Once a common trade, expert saddle makers Lyle and Helen Kent still bring their mobile shop to the bush! ROADBOSS joins them for their most recent adventure
Dusk descends upon Mt Sanford Station’s near 250,000 hectares. Hundreds of noisy Corellas argue among the giant fig trees. Station hands emerge dressed in their ‘Sunday Best’ and I’ve arrived with ROADBOSS photographer Alastair Brook, wielding cameras.
What has stirred such excitement at beautiful Mt Sanford Station? Simply, the arrival of Lyle and Helen Kent and their red dust-stained Hino. The humble Stanthorpe-based husband and wife saddle makers who’ve been touring and providing the nation’s ringers with their outback essentials for 34 years.
Out here, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t know someone with a saddle or a bridle, a belt or a whip that hasn’t been delicately crafted by Lyle.
It’s a bit of freedom. A bit of romance. I suppose I’ve always had that pull to the bush.
And being 10 hours from Darwin, it’s been months since these ‘young’ ringers have had the chance to get to town to restock on work supplies, so the sight of Lyle and Helen Kent is a welcome one.
They’ve been travelling for more than eight weeks, hopping from station to station and are staying at Mt Sanford for a few days before pushing on towards South Australia.
The return to Mt Sanford station is a special one for Lyle and Helen, a reunion of sorts with Paul and Kate Watts, the station managers they first met in the early 2000s. Then, just young ringers from NSW, Paul and Kate have since established themselves as well-credentialled managers, working their way up the ladder at Heytesbury Pastoral, the company that owns Mt Sanford and was founded by Australia’s first billionaire, Robert Holmes a Court.
And now in their seventies, this could be Lyle and Helen’s last big trip out west, and the chance to travel with them through the NT was one I simply couldn’t miss. But I wouldn’t worry, they said that about their tour in 2021.
Over more than 30 years legendary saddler makers Lyle and Helen Kent have clocked up around 3,000 station visits selling their highly sought-after wares
Lyle parks the truck into position on the grass near the wonderful homestead and declares he’s open for business – a not-so-ordinary Hino, housing some of the finest leather work and craftsmanship you can find that seconds as a mobile home, saddlery workshop and pop-up store.
Wallets at the ready, the ringers get to work exploring the range that’s on offer. One ringer purchases a new belt, which Lyle carefully trims and cuts to size on his workbench in front of him, and another buys a stock whip.
Station manager Paul even points to his belt, a Lyle and Helen original from a station visit in the 2000’s; Kate his wife, a pair of spurs dating back to 2002.
Leather dreams
At 75 years of age, Lyle fools with his energy. He stands proud and tall, somehow with a heavy western-style saddle over his shoulder – conversation flowing between us.
There’s something about looking at a map and saying, ‘let’s go there’, and then going.
I knew before our travels there was a deep love in Lyle for the bush, shaped by his experiences as a young man. But being with him, on the land, you can feel the relief seeping from him, like a dog that’s found its way home.
He worked as a stockman in his twenties at the Humbert River Station, not too far from Mt Sanford. The station is now part of the famous Victoria River Downs Station (which was once the world’s largest pastoral lease).
Here, it’s where he learnt to tinker with leather, learning off old-timers how to repair saddles and bridles.
“I found I loved it,” he says.
From his not-so-ordinary Hino, Lyle sells some of the finest leather work and craftsmanship you can find, and that also seconds as a mobile home and saddlery workshop
The decision to be a stockman was just as easy – spurred on by ideas of adventure and journey.
“It’s a bit of freedom. A bit of romance. I suppose I’ve always had that pull to the bush,” he admits over a cup of tea.
“It’s like the old saying – ‘go west, young man’. You don’t hear it much anymore, but to me, it’s still alive. There’s something about looking at a map and saying, ‘let’s go there’, and then going.”
Being a ‘90s kid, I’d certainly not heard the phrase, but I understood the draw towards the lifestyle. You only have to see the hundreds of young school leavers every year, from all different backgrounds that make their way to station country. Three of my cousins did it in fact.
It’s like the old saying – ‘go west, young man’. You don’t hear it much anymore, but to me, it’s still alive.
