, take longer to create. Most of the jewelry he makes can be finished in a few hours. “One item I am pretty excited about making is pendants for some of the guys who qualified for the NFR (National Finals Rodeo) this year,” he said. He also makes bracelets, earrings and concho necklaces from domed silver he solders together. Gilkerson makes round and square rings that are popular with his customers. I watched a YouTube video, and started casting rings,” he said. I just started casting silver, so I bought a bowl, flux, wax and sand. To do that, you have to buy a little bit better tools than what you have. “The more I make, the more I figure things out and want to make them better. “I have bought a lot of tools to use since then, and there is always something new I want to get,” Gilkerson said. It is a totally different process than what I started with,” he said. I start with a half-inch piece of iron, split it and open it up, and then I shape it. Trying to get that shank perfect on the band was probably the hardest part of the process. “With the first pair of spurs, I made the band and cut out the shank, put it together, and welded the shank to the band. Then, I decided I wanted to go to engraving school, so Jim went with me, and we both spent five days in Alpine, Texas, learning the basics of engraving,” he said.Īrmed with more tools and knowledge, Gilkerson’s metal working process changed. At the time, we had someone put the silver on and engrave them for us. I learned a lot from Jim on balance and feel, and just how to make a good bit. I found out one day that Jim made bits and spurs, so I started going to his shop every afternoon, after we finished riding, to make bits and spurs. My (first) wife, Sherri, was training cow horses in Arizona with Jim Paul Sr., and Jimmie Paul. Since then, Gilkerson started to make more intricate designs. Sometimes, I think about taking them to the shop and cleaning them up, but then I decide I should just leave them the way they are.” “They were made with an old buzz box welder and a file. “At the time, I thought they turned out really well but now I think they are pretty crude looking,” he said with a chuckle.
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