The Grijalva Story

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Eduardo Grijalva, Sr. began repairing bits and making conchos for nearly ten years while living in the village of El Coyotillo, Mexico . In 1944, he moved to the town of Magdalena where he began to build bits and spurs for local vaqueros. Those early bits were made on traditional patterns favored by the 
Mexican Vaqueros. Not having sheet silver to use for inlaid designs, he repurposed cast off eating utensils to acquire the necessary silver.  In 1949 Eduardo met a  California Vaquero by the name of Arnold Rojas.  During his lifetime Rojas became not only an authority on California Vaquero history, he was also an authority on the history, design and functionality of bits used by the horsemen of Spain and California.   After meeting Rojas, Eduardo began building bits and spurs using designs and techniques favored by Arnold.

    Among his customers in the 1950’s was legendary California horseman, Dick Deller.  Like Rojas, Dick was also an expert of the California bit’s design and how various mouthpieces and cheek styles functioned according to the conformation of the horse that wore them.  Dick visited the New Mikey Mouse Store in Nogales in the 50’s where he would find and purchas Eduardo’s bits.’Eduardo’s bits gained further recognition when they were advertised in Ed Connell’s Carroll Saddle Company catalogs. Issued from the 1960’s to 1980, these catalogs became the equivalent of a cowboy wish book at many ranches. The undisputed star attraction of the catalogs were the Grijalva bits and spurs. Many a cowboy saved up his wages until he could order an EG bit. During this period the EG bits retailed for about $65, quite a bit a money for a cowboy working for around $400 a month. Word soon spread that not only were they good to look at, these were bits that were also good to use. Horses seemed to like them as much as their riders.

   As time went on Eduardo taught his skills to his sons, Eduardo Grijalva, Jr. and Juan Adolfo Grijalva.  Working alongside their father they learned his techniques for building bits and spurs.   Through their dedication to building bits the tried and true way without succumbing to modern shortcuts, the Grijalvas made a name for themselves as master bit and spur makers.  The bits and spurs they produced in the modest workshop in Magdalena were highly sought after by noted horsemen.   After Eduardo Sr. passed away in 1994, his son Juan continued to build bits and spurs in his father’s shop until his death on February 11, 2019.  Eduardo Jr. died long before Juan.  Intially Eduardo Sr. stamped his bit with a simple star, later on Eduardo, Sr., Eduardo Jr. and Juan all used the same distinctive EG * stamp.  A stamp that unscrupulous individuals have attempted to duplicate to create EG knockoffs. Although Eduardo and his sons did not advertise their work, the demand forGrijalva bit and spurs far surpassed the supply.

    The bits produced by Eduardo Sr., Eduardo Jr., Juan and Ricardo are all made using simple hand tools.  Engraving done by hammer and chisel, the mouthpieces (even the spades) made from a single piece of iron, the cheeks cut by chisel out of a sheet of iron, the silver rolled out from an ingot, even the charcoal used in the forge for blueing was made not purchased.

    The third generation of Grijalva bit makers is represented by Juan’s nephew, Eduardo’s grandson, Ricardo Valencia-Grijalva. Ricardo began working with his grandfather Eduardo when he was 13 years old.  Each day after school he would go to the shop to learn the family business from his Grandfather and his Uncle Juan.   Following his grandfather’s death, Ricardo continued to work along side his uncle Juan for another ten years. In 2004, Ricardo left the shop built by his grandfather and began working on his own. Today, Ricardo has gained recognition as a master in his own right. The waiting list for Ricardo’s bits and spurs is approximately 4 years. Ricardo marks his bits and spurs with the L5* mark. The star in the mark plays homage to Eduardo Sr., the L5 to the livestock brand used by his paternal grandfather.  Learning the trade are Ricardo’s two sons and his daughter who help him in the shop much as he did with his grandfather.

Please note other indiividuals have used this story written by Shirl Woodson without permisson - no part of this story may be reproduced without written permission.