First, we will have to "agree to disagree" about this. But, here is the reason/reasons I think the way I do: I spent 15 years in professional rodeo as a roper. That was in the 80's and 90's. The few bull riders I knew didn't live in any big city at all. I don't know where you grew up, but where my rodeo days were, there were plenty of rodeo cowboys who used both Cope and Skoal. There are plenty of farmers/ranchers that "chew" or "dip" and spit off of their tractor or horse. I worked part-time at a Livestock Auction in Oklahoma. Wife and I have been to local Livestock Auction (Centennial Livestock Auction in Ft. Collins, Colorado) numerous times. And, the western way of life definitely isn't wearing "big-city" type clothes. Just where do you think farmers and ranchers buy their clothes............at a farm/ranch supply and even at Cavender's Western Wear, Sheplers and other stores that sell farm/western wear. Just what do you think most rodeo events came from...........ranch work. And, I know a Cowboy Church Pastor who is an ex-steer wrestler with professional rodeo. Look up Coy Huffman on the net.
Well. Cody, one's opinions based on their experience isn't something we can disagree or agree on. What you experienced in the sport of modern-day rodeo and what is a fair generalization of ranch living are two different things. I don't claim that my experiences are a standard for making a sweeping generalization about ranch or farm life, but I did live a rural life until I was 40. I was born and grew up and spent most of my life until age 19 on a high-altitude western Colorado cattle and alfalfa ranch. One set of grandparents had a sizable spread down below. National forest on one side and the Ute reservation on another. Some summers I went to stay in Texas with other Grandparents, Great grandmother, and mainly Great Uncles and Aunts that had cattle spreads from the Hill Country and west toward the Rio Grande. One family spread was over 10,000 acres in mesquite country. That was my favorite place. One cousin had a section (640 acres and 1 mile on each side) of irrigated row crop farmland and hog farm in the panhandle where I spend time also. I have operated just about every piece of farm and construction equipment that was out before 1990. My Arizona family was part of the first USA rodeo ever. Some distant cousins still participate in rodeo although the large family ranch has been sold off and most are small acreage horse people now. I once showed cattle at state fairs for my dad and great uncles, Colorado and Texas. I was a certified livestock judge for a few years. After age 20 I lived in the mountains surrounded by forest service open range. I contracted every year for the roundup and also as a swather operator for the vast hay fields in the valley below. I have turned around many breech presentation calves, branded, castrated, and vaccinated 100's of several breeds of cattle. I have butchered cattle and cut up the meat, wrapped it, and put it in the freezer. Dehorn, hoof trimming, relieving bloat, etc. Milked goats, sheared sheep, raised chicken of all breeds, and helped in a one-acre garden. I never bought my clothes at a Western Store until I 40 and living in town next to a Ranch and Farm store. Generally, I made them or ordered them from Sears or bought them at a Sports store. After I left home and lived in the mountains, I made my clothes by repurposing thrift store bargains and hides I tanned myself. Growing up I had only two pairs of "cowboy" boots and all the rest were sneakers and hiking boots and tall rubber irrigation boots. I never had another pair of "western" boots until age 50 and I had pair custom-made with 2 1/2" heels. Very stereotypical cowgirlish, but worthless for work. Nice for wearing with a long skirt and two-stepping. So you say the western way of life isn't wearing big city clothes. Define big city clothes? I have never worn what you call women western clothes so I guess I don't know anything about the western way of life. If my long-sleeve heavyweight T-shirts didn't say Carhartt on them, they couldn't be distinguished from any other big city T. Small acreages horse hobby and potbelly pig people are the ones that buy clothes at the Ranch and Farm stores to give themselves the western look. Very few full-time working ranchers and farmers buy clothes that have a "western" styling to them. A hundred or so miles east of me in Pendleton, you will see more ranchers and farmers in ball caps than cowboy hats. The time of year that their western clothing stores make a killing is before ROUNDUP. After Roundup the second-hand stores are loaded with worn a few times western wear. Out of many, maybe a hundred, ranch and farm relatives and friends, I know of three that used chewing or dipping tobacco. I don't know of any that wear western wear as you define it, except at rodeo time. My Indian friends always wear their traditional dress for Roundup or Pow Wow, but other times usually casual sportswear. What I have written above is factual and perhaps not appropriate for this section were stretching the truth is encouraged. How many steers has Coy Huffman wrestled on a working ranch in order to make a living?
