Cinching up Beauty
Tia Watson turns passion-filled hobby into business
Tia Watson’s nimble fingers weave through the mohair yarns on her loom. She silently counts each strand, making sure the pattern is precise while the tension stays tight. She steps back and examines her work, checking and double checking, as the design in her mind comes alive in her work.
Tia is a custom cinch maker and the owner of Cross N Custom Cinches in Shepherd. Her day job as a brand inspector for the state leaves her with evenings and weekends open to dedicate to her business. Over time, her hobby transformed into a business that has become a sought-after source of cinches for horsemen and -women across the country.
“For me, it started when I won a custom-made cinch several years ago,” Tia explains. “It was really pretty so I ordered another one. But when I put it on my saddle and used it, it sored my horse up.”
Thinking it might just be a fluke, Tia tried the other cinch and the same thing happened. After a close examination of both cinches, Tia discovered something that would launch her career. “The ends of the yarns were glued to keep them from unraveling. The glue was applied on one side of the cinch, but it soaked through the fibers enough to make the inside of the cinch rub on my horse’s belly and sore him.”
Tia decided she’d try making a cinch herself and discovered she was very proficient at it. She began searching for sources of yarn, and her husband, Chancey, built her a loom.
“I guess my claim to fame is I use 100 percent natural fibers, and I’m consistent. To eliminate the unraveling problem, I weave back the ends about four inches,” Tia says. “No glue is ever used on my cinches.”
Using only strong, natural fibers of mohair, alpaca and horsehair, Tia’s designs are limited only by her imagination. Every corner of her shop is ablaze in colors from the skeins of vibrant yarn hanging on racks. Tia has a way of turning a functional piece of saddle tack into a beautiful work of art.
“I have friends that use my cinches for wall hangings,” she says. “I’m not entirely happy about that because I want them to be used for what I made them for, but at the same time, I’m proud they think they are pretty enough to hang in their homes.”
Often Tia will incorporate a cross, initials or a brand into her cinches to personalize them. She has designed and woven patriotic cinches in red, white and blue, and ropers cinches in masculine colors of rich brown and teal. She’s done tie-dyed cinches, bright colors, soft colors, or a mix of each. She was recently commissioned to build a bright purple cinch, adorned with flowers for the former Miss Colorado rodeo queen.
“For me, it isn’t about the beauty of my cinches as much as the function,” Tia says. “Sure, I love making beautiful ones, and I get excited about how they turn out, but more importantly I want my cinches to function well and to last a long time.”