BOB BERG’S WORLD FAMOUS BUCKLES

Australian Bob Berg has claimed a unique place in the history books of Western riding with his high end buckles, western jewellery and custom knives, writes JANE CAMENS.

It’s a long way from growing up in Finley, in country New South Wales (population below 2,000) to running a factory in Vietnam that produces your own designs, but then Bob Berg has always been a bit of a quiet trailblazer.

“I left home and the Riverina when I was 17,” he says, “following the rodeo trail, riding bulls and broncs and generally enjoying the cowboy way of life.”

He set off to compete in New Zealand’s South Island Regional Rodeo Circuit and six months in, successfully returned home with his very own bull riding title – which only gave him a thirst for more. He soon set his sights on America, where the larger scale competition with higher ranking bucking stock seemed alluring and promising (but not for the faint hearted, by any means). What Bob couldn’t know then was that his time competing in the International Rodeo Circuit would change his destiny forever.

“I spent many years competing in the American and Canadian rodeo circuits, sharing rodeo adventures with great lifelong buddies like John Malick and Jimmy Cleveland,” he says. These daring young men competed together in rodeos at world famous events such as the Calgary Stampede, the Big Indoor Circuit, Madison Square Garden, the Cheyenne and El Paso Rodeos in Texas, to name just a few and Bob quickly made a name for himself as an All Round Cowboy and Bareback Riding Champion, respectfully.

To this day Bob has some very fond memories of his overseas travels. In fact, he says: “I was on top of the world until the fateful day I broke my leg riding bulls.” Never being one to miss an opportunity – even in the strangest places – Bob managed to turn a broken leg into his future path. “I was laid up with my broken bones, and I just happened to stay with my good friend Kenny Harper, who is a silversmith

and a very good one at that,” he says. “So I made the decision to learn every thing I could from him so that one day I could become a silversmith myself and perhaps even make a living from it.”

In November 1976, just after winning the All Round Cowboy and Bareback Championships at the CCA Finals, and on the mend from his fall, Bob returned home to Australia where he went into production making mechanical bucking bulls - one of which featured in the hit movie The Urban Cowboy.

“You can still find these amusement rides at your local traveling show, or maybe even at the local school fete,” Bob says. “They’ve been known to entertain folks for years and I’m sure they’ll continue for years to come.”

In the meantime, always looking to diversify, Bob and fellow Australian John Osborne became the first people to import Texas Longhorn Cattle into Australia, a breed which has since grown enormously in popularity. It was during this incredibly productive period that Bob turned his hand to making buckles, putting his new-found skills as a silversmith to good use back on his home soil. With Bob’s creative flair and his western trophy ideas, it wasn’t long before his buckle-making business was established, quickly growing into what is now his world-famous Bob Berg Designs.

I discovered these fabulous buckles for myself one day when Wayne Banney, a former Rodeo Champion Cowboy himself, showed me his Bob Berg Championship Trophy Buckle. It was

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A & B: Bob’s jewellery is also unique. B

beautiful, and Wayne carefully explained to me why the buckles are considered to be so special, and are so sought-after.

“A lot of the trophy buckles selling on today’s market are replicated versions of Bob’s designs,” Wayne told me. “But a genuine Bob Berg Buckle holds its own unmistakable character. Bob was actually the first person in the world to design buckles incorporating titanium metal. He’s unique in having the skills and the technology to instill colour into titanium in the fine details.”

In 1999 the PBR, (Professional Bull Riders) called for tenders asking the world’s top silversmiths to submit a design for a championship trophy cup. A field of seven top silversmiths applied and submitted their designs, with Bob’s design being chosen for the prestigious PBR Trophy Cup – valued at approximately $250,000.

“It’s by far the most famous trophy in the world today,” says Bob. “I was honoured

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C: A Bob Berg classic and a perennial favourite. D: An early buckle from 1984. E: 2019 and the buckles are even more popular than ever. F: Bob Berg – a classic cowboy. G: The mark of a true Bob Berg buckle.

Horseman Wayne Banney shows off his prized Bob Berg buckle.

to submit the chosen design.”

These days Bob is now based in Dalat, Vietnam, operating and working hands on in a well-organized state-of-the-art manufacturing warehouse, with an effective production system in place. Bob employs a team of 80 men and women. “I’ve spent the last three years training them to become buckle artists themselves,” he says. “I oversee all production, to make sure we keep the high quality for every single order we produce, and that every buckle is perfect before it makes its way to the world wide market.”

And world wide his market certainly is, particularly since the PBR and Bob reached a private agreement to on-sell the copyrights to the PBR exclusive design for a sum of $10,000 US, money which is designated to be put back into the sport. And as a tribute to his Australian heritage, Bob is currently offering a Trophy Sponsorship Package worth up to $250,000 Australia wide, available to all Australian rodeo and equine events. A long way from Finley, indeed.

For more information on Bob Berg Designs or the Sponsorship Package contact Kelly Condon, the Director of Australian Sales and Marketing on facebook: www.facebook.com/ BobBergBuckles.KellyCondon/ Or via email at:

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