Ok, Faye, so now we know each others past experience, but...........how much of what you use to do, do you still have an interest in?? As I've already stated, even though I don't compete in roping anymore, we still go to a number of PRCA rodeos here along the Front Range and even up to Cheyenne. We've also been to the WNFR in Vegas a number of times. We go to that Livestock Auction in Ft. Collins. Part of the walls of our apartment are covered with rodeo pictures, Old West and old tv Western stars. We have a counter, between our kitchen and dining room that has toy corrals with bulls, cows/calves, horses and hogs in them. We also have an assortment of toy farming equipment. It's a nice display of farm/ranch stuff. There are some rodeo cowboys that aren't "working ranch cowboys", but some are. PRCA steer wrestlers can make a lot of money at rodeos, as Coy Hoffman did. Rodeo, farming and ranching has changed a whole lot in recent years. Wrangler was the only jean sponsor, but not Cinch is heavily involved. Rodeo and ranch cowboys wear Resistol hats. Many ranchers herd their cattle today with ATV's and even a helicopter. Inoculating and branding is still done the same old-fashioned way. Farm equipment today is way, way beyond what I used back in the late 60's. Bigger and very much electronic. There is now computer software for breeding horses/cattle as well as feeding. I use to have a subscription to Farm and Ranch magazine and Western Horseman. Both showed what goes on in the farming/ranching community of today. I still have a number of old Farm and Ranch magazines. I see a lot of Resistol hats, Wrangler jeans, Wrangler shirts and Roper boots. Working apparel on the ranch or in a rodeo arena. So, from being in professional rodeo, to still going rodeos, to going to a livestock auction...........I just wonder if you do or anyone does in this forum do??? Beth told me "I wouldn't be caught at a livestock auction". And, sometimes I really wonder about Bobby's thoughts. He was quite wrong about cowboys wearing their hats at Cowboy Church. They do it and Ken verified that. Ask the guy from Texas (Dennis), in this forum, how right I am.
Sounds like the real McCoy to me @Faye Fox and not something by brands such as Wrangler, Resistol, and many other brands who bombast many events but especially buy ads to influence their idea of western culture and what should be worn by men and women in that environment. Marketing people create a culture and can sell anything to most anyone not really in the know. Many buy the sales pitch but thats what marketing does and they wouldn't stay in business if it didn't work. Many buy into that idea but that doesn't mean they are not good at what they do or did. We live in a country greatly influenced by marketers and they target environments such as the rodeo circuit because thats where they can experience the most good. That's just good business.
Well, I will totally disagree with you about Western wear. Our store, a block away, Jax Outdoor Farm/Ranch Supplies sells all kind of western wear and I've seen folks walking in their with boots, Wrangler jeans and some in Felt or Straw cowboy hats on. Just go to a Ranch Rodeo and look at all of Wrangler jeans and Roper brand boots!
My wife has told me not to continue to argue here and try and convince. She knows that we both know what we are talking about and have several photos to prove it, as well as current magazines that show it. We have the Cowboy Channel that shows "live" rodeos of what we are talking about as well. Wrangler jeans, Cinch jeans and shirts and Roper brand boots are definitely worn. Watching a "live" rodeo right now from North Dakota. People have to know, and understand, that we are still "Western" and go to a number of Western things. Obviously we don't participate, but are huge fans of whatever we are watching, from Reining to Cutting to professional rodeo to looking at new farm/ranch equipment at a local or state fair. We aren't into ranching, but have watched numerous documentaries about farming and ranching with real families.
Oh dear Cody hahaha! I have no reason to go to a livestock auction. I am not selling or buying and the smell of cow poo isn't my idea of a fun morning. I enjoyed it as a kid because it was a day away from ranch work. Now, I am with Beth and wouldn't be caught at a livestock auction. I have several old photos of my family on their ranches and at rodeos plus some of my own, but not one is framed and hanging in my house. I lived the life for 40 years and while I have many good memories, I don't care to look at my 1965 fat prize-winning steer photo before tuck myself in for the night. I don't need a mechanical toy rooster to crow every morning as I get up before any chickens do. I don't need plastic Chinese-made farm animals set up in a mock ranch to give me the ranch feel. I don't subscribe to any magazines or drool thumbing through a Cavender's catalog with overpriced slave labor-made "western" wear. I do live on the outskirts of town and walk through a path in a hayfield every day and see cattle in the distance, but alas my Lole sports jacket, Sketcher walking shoes, and AE mom jeans don't scream "cowgirl." What are you right about that I need to ask Tex Dennis about?
Not arguing here Cody, just trying to understand what you base some of your outlandish statements on. This thread is about tobacco and my Texas ranch relatives that were chewers. You inferred that tobacco chewing is one of the western ways of life. I disagreed since only a few of my ranch family chewed. I knew more guys on construction jobs that chewed than ranch hands. I speak of my real-life experiences which you discard over a magazine article or your experiences at a cattle auction or Los Angeles rodeo or what you see on TV.
