Pickup trucks, horse trailers — even a car with the bumper sticker “Forget the Whales, Save the Cowboys” — crowded the parking lot at the Lawrence Holidome.

Inside, visitors convened Friday at the annual Lawrence Cowboy Winter Gathering to take a picture with a pony, visit the “cowpieologist” and admire the saddles, handbags, holsters and other wares of the leather craftsmen.

Bill Gomer, a saddle maker, said by the end of the convention he could have as many as five new students. Gomer, 64, has been making his own saddles and giving one-on-one saddle-making instruction for more than 40 years.

As Gomer cut freehand designs into a swatch of leather, a customer lingered at his booth, appreciating the fine details of the saddles. A convincing salesman, Gomer invited the man to climb onto a saddle.

“I’m really demanding,” Gomer said. “Nothing leaves my shop if it’s not top-shelf.”

He said he learned his craft from his father, who had a saddle shop in Tampa, Fla. Gomer made his first saddle at age 9. He opened his own shop in 1965, served as the Master Artist for the Kansas Arts Commission and Kansas State Historical Society and received the Al Stohlman Award for Achievement in Leather Craft in 1986.

He has made saddles for customers from Taiwan, Japan, Mexico and South Africa, as well as all over the United States. One man, who owned a leather business in Taiwan, paid him $6,000 for a custom saddle with leather carving.

“I asked him what he was going to do with his saddle and he said, ‘office decor,'” Gomer said with a laugh.

Despite his international recognition, he continues to teach in his humble shop at his home in Jarbalo, a small town north of Tonganoxie.

Bill Gomer, 64, of Jarbolo, has been making saddles since he was 9 years old. An award-winning craftsman who also teaches his craft, Gomer is showing off his talents this weekend during the Lawrence Cowboy Winter Gathering at the Lawrence Holidome.

“I’m not interested in being a millionaire,” Gomer said. “I just love working with leather. You can paint it, sculpt it, carve it and burn it.”

All of Gomer’s saddles are carved and stitched by hand.

His greatest achievement, he said, is passing his craft onto others. At his booth, Gomer has a album of photographs of the leather creations made by his more than 100 students.

Howell F. Wright met Gomer at the 2003 convention and began taking his class.

“He’s the Picasso of leather work,” Wright said. “And he hasn’t reached his full potential yet.”

After Wright’s first saddle was completed, he stayed with Gomer as an apprentice. Wright said he still had a lot to learn about the style and research that went into each saddle.

“You can’t graduate from a two- or three-month school and call yourself a saddle maker,” he said.

Photo gallery: Lawrence Cowboy Winter Gathering

Wright, who teaches a class on American cowboys at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, has opened his own leather shop in Leawood. He said he had enjoyed learning from Gomer, but it was time for him to branch out on his own.

“A lot of saddle makers want to keep their trade secrets,” Wright said. “But Bill is a teacher and a good teacher. He has never held anything back.”

Leo Souders said he had considered taking one of Gomer’s saddle making classes. Souders, a Lawrence Police officer, said he had an interest in working with leather and Gomer’s traditional style was attractive to him.

“His work stands above the others,” Souders said.

The cost of the basic saddle-making class is $4,000. Souders said he wasn’t sure he could afford it, though he was sure it would be worth it.

“Saddle makers are getting old enough and not passing their craft onto the next generation,” Souders said. “They’re a dying breed.”

Anyone interested in Gomer’s saddle making school can call (913) 727-1606.