Fall 2014
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Contents 14
ON THE COVER:
CHAMPION MOMENTS INTHIS ISSUE
8 Rodeo Fashion
See what is on our Famous List and Not-So-Famous List
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF April Bach Patterson
Find out what Richmond Champion has been doing since The American
WRITERS/REPORTERS Susan Kanode, Mary McCashin Tori Morris, Lori O’Harver Kim Zierlein
20Cody Stampede
Plan your next Rodeo Road Trip or Family Vacation to Cody
30Prairie Gal
Excerpts from “Prairie Gal” a biography written by Atheline Lamm
IN EVERY ISSUE 10 BRN News 12 Bull Session
The Show raises money for the PRCA's Cowboy Capital Rodeo
22 Rodeo Famous Rigs
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Dakota Eldridge
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APRIL PATTERSON
Rodeo Fame Team
14 Cover Story
Moments are but minutes that disappear just as fast as they appear. Live in the precious moments that have been given to you today.
LAYOUT & DESIGN Chantel Miller
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ADVERTISING morgan@rodeofame.com april@rodeofame.com ADVISORY BOARD Judy Nelson COVER PHOTO Matt Cohen RODEO FAME PO BOX 95 • Azle, TX. 76098
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Fashion |
FALL TRENDS
Fashion TRENDS QUESTION: What’s one fall item that you’re excited about wearing and one trend in Western fashion that you wish would go away?
I'm so excited about my open toe booties... CHRISTI SMITH
Wife of Two-Time World Champion Heeler Patrick Smith "I'm so excited about my open-toe booties – they’re so versatile. I've already worn them several ways. They’re comfortable and have a heel but are still easy to wear with the kids. Love them and can't wait to get more colors!" "And I'm ready for the cropped top with high-waisted skirt or pants to go. I went into a few stores in Salt Lake City and they had so many cropped shirts. I really was surprised. There aren’t many people that can or should try this look. Although it does look cute on the few that pull it off, I'm not gonna be trying it!"
BOBBI TRYAN
KATE MOTE
Wife of Four-Time World Champion Bareback Rider Bobby Mote
Scarfs are fun and it's finally getting cool enough to wear them.
Wife of Two-Time World Champion Header Clay Tryan "Boots and booties! There are so many different styles of boots and booties to wear. They’re usually a great investment and also comfortable and chic." "And there isn't one particular trend in rodeo fashion that I want to see go away, other than wearing all the trends at once on one outfit. I say pick one trendy item and let it be the focal point of your outfit – unless you’re a master trend mixer. Some people do get it right!"
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I heard that lace-up boots were coming back in style. Yuck, I hope they stay away. I wore all the colors back in junior high, and I’m not sure I could do it again.
Inside Scoop |
BRONC RIDING NATION
Bronc Riding Nation
NEWS!
and tagged in the back of the head at about 3 seconds. I got up dizzy thinking how awesome that was and knowing I had to do it again.” An Etbauer school and the DeMoss brothers as mentors and traveling partners later, the historic win at Cheyenne came, but long before his focus could grow as keen as his desire … Aldridge answered the call of the Almighty to study for the ministry through Ozark Christian College. “I try to honor God in everything I do, I trusted his call. I trusted him when he told me that he’d take care of bronc riding. Ozark Christian College doesn’t have a rodeo team, but that’s where I met AshLee, my wife. And true to promise? I have a degree in Christian Ministry and God is taking care of the bronc riding,” said Aldridge.
Photo by Don Paulsen Photo www.facebook.com/donpaulsen
Missouri's Doug Aldridge and the Big Mare from Texas, Frontier Rodeo's magnificent 'Medicine Woman' make history at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
DOUG ALDRIDGE & MEDICINE WOMAN On Sunday, August 27, 2014, in front of 13,000 roaring fans at the rodeo songs are written about to this day, Doug Aldridge and Frontier Rodeo’s great Medicine Woman hooked it up to be 87 points and win the fabled short go at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
It’s 800 miles from Doug Aldridge’s front door in Carthage, Missouri to the platform at Cheyenne, but the trip took several years and crossed some boundaries no other Missouri bronc rider can say he’s ever crossed. Like every wild soul who lives to ride the rank ones, it was a journey Aldridge dreamed of since he fell in love
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with bronc riding eight years ago. It’s also a journey he didn’t make in any way alone. Bronc riding cultural roots run deep in the veins of the Moomaw family … as far back as when bucking horses were driven in herds from rodeo town to town. It was Dale Moomaw who loaned his young friend an ancient saddle and encouraged him to enter up during his senior year in high school at a junior rodeo back in southwest Missouri. “It had a broken tree and baling twine for quarter binds,” Aldridge recalls. “I crawled down in there and nodded to be hung up
The dust had barely settled on the hallowed grounds of Cheyenne when a sweet, new voice spoke to Doug and AshLee Aldridge. Baby WyLee joined her 2 year old sister, OakLee, in her daddy’s cheering section on August 12. Many years from now, an old man with the remnants of flint in his eyes will start a story to his grand and great grandchildren that will start like this “Back in the summer of ‘14 … “ If those of us who are dedicated to preserving the legacy and heritage of bronc riding have been at all successful, a few of those young one’s will be wearing stacked heeled boots with smooth leather soles and the flint in their own eyes will gleam back.
