Our History

Boars' Nest Leather, located in West Union, West Virginia was founded in 1989 by Kenny Hoskinson.   A year later he partnered with fellow craftsman Ray Pritt.

has had a life-long love of horses, having been born and raised in the hills of West Union, West Virginia. Kenny grew up on a farm and his grandfather (Roy Hoskinson) was a skilled blacksmith and leatherman.

association with horses and mules goes back to his childhood, and continued through his work in the WV coal mines, including driving mules and the complete care of the animals and hardware.

Between Kenny and Ray, they have nearly forty (40) years' experience in leatherwork and saddle restoration.

Kenny and Ray take the most badly beaten of saddles and restore them to like new condition. To do this, requires knowledge of horses, leather, wood, and metals. It also requires skill and experience working with these items. Kenny and Ray have this needed knowledge, skills and experience. The customer can see it in their craftsmanship and finished products. Restoring saddles, some as old as 100 years (military saddles) brings a certain joy and satisfaction to these two craftsmen.

In addition, they also make: pistol holders, knife sheaths, belts, possible bag, bags for motorcycles, bridles and many other items. Click here to see some of the additional items available from Boars' Nest Leather.

Kenny and Ray use only the finest leather from Weaver Leather in Mt. Hope Ohio: www.WeaverLeather.com.

Kenny and Ray are more than willing to share their knowledge of leatherwork and to that end, believe that someday they can pass along their knowledge, values, skills and experience to the next generation. It is their hope that this will not be a lost trade, but rather carried on by those who share the same love of horses, love of horse people, and pride in their work as they do.

We hope you will stop by and visit and just say "howdy" sometime when you're in the area.

August 2008