Rocking Horse Ranch, Phoenix: History, Smiths & the Stamp

Rocking Horse Ranch was a silver jewelry shop in Phoenix, "Owned and operated by Lonnie and Kevin Randall" (Hougart 2022, p. 367). Navajo smiths worked there in the 1980s, and its mark is "A rocking horse" (Hougart 2022, p. 367). The rocking horse is a seller's mark. A piece "may be stamped for" the shop (Hougart 2022, p. 269), so the smith who made it is named, if at all, by a second mark.

The shop

Bille Hougart's entry is short: "Rocking Horse Ranch (Shop). Phoenix, AZ. Owned and operated by Lonnie and Kevin Randall. Silversmiths who worked for Rocking Horse Ranch include Fidel Bahe, Thomas Curtis, Wilson Jim, Curtis Pete and Patrick Taylor. Mark: A rocking horse" (Hougart 2022, p. 367). His example of the mark is on a piece by Wilson Jim.

The entry gives no opening or closing date. The smiths' own entries place their work there in the 1980s (Hougart 2022, pp. 99, 269), and Hougart's 2020 book puts Thomas Curtis there "in the mid-1980s" (Hougart 2020, p. 25). One dealer's listing says the shop "was open until the 1970's" (Sun Country Traders, accessed 2026-09-28). That conflicts with the book dates, and we don't choose an end date. Another dealer gives the owner's first name as "Lani" (Hoel's Indian Shop, accessed 2026-09-28). We use Hougart's "Lonnie".

People

Hougart names these Navajo smiths in connection with the shop:

  • Thomas Curtis "Worked for Tommy Singer in the early 1970s where he made chip inlay jewelry. Worked at Rocking Horse Ranch in 1980s." (Hougart 2022, p. 99; "mid-1980s", Hougart 2020, p. 25).
  • Russ Rockbridge "Worked at Rocking Horse Ranch in 1980s. Multiple award winner. May be stamped for the Rocking Horse Ranch. Marks: RR (used at Rocking Horse Ranch); R. ROCKBRIDGE" (Hougart 2022, p. 269).
  • Wilson Jim: "Marks: W. J.; W. JIM (sometimes with the Rocking Horse Ranch stamp)" (Hougart 2022, p. 156).
  • Thomas Jim, Wilson's brother (Hougart 2022, p. 156). Nancy N. Schiffer's Turquoise Jewelry pictures a "Bolo tie and tips of stamped silver and turquoise, made by Thomas Jim of Rocking Horse Ranch, Phoenix, Arizona" (Schiffer 2008, p. 58).
  • Patrick Taylor: his work "May be stamped for the Rocking Horse Ranch. Marks: PT; P L TAYLOR; P L Taylor (script); a cowboy boot" (Hougart 2022, p. 306).
  • Curtis Pete, a "Former worker at Rocking Horse Ranch. Marks: C P; C. Pete (since about 2005)" (Hougart 2022, p. 244).
  • Jerry Begay "Worked at Rocking Horse" (Hougart 2022, p. 50).
  • Edison Sandy Smith: his work "May be marked for Rocking Horse Ranch" (Hougart 2022, p. 293).
  • Fidel Bahe is on Hougart's roster (Hougart 2022, p. 367). Our sources have no separate entry for him.

Marks and what to look for

  • The shop's mark is a rocking horse. Hougart gives it as "A rocking horse" (Hougart 2022, p. 367). It names the shop, not the smith. On its own, it doesn't show which smith made a piece.
  • RR is not the shop's mark. "RR" is Russ Rockbridge's own mark, "used at Rocking Horse Ranch" (Hougart 2022, p. 269). RR on a piece points to Rockbridge. The rocking horse points to the shop.
  • Read the second mark. Wilson Jim's W. JIM appears "sometimes with the Rocking Horse Ranch stamp" (Hougart 2022, p. 156). Patrick Taylor's and Edison Sandy Smith's work may be stamped for the shop (Hougart 2022, pp. 293, 306). Where a personal mark sits beside the rocking horse, that mark names the maker.
  • Not every rocking horse is this shop. Ambrose Roanhorse used a mark in the 1950s, "AR (used in 1950s; formed into a rocking horse shape)", and Hougart gives it under a warning: "Beware of fake hallmarks." (Hougart 2022, p. 267). That is a personal mark, decades earlier, and our sources don't tie it to Rocking Horse Ranch. Read every mark on a piece before calling a rocking horse either one.

Legacy

Hougart's entry and the smiths' own records are the shop's history: a Phoenix bench where Navajo smiths worked in the 1980s under a shop stamp (Hougart 2022, pp. 99, 269, 367). Our sources don't record where in Phoenix the shop stood, how its smiths were paid, or when it closed. For the wider story of the region's posts and shops, see our history of trading posts.

Sources

  1. Hougart, Bille. 100 Collectible Native American Silversmiths and Their Hallmarks. 2020. p. 25.
  2. Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks. 5th ed., 2022. pp. 50, 99, 156, 244, 267, 269, 293, 306, 367.
  3. Schiffer, Nancy N. Turquoise Jewelry. Rev. 4th ed., 2008. p. 58.
  4. Hoel's Indian Shop. Rocking Horse Ranch pin listing. hoelsindianshop.com, accessed 2026-09-28. (Owner's first name as the dealer gives it.)
  5. Sun Country Traders. Rocking Horse Ranch earrings listing. suncountrysantafe.com, accessed 2026-09-28. (The dealer's closing date.)

Part of our Southwest Jewelry Business Directory.