SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — Legacy is at the heart of a family business in Sand Springs. For more than 80 years, Mock Brothers Saddlery has been carrying on the cowboy tradition.
"We're not a chain store. It's strictly old-fashioned and custom," says Bret Mock, co-owner of the store.
Three generations of brothers have run Mock Brother's Saddlery and Western Wear. Albert, Archie, and Claude Mock opened the outpost in 1941.
"My great uncle and dad and grandpa were working up in Osage cowboying and learned to make saddles. Another great uncle, grandpa's brother, was in an accident, and it paralyzed him, so everyone moved down here to open up the shop," says Bret.
The Western store is believed to be Oklahoma's oldest saddlery. Initially located in the old Tulsa stockyards, it has changed locations through the years, but the store's foundation of family tradition has remained tried and true.
"We learned it from dad, and dad learned it from grandpa," says Bret.
Even now, you'll find this set of Mock Brothers here handcrafting leather goods.
"That's my brother Greg in the saddle shop," says Bret.
Bret and Greg work on everything from holsters to hand-tooled wallets. The saddles are the stars of the shop, so popular that custom orders book two years out. The Mock brothers say that's because of their quality and old-school craftsmanship. A simple saddle could take 70 hours to build and twice that to hand-tool.
"It's all done with a knife, no machines. The leather comes in in a big side. We cut it out, wet it, shape it, mold it, and put it back off and back on so everything is hand-cut and handmade," says Bret.
Cowboys flock to Mocks for everything Western, from boots to bits, chaps to custom hats. The brothers tell 2 News Oklahoma's Julie Chin when you've been in business for this long, you're bound to get some exciting customers. So, it probably shouldn't surprise you that some famous Oklahomans have come in.
"Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Garth Brooks have all come through. We build a lot of stuff for Brooks and Dunn. Reba McEntire has been here," says Bret.
This is a place where people always come first. "It's still personal. You will get the personal greeting here," says Bret
“It's the Cowboy Way,” says Bret, and no matter how many years pass, that never goes out of style.
To learn more about Mock Brothers, click here.
Watch for this entire Positively Oklahoma story Monday at 6 p.m.
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