Returning home from his time at the station, with a dream to buy his own place in Stanthorpe, Lyle ended up with about 1,600 acres of bush country. With intentions of clearing the land and running cattle, he quickly realised he needed to make a living. “So, we grew a few vegetables, cleared the land a little bit, and started doing that. Anyway, within 12 months of coming home to Stanthorpe, I met my darling wife,” he explains.
“I always wanted to run cattle… not be a veggie farmer. I don’t know if you ever heard of the cattle crash in the 1970s, ‘73 to ‘78,” Lyle recalls.
“Cattle prices just dropped completely. So, you know, the dream of being a cattle farmer had to be put on hold, and we kept growing vegetables to make a living.”
“Anyway, we kept doing that while we raised our children. And during all those years of farming,” Lyle continues, “I tinkered on a workbench set up in the house in the cottage and used to make things for the kids – like school bags and hats and belts and all that kind of stuff. And then after 17 years, I decided I wasn’t going to farm anymore.” It was the genesis of Kent Saddlery.
Lyle and Helen Kent’s first big trip west was in 1991 and was the start of a tradition: half the year on the road, half back in the workshop
In time, the small hobby grew into Kent Saddlery. They built a stone workshop at their Stanthorpe property, then realised to make a living out of leatherwork, they’d have to take the saddlery to the bush.
That first big trip west in 1991 became the start of a tradition: half the year on the road, half back in the workshop. By 2021, they had clocked up 30 years and nearly 3,000 station visits.
“We headed off with the LandCruiser and trailer, and we had our four boys with us, Ben, Daniel, Jamie and Paul,” the softly spoken Helen explains.
“And our eldest daughter, Leah, she’d left home and was working at that time, so she stayed behind. I was also pregnant with our youngest daughter Jessica,” she adds.
We’ve obviously got tools that help us to do it efficiently, but everything’s still put together by hand.
In the saddle
“Do you know roughly how many Kent saddles are out there in Australia?” I ask both Lyle and Helen.
They umm and ahh and scratch their heads before landing on an approximate number. “Oh, you’d be getting close to 5,000, I reckon,” they say.
At their workshop in Stanthorpe, a team of 14 leather workers delicately piece and stitch leather together their range of products, five of which are dedicated to saddles.
To make a saddle, it’ll take about 25 hours. “Very much handmade,” Lyle says with a smile. Their saddle leather is sourced from America, while the local Australian tanneries supply Aussie leather for handbags and other goods.
Mt Sanford is now part of the famous Victoria River Downs Station (which was once the world’s largest pastoral lease)
Admittedly, saddles aren’t as popular sellers as they once were on their journeys to the stations. Many will buy them online or from their shop in Stanthorpe.
“Back in the days when that was all happening, I think one year we sold 74 saddles on our trip. We used to load the truck with saddles,” Lyle mentions.
In an ultimate flex, Lyle explains the main reason. “Well, because a lot of our saddles are already on the stations now, and because they last so long, once you buy one, 20 years later, it’s still good. Still there.”
The boomer in me wrestles with the notion of why we’ve moved past these days – where quality trumped all, and pride was in your craft.
Oh, you’d be getting close to 5,000 (Kent saddles out there in Australia), I reckon.
Lyle and Helen are rightly proud of this durability, their craft and quality has helped build their name. There is also the fact that not many people are making leather goods these days. It’s done in a factory or a sweatshop with machines.
“We’ve obviously got tools that help us to do it efficiently, but everything’s still put together by hand,” Helen explains.
“We’ve got amazing machines for cutting out some designs, but most of the time you’ll see our workers hand stitching or putting stuff together with their hands, and it’s like going back in time.”
Meet Paul and Kate
While Lyle fanaticises about life on the station, Kate and Paul have lived it for 20-something years. Both from rural NSW, did they know they’d be running 20,000 head of Brahmans cattle when they made their move to the NT in 2001?
The Mt Sanford 2025 Class Photo – a tradition started by Helen in the early 2000s and which can now be seen at nearly all cattle stations in Queensland and the NT
The average ringer stays for a few seasons or more and then returns home, but home has long gone and been replaced with the freedom that comes with Mt Sanford.
A conversation with a family member’s neighbour as a kid was the bait Paul took.
“Well, I met a bloke at my uncle’s farm, my uncle’s neighbour, and he’d done a season up north on a cattle station, and I was there at the time when he brought his photo album over. I was only a kid back then, and I thought, ‘geez, that looks cool’.
