Buckling or tying a western cinch...

I tie mine. And if you watch any of the horsemen around here, they do the same. It's security. The buckles don't seem safe to me either. One girl at State last year was coming off her barrel run, the buckle came undone, and the saddle slipped off when she pulled up and landed her right underneath her horse's back legs.

CowChick, that is one cool "knot." I think I'm going to have to try that and freak out a bunch of people! :) I have never seen that before.

Chick, that looks interesting, but I do have a question. How in the world do you get the cinch tight enough for roping and still have enough leeway to mess around with the excess and get it positioned correctly?

When I first cinch up I don't do it too tight so I can get my latigo under my dees. Then once I have made my knot I can tighten everything. The knot will hold its position even if its a little loose. I hope that makes sense...

I keep calling it a knot, but I guess technically it wouldn't be. It is basically just the latigo folded over itself.
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I don't think that would work with my saddle. My latigo straps are really thick. I don't think it would fold over and lay that flat. Maybe that's why when I tie it, the knot seems bulky.
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I buckle most of the time. My favorite daily driver saddle isn't exactly conducive to tying either. Here's a pic of it cinched loose on the rack to see (it desperately needs a good cleaning), it's a reiner, set up to really mold around your horse so there is no drag when your fender goes forward in a hard stop. Almost a western version of a close contact, I love the freedom of movement the rigging set up gives.