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Cole Elshere aboard J Bar J's hot commodity 'Sweatin Bullets' winning the 2014 Home On The Range Champions Match championship.
SENTINEL BUTTE HOME ON THE RANGE SENTINEL BUTTE, North Dakota - Like everything we take for granted in this big world, Home On The Range started with one man’s dream of a place in the country where broken youngsters could safely work a ranch, heal and learn to love themselves again. With the help of people who believed in his vision back in 1950 and through today, thousands of kids have found themselves righted and living happy, productive lives when they once thought their futures only held darkness. In 1956, bronc riding brothers Jim and Tom Tescher brought their brand of support to Home On The Range by volunteering to produce the first Champion’s Ride, an all-star lineup of top hand cowboys matched with the rankest horses in the northern states … all proceeds going to the program. Today, Brad Gjermundson is instrumental in this time honored tradition that fits the program so well.
Every belt handcrafted, one at a time, to your specifications.
the arena floor while the who’s who of bronc riders mixed it up with J Bar J, Outlaw Buckers and Prime Time Rodeo’s best. Cole Elshere triumphed in the end aboard one of the hottest horses of the season, ‘Sweatin’ Bullets’ who came fresh off of the great out in Cheyenne that put Chad Ferley in the winner’s circle for the second consecutive time. Watch for Cole’s acting debut in a documentary project that’s in the works about the life of South Dakota bronc riding legend, Casey Tibbs.
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Over 1,100 people soaked up the sun and excitement generated from Continued on page 22.
www.bigskybelts.com
Bull Session |
FUNDRAISER
YOUR COMMUNITY
bull session
ersation in BULL SESSION: an informal conv out something which a group of people talk ab
Cowboys and Cowgirls raise money for PRCA Cowboy Capital Rodeo and local organizations! On September 23, Erath County residents flocked to The Show, a dinner and fashion fundraising event held at The N at Hardway Ranch. The Show showcased the cowboy couture of Erath County while supporting the sport of rodeo and the local community. Over a dozen local boutiques including Barbed Wire & Lace, Willa West Boutique, Crazy Daisy, and Saddle Rags donated their clothes and the time to make the show go off without a hitch. In addition to the fashion show, there was a raffle and a live auction featuring leatherwork, tack, jewelry, boots, and spa packages. Proceeds from The Show benefited Backpack Buddies, the Tarleton State University Rodeo Team, and money was also added back into the PRCA Cowboy Capital Rodeo. Continued on page 28.
