Pick Your Perfect Pair of Western Boots with Our FREE Guide.
Choosing a good pair of western riding boots is sometimes harder than picking out horse shoes! But with our FREE guide, Buying Ladies’ Western Boots, we examine construction, safety, comfort and style to help you with your next purchase.
Tradition credits Charles Hyer as one of the first to invent the cowboy boot. Company promotional materials state that a Colorado cowboy stopped by the Hyer shop on his way home from the Kansas City stockyards in 1875, requesting a new pair of boots that were different from his Civil War-style boots. He wanted a boot with a pointed toe that would slide more easily into a stirrup, a high, slanted heel that would hold a stirrup, and a high top with scalloped front and back so he could get in and out of his boots more easily. Charles accepted the challenge. The unknown cowboy was so pleased with Hyer’s work that he returned to Colorado and told others about his new riding boots.
The brothers employed mostly immigrant craftsmen from Germany, Sweden and Poland during the early years. They made cowboy boots for cattlemen, rodeo performers and movie stars such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Tom Mix, Will Rogers, and Gene Autry. To reach potential customers further west and across the ocean, the company created mail order catalogues with measuring charts. During World War I, the Hyers made riding boots for the officers at Fort Leavenworth and at Camp Funston. In 1961, governors from the 49 other states were outfitted with Hyer boots courtesy of Governor John Anderson. The boots were presented as part of the traditional exchange of gifts between governors during the annual Governor’s Conference.
If you want your own piece of history that fits your feet, and your stirrups, be sure to download our guide HERE.
