Optional Section · Specialized Training Pursuits

A Full Assessment Set for Each Specialized Pursuit

A performance-driven way to measure readiness, mindset, capability, mastery, market, and progress — for a hands-on trade, an interior journey of wonder and vocation, or the classical arts of knowing and thinking. One replicable pattern, many pursuits.

Van Dyke Saddlery

Custom Western Saddle-Making & Leathercraft

Sheridan, Wyomingwww.vandykesaddlery.com

Van Dyke Saddlery builds custom Western saddles by hand in Sheridan, Wyoming, and teaches the trade through the Sheridan School of Saddlery. Saddle-making is a demanding leathercraft: rawhide-covered trees, hand-cut ground seats, rigging, stamping, and hidden structural work that must last decades. It is the perfect model for a "specialized training pursuit" — a craft you can learn, prove, and turn into a living. The six assessments below let a prospective or current maker measure where they truly stand, deepen over time, and be replicated for any other hands-on trade.

Modeled on: Van Dyke Saddlery & the Sheridan School of Saddlery (Paul Van Dyke).

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Turn a pursuit into a documented path

Pair these assessments with your ROI Calculator and Life Plan to weigh a specialized pursuit against the traditional degree — on evidence, not belief.