African elephants don't normally turn up at the annual Ballinasloe Horse Fair, but a pair from a three-ring circus are looking all the better for their recent visit to the town. The animals, a mother and daughter, have just been fitted with gear made by a Co Galway saddler.
"Yes, I suppose it has to be one of the most unusual commissions yet," says Alan Ward, a qualified saddle- and harness-maker who is all of 23. He was contemplating his future just one month ago in his new shop in Dunlo Street, Ballinsaloe, when a man with broken English walked in.
"He could easily have been mistaken for a Stallone or a Schwarzenegger," Mr Ward recalls. "I was waiting for the voice. He explained that he was with the American circus which had pulled into town the day before.
"He had heard about us, though we have only been open since March. After inspecting our stuff, he asked me to call down to the site. He placed the order for two elephant head dresses, four matching ankle collars, and also harnesses and bridles for six stallions, saying money was no problem."
Mr Ward worked feverishly, finishing the gear off with red, white and blue pattern leather to match the US colours. The horse harnesses were fitted with blue and white plumes. Three days ago he packed up his green van and headed north with his unusual cargo, making sure of his directions before he left, as the circus is on Belfast's Falls Road.
Mr Ward spent two years studying equine science in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, after he left school. The following year, while breaking and training horses, he had a bad fall. "I couldn't ride again, so decided that saddlery was a logical progression."
He trained in England, and worked in a polo yard when he had qualified. Last March he returned and renovated a preFamine cottage in Roscommon Street, Ballinasloe, with the help of a Leader grant. He had intended to base his workshop there, but the demand was so great that he rented out retail premises in the town.
Since he set up, he has received several old pony straddles, saddlelike pieces of equipment fitted on the backs of horses or ponies to carry wicker baskets or large buckets, or to steady the shafts of carriages or traps. On closer examination of the equipment, he found that they bore the signature of their manufacturer, "R. Kilduff", with dates extending as far back as May 13th, 1943. "R. Kilduff" turned out to be Rory Kilduff, the local harness-maker from 1938 to 1994 who is still alive.
Mr Ward has had some other unusual orders in the short time he has been in business. Already he has exported to Kent and Japan and has worked on 500year-old deerhide salvaged, almost intact, from a Russian ship which foundered off the coast of Spain. "The hide had been preserved in mud on the seabed. It was more expensive than crocodile skin, the Rolls-Royce of saddle-making, if you like."
Alan Ward at Saoirse Saddlery, Dunlo Street, Ballinasloe, can be contacted at (0905) 44811.