Photo by CoCo Walters / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Russ Mooney works on the handmade mochila he has made for the winner of the sixth stage of the Tour of Missouri, at Bill’s Saddlery, the shop he shares with his father.

A St. Joseph man who is deeply involved in the world of horses and real-life cowboys has left his mark in the world of skinny men with bulbous leg muscles wearing tight shorts.

The worlds intertwined last year when saddle maker Russ Mooney was asked to build a replica Pony Express mochila as a prize to the winner of the first stage of the Tour of Missouri professional cycling race.

A couple of local cycling enthusiasts approached him with the idea, and as a cycling fan himself, Mr. Mooney agreed. He toiled for hours over the design and production of a mochila — a leather saddle bag — that would end up in the hands of the world’s fastest cycling sprinter, Mark Cavendish.

Mr. Mooney put the finishing touches on another replica mochila Thursday, to be awarded to the winner of the sixth stage of the race this year, which finishes at Civic Center Park this evening.

Englishman Mr. Cavendish, who has won 26 stages in major cycling events this year, was awarded the piece of St. Joseph history last year — a mochila built to fit a bicycle instead of a horse. Mr. Mooney didn’t hand it over personally, but he was given a photograph of Mr. Cavendish holding his work.

“My roper friends — they would look at that picture and think, ‘What’s with the guy in the shorts?’” Mr. Mooney said. “Most of the guys I run with are cowboys. Very few of them get on a bicycle. It’s all horsepower.”

The mochila has four rectangular pouches sewn into its sides. A circular patch displays the Tour of Missouri logo, with a Pony Express rider in the middle. It will likely never be used on a bicycle, especially during a race. But it’s a handcrafted piece of art from a shop that for 60-plus years has touted quality craftsmanship.

A ledger dating back to 1957 details the 700-plus custom saddles that have come out of the shop, Bill’s Saddlery, which had its first incarnation in Downtown St. Joseph before relocating to farmland north of County Line Road in Andrew County. Bill Mooney, Russ’ 87-year-old father, was in such demand at one time that anyone wanting a new saddle had a wait time of 30 months.

A saddle in for repairs Thursday had a number stamped under its back housing. Russ looked at the ledger, found the number and a date — 1966.

“It’s very rare they trade in for new,” said the elder Mooney of the longevity of their work, which can cost up to $2,000 per saddle. Bill, who is mostly retired, and his son, who also is winding down into retirement, are making saddles for the grandchildren of customers from the 1950s. One large farm family is on saddle number 24.

The tools in the shop date back to the turn of the century. Some of them belonged to Harry Sunderland, a saddle maker from the early 1900s who learned his trade from a former Pony Express saddle maker. Mr. Sunderland passed his tools and skills on to the Mooneys. The tools are stamped with an “H” or an “S,” followed by Russ’ “R.”

The hundreds of leatherworking tools and antique stitching machines that line the walls of the shop are the tools that have put Mr. Mooney’s work not only in the tack rooms of their ranching/farming customers, but in the Smithsonian and the New York Museum of Natural History, where Pony Express saddle replicas have a home.

If asked again next year, Russ will pull out a side of hide and fashion another souvenir of St. Joseph that will find a display in the home of a world-class athlete who rides a steed of an entirely different sort.

“I hope it comes back to St. Joseph next year,” Mr. Mooney said. “It’s a good thing for the state and the city.”

Jimmy Myers can be reached at jimmym@npgco.com

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Tour of Missouri events today

* Mike Steidley, the 2008 U.S. National Mountain Bike Trials champion, will perform his stunt show at 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. at Civic Center Park.

* The third and final stage of the Tour of St. Joseph Kid’s Bicycle Ride, for ages 5 through 14, will be at Civic Center Park, starting at noon.

* The second annual Adult Trike Races will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Civic Center Park.

* The Kids Zone, with a giant bounce house, face painting, balloon artist, caricatures artist, Police Department identi-kits, and the Fire Department fire safety house, will be open from 1:30 to 6 p.m.

* After 5 p.m., competitors in the Tour of Missouri will make their way into St. Joseph.

* Bleachers will be set near the finish line on Francis Street at Civic Center Park for prime viewing of the race finish.

* For those who would prefer a different view, the following areas are recommended: at the intersection of St. Joseph Avenue and the Parkway; the Lovers Lane bridge over the Parkway; the pedestrian bridge over the Parkway; 22nd Street bridge over the Parkway near Corby Pond; and 22nd and Frederick.