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Photos by Rodeo Fame
A
Rich
MOMENT With a Name like Champion, He has to be Good Life is made up of moments. For rodeo cowboys, there is the moment you know rodeo is what you want to do with your life, the moment you do something extremely embarrassing in front of a LOT of people, the moment you think you’ve got what it takes to pursue your dream, and – if you’re lucky – the moment when you stand in the spotlight as that day’s champion. Those glamorous moments pass far more quickly than we’d like and then it’s back to the seemingly monotonous stream of everyday moments. However, it’s the mundane and seemingly nonnoteworthy moments that shape our lives. Richmond Champion is a 21-year-old bareback bronc rider that has already learned a great deal about enjoying and using everyday moments to create those all too few moments in the spotlight. Richmond’s parents, Greg and Lori Champion, worked in the hotel industry, which meant that Richmond and his older brother, Douglas, grew up moving from state to state. Born in Orange County, California, Richmond
spent most of his early childhood in Alaska where he and Douglas fished and skied for fun. The Champions moved to Texas when Richmond was 8. Within the Lone Star state, it was only a matter of time until Richmond would be introduced to rodeo. “I started riding horses since we couldn’t fish or ski every day anymore,” he says. “I went to riding camps; anything to get on one.” Champion considered roping, but eventually wound up riding bulls. Meanwhile, Douglas had started riding bareback horses and was constantly trying to get Richmond on a bronc. Set on riding bulls, at first Richmond steadily refused to have anything to do with bucking horses. “I really liked riding bulls, but I finally got tired of eating dirt and let him talk me into getting on one,” says Champion. The rest is history. He started riding bareback horses his senior year of high school and four short years later, he’s already been crowned the champion bareback rider at The
The American was life changing. It made me really start looking at rodeo as a career. Photos by Matt Cohen
RICHMOND CHAMPION
ALLEN BACH 4X World Champion Team Roper
JOEL BACH PRCA Team Roper
TYLER BACH PRCA Team Roper
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Cover Story |
RICHMOND CHAMPION
Photos by Matt Cohen
American and is currently ranked 5th in the PRCA World Standings. This puts him on target to make his rookie appearance at this year’s WNFR – no small feat for a seasoned veteran, much less a relative newcomer to bareback riding. After competing in The American this past March, Richmond went from being one of many promising young bronc riders to an overnight star. The American format allowed up-and-comers to pit themselves against the world’s best cowboys in their respective events. Out-riding the top 10 bareback riders in the world meant a $1,000,000 payday for Champion. “The American was life changing,” he says. “It made me really start looking at rodeo as a career.”
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He also says he can’t believe the impact the inaugural American has had on ProRodeo as a whole. When he was recognized randomly by a waitress, Richmond said he started realizing the scope of just how far-reaching the televised American has been. “She had watched it,” he said. “Friends from high school that don’t follow rodeo knew about it. It’s amazing what The American did for rodeo and how it got it out there.” The opportunities The American has opened up for Champion are “still changing things,” he notes. With his talent level and love for what he does, Champion will be experiencing many more of those moments in the spotlight. We asked him about some other moments, as well.
It’s amazing what The American did for rodeo and how it got it out there. RICHMOND CHAMPION
Continued on page 18.
Cover Story |
RICHMOND CHAMPION
CHAMPION'’ S MOMENTS Most embarrassing moment: I came off my Dad’s rope horse the other day. [Come on, you just rode a bronc at a rodeo, and you can’t ride your Dad’s rope horse?] (chuckling) I had just put a halter on him bareback to gather horses and he just got out from underneath me. That’s the most recent one. What do you do when the bad moments are outnumbering the good ones on the road? Go do something else. I go home for a few days or go camping. I don’t touch my riggin bag for a few days. It’s easy to get burned out when you are getting on 100 broncs a year. It can’t stop being fun. Was there a specific moment when you knew ProRodeo and riding broncs was for you? The third bronc I got on. A friend asked me to go with him to a ProRodeo in Jacksonville (Texas) to hang out. Some spots opened up in the perf, and they let us ride to fill it. I think I only rode her for 6 seconds, but I spurred till my head hit the ground. That’s when I knew I wanted to ride broncs professionally. Any moments you are looking forward to? I am looking forward to Ellensburg (Wash.), and God willing, riding at the WNFR this year. Ellensburg turned it around for me last year with what I won there. Dad is from Washington, so lots of family and friends come watch. (Richmond didn’t win Ellensburg, but he did secure a win in Walla Walla, Wash., and placed at Pueblo, Colo., the same week!) WRITTEN BY TORI MORRIS
Photos by Matt Cohen
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Inside Scoop |
CODY STAMPEDE
Cody Stampede
Photos by Frontier Fortitude Photography
Rodeo Capital of the World
There’s no better place than Cody, Wyo., to celebrate the Fourth of July. The July 1-4 Independence Day celebration centers on the Stampede rodeos, parades and Western entertainment. Now in its 95th year, the Stampede attracts top contestants from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and is the PRCA’s largest and richest one-header rodeo with a prize line of more than $400,000. This year’s rodeo festivities also included
the Cody Yellowstone PRCA Xtreme Bulls competition, during which 40 of the world’s top bull riders took their shot at a $50,000 purse and the championship title. Brett Stall came out ahead of the pack with an awesome ride! Check out www.codystampederodeo.com for more information on what the Stampede has in store for next year.
