The Legend of Colin Dangaard

Few become a legend in their own universe, in their own time.

Colin Dangaard has.

Raised on a cattle property in the Australian Outback, he grew up with horses, always aware he could naturally communicate with them. He also made his own stock saddle at age 14. He turned story telling as a kid into a career as a journalist, a writing skill that propelled him to become a celebrated Hollywood correspondent, helping Rupert Murdoch launch a career in the US that would turn him into the world’s largest publisher. Colin became Murdoch’s first Hollywood editor. In this capacity Colin was visiting the movie set of THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER, in Victoria, Australia, in the late ‘70s, when he saw an Australian stock saddle in a close-up in the dailies. “Yes,” he was told by the director, “that image was going in the movie.” Recalls Colin: “A light went on in my head. I felt that movie was going to be a hit, so I went up to Brisbane and placed my first saddle order with Syd Hill and Sons. Len Hill laughed and said I was crazy, that so many people had tried just that, and they all failed. And so too would I. Len had seen me on television, interviewing movie stars, and suggested I should stay right there! But I had faith in the success of the movie, and I planned to release the saddles along with the release of the movie. I had also grown tired of the false world that is Hollywood.”

Colin was right. The movie would become the most widely viewed horse movie in history, right behind BLACK BEAUTY. Colin had a new career that was instantly successful, within a year generating millions of dollars in sales of Australian saddles – the first new saddle successfully introduced to America in 300 years.

With his new wife Linda Fox, he founded The Australian Stock Saddle Company. Recalls Colin: “It was a wild ride to riches. Linda and I had an extraordinary life. She was so beautiful and glamourous. She wore our new wealth well.”

But as suddenly as success came, tragedy struck. Linda was diagnosed with early on-set dementia at age 49. Recalls Colin: “Linda was the brains of our company. I was the horseman, the guy in front of the tent with the bullhorn. I love to sell. Linda did the figures and corrected all the collateral damage that flowed in my wake, as I steamed forward relentlessly. She was stunning and amazing, truly the most extraordinary woman I ever met.”

But with Linda dying “a little every day” Colin’s business died alongside her. He refused to leave Linda’s beside, as she became bedridden in the last four years of her life. He fed her with a spoon, changed her eight times a day, cleaned her room, all the while battling others who wanted to put her in a home. He would not let them take her from him because, as he recalls, “I knew she would die without me. And besides, I had fallen in love with her all over again. I cared only about Linda, whose family would ultimately desert her, as I lost my staff, and ran up huge debt, threatening my property. But I did not care. This was the love of my life. Desperate, I tried to raise money by selling our company, but four months into a four-year payback deal, the ‘buyer’ stopped paying me, after taking all my inventory. I was destitute. With the banks knocking on my door, I started shopping for a van, so I could still be with Linda, even without our home. But then ….the angels came. As Linda drew her last breath I held her hand and told her I loved her, and she looked at me, her eyes widened, and she smiled…. and then she died. That moment was worth a thousand times more than my losses. It was so peaceful, even beautiful , and a great relief to know she was no longer suffering. It was such a privilege and an honor to be with Linda when she most needed me.

Now I am re-inventing myself, using 16 spare hours a day I have not had for many years. It is all so exhilarating, as I feel my ship once again in the water, buoyant and strong, speeding toward a vast blue and open sky. So much opportunity, as I develop new saddles and products, with all my previous customers still there, urging me on. Such joy to be back again, at age 78, and to have Linda up there watching me and, as always, urging me forward as she plays with the angels in a place where you can ride horses forever.

Colin Dangaard at 81 years of age in the rugged hills of the Santa Mountain range .

In the background are the hills he traverses on his sturdy mountain horses.