Bill Maloy was a quiet presence in Nevada's cowboy gear-making community for over fifty years, crafting exquisitely tooled saddles for those in the know.

Maloy was born in 1936 in Visalia, California, a center of vaquero-style saddle making and silver engraving, giving him a head start in his profession. He began making saddles while working at his parents' pack station, and later studied at the College of the Sequoias and Fresno State University, graduating with a degree in art. Maloy apprenticed with Bill Rogers and Stanley Diaz, saddle makers who had worked at the famous Visalia Stock Saddle Company. His solid background in the floral carving and intricately engraved silver decorations define the buckaroo style of horse gear.

Maloy moved to Reno in 1959 where he had a store downtown and later a shop on South Virginia Street. He retired to Carson City, but he kept his hand in the cowboy world through his membership in the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association, a juried organization of some of the finest gear makers in the country. Bill Maloy was honored with a Nevada Governor's Arts Award in 2006. Maloy passed away in March 2011.