6th Annual Tuckness/Asay Classic The Tuckness/Asay Classic is a new event that was started by two cowboys who are the best of the best in pro rodeo. Both got their start at the Cody Nite Rodeo, and now they host a unique one-night event each June at Cody Stampede Park. The competition gives bullfighters a way to compete against each other year, Justin PRCA clown of the g the crowd Rumford, entertainin le at the Cody in true-to-himself sty bulls event. Stampede Xtreme
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in a long go-round with the top three coming back to the short round, and bull riders compete in a one-head format. The event is hosted by fourtime Bullfighter of the Year Dusty Tuckness, world champion bull rider Kanin Asay and Mobetta Rodeo Co. These three join together to provide a great showcase for ProRodeo’s upand-coming superstars.
L to R: Dusty Tuckness, Zach Flatt, Kasen Asay & Kanin Asay at the 6th annual Tuckness Asay Bullfighting Bullriding classic. Zach Flatt Co-Cha mpion of the fight & Kanin champ of the ride.
Cody Nite Rodeo Another tradition in Cody that’s been going on for 76 years is a full rodeo staged every night of the summer (except during the Stampede) at the Cody Stampede Arena. The nightly event has helped the community earn the slogan, “Cody is Rodeo.” It’s also well-known as the “Rodeo Capital of the World.” This sport of cowboys is a “mustsee” during a trip to Cody. Rodeo performances fit easily into travel plans because the Cody Nite Rodeo is on tap every night – all summer long – June 1 through Aug. 31. Now in its 76th year, the Cody Nite Rodeo is the longest-running nightly rodeo in the U.S. Many of the cowboys who are current national leaders in their
events, as well as numerous Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees, started their careers in Cody. The Mobetta Rodeo Co. has added a season-end finals that brings back the top 10 in each event from the entire Cody Nite Rodeo series. This is a new tradition that started recently and this past summer, Mobetta had $40,000 added to the finals! If you’re looking for a place to really enjoy rodeo and participate on a nightly basis to help season a colt or to tap off a seasoned veteran and rake out those spurs, just head to Cody for a wild west experience all summer long. WRITTEN BY KIMBERLY ZEIRLEIN
JEN LEWIS rounding barrel 2 at one of the 90 perfs at the Cody Stampede. Jen was the July series champ and placed 2nd in the year end standings.
BEN STALL on his short-go ride to win the 2014 Cody Stampede Xtreme Bulls
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Inside Scoop |
RODEO FAMOUS RIGS
TELL US ABOUT THE RIG YOU DRIVE NOW; WHAT TRUCK DO YOU DRIVE AND WHAT KIND OF TRAILER ARE YOU PULLING? I drive a 2014 Ford Super Duty Lariat Dually that I got back in June from the Jeff Ford Dealership. I have a 2014 Logan Coach trailer.
PRESENTS...
Dakota Eldridge
with
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WHY A FORD? I’m a good friend with Derek Jeff, they have a dealership up in Pullman, Washington. They’re great friends and they gave me a heck of a deal on it. It gets 8.5 mpg, no better and no worse usually. I like it more than a semi because I can tow a heavy trailer or just drive around town with it. In the winter time it seems like things slow down so you’re always driving into town or to a buddy’s to practice and it’s just easier to manage. I’ve put about 25,000 miles on it in four months and it hasn’t had an issue yet. WHAT DO YOU REALLY LIKE ABOUT YOUR TRAILER? Logan Coach sponsors me so it’s kind of a no brainer to have one. It’s got tons of storage space though, it’s a bigger
I’m pretty organized and the Logan Coach has an awesome side tack with a swing out saddle rack. DAKOTA ELDRIDGE
than my last Logan Coach. Lots of shelves so a guy can dang sure keep things more organized instead of having everything strew about. ARE YOU THE KIND OF PERSON THAT HAS TO KEEP EVERYTHING ORGANIZED, SUCH AS YOUR TACK ROOM OR LIVING QUARTERS? I’m pretty organized and the Logan Coach has an awesome side tack with a swing out saddle rack. I think I probably pack as many bits as a barrel racer. Most trailers with a back tack or side tack require you to load things “just so”, the cinches have to go here or the saddle pads here, with a Logan Coach I can throw things in there however I want and everything fits perfectly and I have plenty of room for bits. I even put some of my shoeing tools in there no problem. It’s big enough and it doesn’t add any more length to the trailer. HOW PICKY ARE YOU ABOUT KEEPING THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF YOUR RIG CLEAN? I’m pretty picky; I got to try to keep everything clean and organized. I think the more a guy keeps it organized and clean, people respect it more when they’re in and out of it. It’s tough to keep it clean but I try to wash it every few months so it looks good for me and for Logan Coach, as my sponsor I think they’d prefer I keep it that way too.
