Clay Christensen

Clay Christensen

Artist; Occupational

Profile of artist Clay Christensen

1959

As a boy Clay Christensen was fascinated by the leather gear and silver bits his father used to train horses. Active in FFA, high school rodeo and team roping, he experimented with leather braiding and, like his dad, made gear for his own use. A magazine article on finely crafted hair work inspired him to spend several years teaching himself to hitch horse hair. He continued to learn even more from pieces in museum collections and by the mid-80s was showing his work in gear shows and selling it to collectors from around the country.

Since then Clay has taught classes, written a book about hitching and is today Utah's most well-known horsehair hitcher. His mastery of this painstaking art form and his distinctive style are appreciated by an ever-growing audience of horse owners.