All Cinched Up

Montana makers Dana and Tracy Eklund are changing tack with Big Sky Mohair Cinches.

Written by Jenn Thornton

To understand the Bozeman, Montana-based brand Big Sky Mohair Cinches—custom cinch-makers at the heart of the vibrant resurgence of the Western trades—one must first take stock of the sisters behind it, Dana and Tracy Eklund. 

A take-the-reins twosome raised in northern Illinois, the Eklund sisters had an active and adventurous upbringing that helped pave the way to their current turf. “If we could attempt it on a horse, we did,” Dana declares of the duo’s early years, “whether we knew what we were doing or not!” Turns out, they did. Not only was Dana and the two-years younger Tracy steeped in horses and 4H, but in a head-spinning number of extra-curriculars, as well. Camping, hiking, trail riding, geology, woodworking, knitting, the visual arts. All while playing sports and holding down jobs in their early teens to buy the things they wanted, including horses and tack. “Free time” for this pair consisted of chores. Ultimately, though, doing “a little bit of everything” would go a long way for the Eklund sisters. 

The first bit of measurable distance: Midwest to American West. Two years after Dana landed in Montana for college, Tracy headed west too. The landscape was new in some ways and familiar in others; both Eklunds would find themselves back in the saddle. Only this time, it was to work and volunteer at a non-profit therapeutic riding center whose bare-bones equipment budget and lack of cinches big enough to fit the program’s draft horses brought Dana to a “necessity is the mother of invention” moment. Taking matters into her own hands (literally, as it happens), she purchased a cinch-making kit online and got to work making what she needed. It wasn’t long before Dana was taking personal orders from Tracy, too (and a few more friends besides). “Finally, I got tired of Tracy calling dibs on all the new cord I bought,” Dana says. “I told her that I would teach her how to make her own cinches, but that I was done making them for her!” A brand was born.

Today, Big Sky Mohair Cinches makes and ships its custom creations all over the world, which is not a bad benchmark for a business whose earliest aspiration was a 42” cinch. There is, of course, nothing new about the tried-and-true saddle cinch. But how the Eklunds make them (by hand, at home, often at the kitchen counter) and from what (100 percent Mohair) sets their product apart. The Eklunds did not set out to reinvent the wheel. “We set out to make functional gear,” they explain. Focused on making versatile, premium quality gear to fit myriad horse shapes and sizes, the Eklunds’ cinches are long-wearing and comfortable for the horse. They also look like a million bucks, but as the makers put it, “At the end of the day, if what we make is beautiful but it creates a sore on the horse, it’s useless.”  

The sisters’ pragmatic streak has served them particularly well in the enterprising West where determination is its engine. “I don’t think either of us could have predicted being self-employed or making cinches for a living,” they admit, “but we’ve always been the types to try everything and to never make excuses. Out West, you just can’t be the type of person to wait for things to happen. You have to be willing to dig in, get your hands dirty, fail, and try again.” 

“Out West, you just can’t be the type of person to wait for things to happen. You have to be willing to dig in, get your hands dirty, fail, and try again.”

To that end, Dana and Tracy have, in addition to starting Big Sky Mohair Cinches, cared for up to 30 horses for the last 14 years. “Managing livestock 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, really instils a ‘no quit’ mentality,” says Dana. “When it’s -15 degrees outside, the waterers are frozen and the truck won’t start? You still have to get out there to problem solve! There is no such thing as doing something when you have time or when it’s convenient—it gets done when it needs to get done, no excuses. Running a business takes a similar attitude. There is something really comforting knowing we are surrounded by people who work hard and show up day after day. That is one of our favorite things about the West.”

Another is being part of the growing movement to keep the Western trades alive. To that end, the Eklunds teach an online cinch-making course on the Be A Maker School, an online platform from Nevada Watt that hosts classes on everything from leatherwork to silversmithing. “Our maker friends who are equally as invested in their craft make us feel more connected to the West itself,” the sisters say. “We hope the general public knows just how big of an impact they make on a maker’s or an artist’s life when they decide to ‘shop small.’ It’s a big deal, and we do not take it for granted. When you buy from a maker or an artist, you’re really buying a small piece of their heart and soul, too—it’s impossible to make things with your hands and not put a little heart into it.” A good bit of sweat (and maybe even a few tears), as well. “If we can do this, anyone can,” the Eklunds say. “We are not exceptional—except, maybe exceptionally stubborn.” Their way—to “work hard, be generous, ask for help, and embrace the things you learn when you fail”—is the way of the West itself.

Photos: Kristen Schurr Photography