WRITTEN BY MARY MCCASHIN
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Rope Myers & Sky Ranch Champions Rodeo Present the 8th Annual
Sky ranch
Elite Rodeo Clinic Steer Wrestling, Tie-Down, Breakaway & Team Roping December 28 - 31, 2014 · SKY RANCH - VAN, TEXAS
! APPeLr foYr NeaOchWevent will be,
Cost: $495
includes in stru meals, acti ction, lodging, vities and stalls.
mb info Limited nu apply and for more o T . d accepte 66-3300. call 903-2
Major College Coaches
will be recruiting at this event, and past participants have received college scholarships.
Join the most talented young rodeo athletes in the country and learn from some of the best professionals in the business. This clinic, hosted by 2001 World Champion Steer Wrestler Rope Myers, will provide four days of extreme rodeo training and expert instruction, as well as keys to becoming successful in and out of the arena. Rope has invited many NFR Qualifiers and World Champions to be instructors at this year’s clinic. Please continue to check our website as this year’s instructors are confirmed and updated.
Visit us at www.SkyRanch.org or our Facebook page www.facebook.com/SkyRanchChampions for photos, videos, success stories and more info!
Inside Scoop |
BRONC RIDING NATION
CROW FAIR INDIAN RELAY RACING
CROW AENCY, Montana – In 1904, the first Crow Fair was held on the banks of the Little Big Horn. The US government was promoting agricultural pursuits for all First Nation peoples, but the Crow (Apsalooke) Nation was a committed horse culture and remains true to that heritage today. The only livestock pavilions found on these hallowed grounds are race barns. Pari-mutuel racing still dominates the card and the time between dashes is filled by talented Real Bird Bucking Horses and Indian National Finals Rodeo Tour contestants. The ‘main event’ is Indian Relay Racing, featured at the open and close of every racing day during Crow Fair. Three hot Thoroughbred sprint horses with keen competitive edges, one supernatural Native rider and about 3 handlers who’ll catch, hold and elevate with and otherwise keep the team together as the rider swings up at the starting gun and races lap one to fly in to his team back at the wire. Off of one and on to the next to repeat the lap and exchange one last time. Three laps per rider, one lap per horse for every team and a horse race down to the wire on the third. Bareback and calling on them every step. Photo by Diana Volk Photo www.dianavolk.com/
Lynwood His Bad Horse, Jr. and his Thoroughbred relay pony focus on the win at the 2013 Crow Fair in Crow Agency, Montana.
The exchange happens so fast the riders appear to be shot from bows … true as arrows, they’re off of one, back on the next and gone so fast the human eye really can’t process exactly how they do it. In war paint, rider regalia and on painted ponies … Indian Relay Racing is a must see for every fan of horses and adrenalin.
HOLLY BLUES EULOGY The collective hearts of Bronc Riding Nation broke for the Flying ‘5’ and Big Bend Rodeo companies in the wake of their tragic loss of five star horses to a road accident in September.
Horses touch our souls. They are our hearts. They carry our hopes and author our dreams. They inspire us to learn and so, share the wisdom of the ages with those of us fortunate enough to live our lives in dedication to them. We work hard for their well being and put their daily needs ahead of our own. When they win? We win. When they lose we tell them they didn’t and search ourselves for what we did wrong …. for how we can give them what they need to live up to their potential. Chad Hutsell had the name ‘Holly Blues’ long before the horse was born and patiently waited for the special youngster who would claim it. The blue roan stud colt by ‘Spring Break’
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out of ‘Holly Mountain’ stepped into that name and was well on his way to engraving it in the Big Book of Legends. Holly Blues was foaled in 2008. He was chosen to perform at the 2013 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in his rookie year and rose to the honor like the champion he was. He carried top hand bronc riders to wins at the best rodeos on the North American continent and brought honesty and his personal best to every 8 second work. He left this realm along with the champion WNFR bareback horse, ‘Spy’ who was due to be retired amid fanfare this year and was still a top contender at the age of 24.
“Holly Blues was an up-and-coming superstar. He craved the diesel smoke and the adrenaline.” LINDSEY HARDER, Flying '5' & Big Bend Rodeo WRITTEN BY LORI O'HARVER
Photo by Lindsey Harder Photo
Bull Session |
FUNDRAISER
Photos by Cross B Photography
Jodi Clements headed up the committee and helped make “The Show” a fun-filled part of Rodeo Heritage Week. Cowboys and cowgirls such as Turtle and Molly Powell, Billy Bob Brown, Shane Boardman, Martin and Jodee Lucero, Bobby and Kate Mote, York Gill, Lance Brooke, Jenny Ohl, Whitney BakerDavidson, and Logan Olson helped keep the party going well into the night. The committee extended a special thank you to Arky Rogers for both being an usher and a generous contributor to the live auction.
