Artist Biography

Mark Stewart was born in Banff, Alberta, Canada. From the earliest age, Mark was involved with horses, riding, training, and rodeo. His interest in making spurs developed from his own desire to have a set of horse rasp spurs but he could not find an artist to meet this need locally. Necessity being the mother of all invention then led Mark to construct his first pair of spurs from a set of rasps and thus a hobby was spawned. Fed by positive comments from friends and customers, Mark further developed his skills in bit and spur making. After a relocating to the state of Texas in 2003, Stewart Bits and Spurs was formed in 2004 to serve the growing demand of custom made gear that was present. With the help of other artists and engravers, Mark transitioned from rasp to using only high quality steel and precious metals for each piece. Mark brings a lifetime of knowledge and experience to each design to make them not only esthetically pleasing but functionally and ergonomically correct for horse and rider.

In 2007, Mark was honored to be invited to submit a piece of his work to the prestigious Trappings of Texas show in Alpine, Texas which is held in February each year. Mark continues to develop and hone his skills as an artist and sees himself as a lifelong student who strives to make each piece better than the last one. Today Mark works from his home in Lipan, Texas which he shares with his wife Holly who is a constant source of help and inspiration.