Well, Faye, we simply choose not to "give up" on Western stuff. You chose to. We love our hanging pictures and farm/ranch display, just like a world champion rodeo cowboy/cowgirl would love their trophy buckle and trophy saddle room. Many of them keep the room, even after they retire from competition. We don't buy or sell livestock, but simply like to go and watch. We see absolutely nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, if wind direction is right, we will get the "cattle grazing" smell right here by our apartment. We love it. IOW, Faye, we still like/love the "feel" of Western and, by the way you talk, you don't care for it anymore. And, that is totally fine, but don't criticize those that do. Our display is not a "toy" to us, it's a display and we are proud of it. I mentioned Dennis, because, even at his age, he is like us, to a point. He won't give up on Western stuff and I'll be he knows plenty of dudes that do Team Sorting and/or Team Penning and either "dip" or "chew". He has a horse and rides, whereas, we have a boat and hit local lake.
We have a school bus driver. Jeans cowboy boots, big ass belt buckle, cowboy hat, shearling vest, the whole shebang minus spurs and, chaps. I figure he's from Western New York!
Well Cody I don't choose to give up on western "stuff" because I was never into what clothes manufacturers and profiteers from glamourizing the western lifestyle told me were western or cowboy or girl approved. I don't fall for the mass-produced clothes fashioned for profit. After 40 years of daily living the lifestyle, I find it a waste of time to do unproductive things like going to a cattle auction dressed in the latest Chinese-made western fashion with a lip full of snus just to say look at me I am a real cowgirl now. I gave up about 3 years ago on the county fair as it was all about the carnival and little about real rural life. Last Christmas at my bestie's, her daughter in law a vet, had a call to deliver a breech. She asked if anyone cared to join her. I did and she was surprised I had turned around over 100 breaches in my day. I chatted with the rancher while she worked and when we left I had an invitation to join him when they do their spring range riding and chuckwagon cookout. No one had tobacco in their mouth or was wearing "western clothes" unless you consider Carhartts western wear. Carhartt is the number one selling garment in our local hardware and also ranch store. I can't ride anymore or camp out, so I had to decline. Too many medical problems to live the ranch life anymore. The western lifestyle you speak of is foreign to me except the cattle auctions which I do choose to avoid.
This morning I am pondering writing a real western documentary called "Forty years a Cowgirl." All about the rise and then fall from the western lifestyle of a now gray-haired lady dressed in sportswear living in a ranch-style house on the edge of a town. Foreword Faye sips strong black cowboy-style coffee from her genuine USA-made mug she purchased in person from the world-famous cowboy steakhouse in the home of the world-famous roundup, Pendleton, Oregon. It weighs over twice what mass-produced slave labor made mugs weigh and its thickness holds the warmth twice as long. Its flat bottom with a large open handle makes spills a less likely occurrence and easy to set on a fence post top while listening to the morning owl whose voice gets more distant as the new housing development expands and ranchland shrinks. Faye remembers her last trip east to Pendleton. It was a girl road trip, a bunch of old has been farm and ranch women dressed in casual urban attire out for a day trip and antiquing in Pendelton. The trip was both disappointing and rewarding. It was great to see the old bootmaker still in business and that his memory was still sharp and he remembered the last pair of lace-up logging boots he had made for Faye in the late 1970s. He couldn't wait to share the story with Fayes friends about how he knew Faye was slipping from her genuine roots when she brought in a pair of 2 1/2" heel Brazilian-made "cowgirl" boots with colorful uppers about 1995 for reheeling. The old maker closed his shop midday and grabbed a banjo and invited Faye and friends over to the Great Pacific Wine Coffee and Pizza shop to hear the improvisational jam session that was always country classics. After several amazing unrehearsed performances with 13 musicians playing all kinds of instruments, the bootmaker called Faye up to the stage to join in and play guitar. The Great Speckled Bird was started by the fiddle player and an old lady in her early 90's started singing and her voice was amazing. Faye threw in her acoustical guitar stylings which were well received but more blues than down-home twangy country. Faye's descent from western grace was slowed when she was handed a Fender Telecaster electric and one old guy wearing sandals and beat-up blood and poo-stained mangled hat-making Festis old hat on Gunsmoke look like new asked Faye to play a little Merle Haggard. Doo dat doo dat da da went the old Telecaster and then a gruff old voice sang about getting out of prison and something about a black mark following him around. Back on the road as the carload of old ladies, former cowgirls, and one genuine full-blood Sioux headed west, they all realized they were no longer living the western lifestyle. The craft beer made by a guy wearing sandals, with a long ponytail, wearing jeans hanging down below his boxers with chains around the waist had taken its toll on the female advanced year's bladder. Pulling off the freeway to assume the position necessary for relief by the car door, didn't help to get back that old western lifestyle. Had Faye been able to get through the multistrand barbwire fence and hike down to the ravine and pee while the buzzards dined on an old bloated cow carcass, then no doubt her western lifestyle would have been restored.
I must apologize and confess the western way of life is slipping away from me. The Doo dat doo dat da da was the intro to "Mama Tried". It came after a brief arpeggio.
Ain't none of these local ranch folks in this video that dresses meeting the Sheplers and Cavenders standards for cowboy and girl fashion.