Daughter of Bobby and Kate Mote, Laura Mote helping sell raffle tickets at The Show A few Show Models posing for a picture at the after party.
WPRA Champion and assistant coach at Tarleton State University, Tibba Smith modeling a purple blouse, having a blast and showing her support for The Show!
Travis Woodard and The Show models having a laugh before runway time.
Wife of six-time World Champion tie-down roper Cody Ohl, Jenny Ohl with Shayne Cimmarron Boardman who is modeling a Key'd Up t-shirt.
The committee looks forward to continuing to help kids in the local community and the rodeo cowboys of Stephenville when The Show occurs again next year. For information on how to be part of The Show, keep your eye on the PRCA Cowboy Capital Rodeo website as they release information and provide volunteer forms for next year’s event. WRITTEN BY MARY MCCASHIN
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We are continuing to highlight excerpts from “Prairie Gal” a biography written by Atheline Lamm (Engel) for an English class in 1947. She grew up on a farm/ranch 35 miles northeast of Greeley, Colo., on the short grass prairie and all she ever wanted to do was be a cowgirl. This part of her story took place as a young teenager.
MY PRIDE & JOY
From Southwestern Cowgirl to Urban Gypsy...
Bella Cowgirl
will speak to you!
I remember very distinctly that day in June. It was a bright warm day. Dad had been talking of buying me a pony for quite a while. One day he noticed an ad in the paper. Someone had a four-yearold pony for sale out east of Greeley. Dad immediately went to the address. There we saw a little black Shetland pony with an old ragged halter on, tied by the ditch in front of the house. He didn’t look as though the owner took very good care of him. His mane was roached, but his coat was rough and needed brushing. It was a case of love at first sight as far as I was concerned. After looking him over Dad wrote out a check for the agreed price of thirty-five dollars. We put him into the trailer and brought him home. I christened him “Blackie”, but more often called him something else.
I spent the summer of 1937, riding with my friend June. (June Erickson was a neighbor who lived two and a half miles north.) She rode her horse “Buck”, and I rode Blackie. Blackie, the Shetland that he was had many ornery ideas. He would get stubborn. He would try to lie down with me, to nip anyone whenever the opportunity presented itself, to refuse to move, or to do anything else mean that he could think of. After quite a few arguments we got along fine together. For several summers he was my constant companion.
JUST JUNE AND I In the next two or three summers June and I were together most of the time. I was usually at her house. We would ride horseback all day and sing in the evening. June played a guitar, and we spent a lot of time singing. Blackie was fast and full of pep for a Shetland. He and Buck, June’s horse, always got along fine. Once in a while we would decide to do something different. Once we decided to make jumping horses out of Blackie and Buck. We set up a couple of posts with a pole across them. The ponies really got a working out for a couple of weeks. Blackie who was always up to his old tricks would go dashing up to the pole. Then he would stop.
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Another time we had another idea: this was to make roping horses out of Blackie and Buck. We about ran the legs off Ericksons’ calves, But we got good enough to catch a calf about every time we shook out a loop. This has proved useful in the last few years. Once in a while I would hook onto something a little big for Blackie, and June would have to come to my rescue. About six miles north of Ericksons’ there are some odd formations in the hills. A dry creek-bed runs down between to big clay like walls. There are little canyons
leading off to the top of the hills. Wild chokecherries and currants grow in abundance there. June and I would often spend the day there “just fooling around”. Clover grows in the bottom in abundance, so there is enough for the horses to eat. We spent a lot of time there that summer. In the winter time June and I would get together on Saturdays. Sometimes we would go ice-skating or rabbit-hunting. Usually we went horseback riding. Once we shot a cotton tail. We were quite a ways from home, and we were getting hungry, so we decided to have rabbit. We went over to an old deserted barn and June skinned the rabbit while I rounded up some wood. There was a lot of snow on the ground and it was rather cold. The fire felt good. We cut some long sticks and proceeded to cook our rabbit over the fire. The meat was rather smoky on the outside and rare on the inside. We ate it just the same. It didn’t hurt either of us, and the meat served the purpose.
LONG LIVE keeping the West wild. LONG LIVE high spirits and high heels. LONG LIVE strained necks and weak knees. LONG LIVE after-hour campfires. LONG LIVE COWGIRLS.™
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