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The Cowboy
Western Heritage Awards
National Rodeo Hall of Fame
Prix de West
Small Works, Great Wonders
TCAA
Annie Oakley Society
Troy Flaharty
Bit & Spur Maker

Troy Flaharty

Member

About the Artist

Artwork
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Artwork by Troy Flaharty

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Basketweave and Scrollwork Bit

Artwork No. 26

$14,600

Flaharty created this bit from a basketweave mosaic pattern billet of Damascus he forged in his shop. The scrollwork is all hand drawn sterling silver with 14K gold flower buds. The cheek pattern is one Flaharty designed in Ernie Marsh’s shop during his TCAA Fellowship, while the mouthpiece is a style that Marsh designed and taught Flaharty how to construct — meaning this bit is Flaharty’s way of saying thank you to Marsh for his gracious mentorship.

Basketweave and Scrollwork Bit

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Buckle

Artwork No. 27

$6,250

Flaharty crafted this steel buckle — made to fit a 1 1/2-inch belt — with a Joe De Yong bucking horse sketch engraved in a bulino style, complemented by a gun engraving style relief background. This is all framed within a fine silver stripe inlaid border. Creating this buckle was a challenge Flaharty enjoyed, and he loves the finished piece.

Additional Images

Buckle
Buckle

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Damascus Steel Slingshot

Artwork No. 28

$3,850

As a boy, when Flaharty visited his grandparents, his grandpa always had a slingshot lying around. Flaharty estimates he and his brother shot a million rocks out of it. In honor of that boyhood memory, he forged this steel slingshot from a 900-layer billet of Damascus he made in his shop. The handle is made from a piece of ancient woolly mammoth ivory fastened with copper and brass pins that Flaharty crafted. The rawhide knots and thong were produced by Jay Adcock, while the leather pouch with the TCAA logo was made by Troy West. As Flaharty says, every young cowboy needs an ivory handled slingshot.

Additional Images

Damascus Steel Slingshot
Damascus Steel Slingshot

Troy Flaharty

Hico, Texas

Troy Flaharty was raised in a family of Western performance horse trainers. In high school, he roped calves and rodeoed, leading to a rodeo scholarship to Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas. While attending college, he was introduced to bit and spur making at a two-day bit-making workshop. After college, he rodeoed, cowboyed, ranched and trained horses, all the while making usable bits and spurs for cowboys, ropers, barrel racers and horsemen. In 2010, Flaharty was exposed to the artistic aspects of bit and spur making while attending a TCAA workshop at the National Cowboy Museum. He entered the TCAA Emerging Artists Competition in 2015, and the following year received a TCAA fellowship. Flaharty became a TCAA member in 2023. He resides in Hico, Texas, with his daughter, Rio Belle.