“But Dad had rules,” he explains. “Dad wouldn’t let me go until I’d done a trade or something worthwhile. So, I did a trade, then I got my trade papers and applied for a job at Muller Station at Halls Creek, and yeah, went up there, and have been in the NT pretty much ever since. It’s a good life,” he says.
We’ve got amazing machines for cutting out some designs, but most of the time you’ll see our workers hand stitching or putting stuff together with their hands, and it’s like going back in time.
Like Lyle and Helen, the enchantment of the bush left a mark – simple inspiration from a photo album, the driving factor for a man to go and make a life in station country.
Despite growing up in Griffith in NSW, Paul explains his experience in the north as alien. So different to what he was used to – actual cattle work, the horse riding, the lifestyle. “I think I appreciated it all more, because I spent four years in a shed doing my apprenticeship, and I couldn’t believe you got paid to actually work out in the bush.”
A fitter by trade, Paul shifted back to Griffith after ringing for a while and met Kate. “She worked with my sister. I told her a few yarns about how I was a big tough ringer up north, so I tried to ‘woo’ her, and I must be a good storyteller,” he says with a cheeky smile.
“I already wanted to come north before we met… sorry,” Kate states with a laugh.
While Kent Saddlery uses machinery and other tools for cutting out some designs, most of the time workers are hand stitching and putting stuff together
Kate, also from Griffith, grew up on a citrus farm, but had lots of family friends with sheep and cattle. “I was out on the farm every chance I got,” she admits. “I just loved it. Loved the bush, loved animals, and yeah, so Paul got a job at Rosewood in 2002 and managed to get me a job up there as well, so I went up and never left.
“I wasn’t allowed to leave home until Mum and Dad knew somebody up here because it was pretty far away from anywhere back, especially with no internet. So as soon as I knew somebody, I was going.”
When asked if they miss Griffith or would ever return, the answer is quick. “It’s a bit too civilised now,” Kate admits. We went back there before Covid. It’s good to go back for a visit and catch up with people, especially when you get older, but our life is up here.”
“We have a really good job,” Paul says earnestly in response. “We work for a really good group that actually lets you manage your station.
I did a trade … and applied for a job at Muller Station at Halls Creek, and yeah, went up there, and have been in the NT pretty much ever since. It’s a good life.
“You’re not stuck in the same rut. Like some days I’ll be grafting cattle in the yards. Next day, I’ll be on with a grader. The next day, you’ll be doing a bore run or trucking, then a fire starts and you’ll be putting out fire for a week. But as far as job variety, it’s a very hard job to get sick of when there’s so much variety in your role.
“Plus, you don’t get the chance to stop, but as long as your good times outweigh your bad times, well, you’re in front.”
History – in a flash
As dusk fades quickly into dark, there’s one last job for the Mt Sanford crew – a Class Photo for 2025. It’s a tradition started by Helen in the early 2000s, which can now be seen at nearly all cattle stations in Queensland and the NT.
Helen shows me her collection of archive books, thousands of photos from all corners of the country – creating a snapshot of life and history of our county’s cattle stations.
Lyle and Helen Kent have been touring and providing the nation’s ringers with their outback essentials for 34 years
By the end of this latest adventure, the two of them will have visited close to 100 stations, and nearly 3,000 station visits in total over the past three decades.
It’s a simple photograph, shot by Lyle, printed immediately and in Mt Sanford’s case, stuck to the kitchen wall, along with its previous 20 years of editions – all with the same theme, just changing faces.
While Lyle and Helen have spent 34 years travelling, doing what they love, Paul explains their trips are so much more. They’re providing a service, creating history.
You’re not stuck in the same rut. Some days I’ll be grafting cattle in the yards. Next day, I’ll be on with a grader. The next day, you’ll be doing a bore run or trucking, then a fire starts and you’ll be putting out fire for a week.
“I could have met them in 2000, but I know we definitely met in 2002 – their visits are your rare chance to see the people outside your station, and it has always been a big deal,” he explains to me.
“I know it’s much appreciated that people put their effort into seeing us and providing us a service – it started off simply like for us, and then it turned into friendships.
“Smile,” orders Helen, and Lyle’s camera flashes.
Perhaps creating a piece more everlasting than their products.
