Road Stories

I’m in Las Vegas for the first time, covering the National Finals Rodeo. Last night I watched the 8th round, and it was electrifying. Below are a few of my favorite shots from the evening.

Crash Cooper was on hand to open up the performance with a bang.

I sat next to my friend Kyle Partain, a former associate editor for Western Horseman and now managing editor for ProRodeo Sports News. It looks to me like he's seen his share of laser/fireworks shows.

Cory Solomon chases down a calf in the tie-down roping.

Kaycee Feild continues to dominate in the bareback riding, tying for first last night with a 83.5 score. He has won $110,577 so far at the NFR.

Lindsay Sears and Martha tied for third in the barrel racing.

I’m still groggy from a 13-hour, all-night drive from Colorado Springs back home. Many Western Horseman staff members left Sunday afternoon from a remarkable gathering and trail ride celebrating our 75th anniversary. It was a whirl-wind weekend of meeting new people, catching up with old friends and making plenty of memories. Here are my favorite moments from this past weekend.

10. Our national anthem.
Cowboy musician Michael Martin Murphey arrived in a stage coach Saturday morning and kicked off the trail ride with a guitar and a moving rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.” With around 150 riders mounted, hats off and Pikes Peak in the background, it was a great setting for us to honor our country and the men and women who have fought to defend our freedom.

9. Rain and cool weather.
It has been hot and dry in Texas all summer, so a few days of cooler mountain air and afternoon rain showers was a nice break.

8. Cowboy church service.
Sunday morning we attended a cowboy church service at the Flying W Ranch. Pastor Scotty Vaughn delivered a great message on the joy of the Lord.

7. Caricatures by Kevin Cordtz.
Each month, Cordtz creates the cartoons that illustrate Baxter Black’s column on the back page of the magazine. Saturday night he was on hand to draw some hilarious caricatures of those attending the banquet.

6. Catching up with former staff members.
Past editors Pat Close and Gary Vorhes, and former editorial assistant Karan Miller joined us on the ride. It was also nice to catch up with former staffers such as Randy Witte and Kim Simhauser.

5. Western Horseman’s display at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
A new display at the “Hall” features several artifacts from the magazine, as well as a sketch of Dick Spencer and covers from January 1936 and January 2011.

4. The banter of famous horsemen.
WH book authors and respected horsemen attended the celebration. The group included Martin Black, Chris Cox, Bob Avila, Al Dunning, Mike Major, Craig Cameron, Marty Martin, Mike Kevil, Jack Brainard, Dr. Bob Miller and Curt Pate. They all said they had a great time and seemed to enjoy each others company. They didn’t hold back from razzing one other, either. When several of them opted to take the shorter route on the trail ride, Al Dunning acted incredulous. “We should make them t-shirts that say, ‘I DID NOT survive the Western Horseman ride,’” he said with a laugh.

3. Riding my gelding.
On photo shoots, I often ride someone else’s horse. This time I got the chance to bring my own. There’s nothing like riding your own horse. My 3-year-old roan gelding handled his first mountain experience very well.

2. Meeting readers.
This event was designed for our loyal readers. Many longtime subscribers had good things to say about the magazine, which is always nice to hear. I met a lot of neat people, including Reinhold and Isabel Pennekamp, who flew all the way from Germany to attend the ride.

1. Conversations with great horsemen.
This weekend gave me the chance to listen to conversations among the industry’s best horsemen. One evening I sat at a table with Brainard, Miller, Black and Pate as they discussed horsemanship. Fascinating.

Darryl Bennett and Craig Cameron.

If you study very many of Charlie Russell’s classic paintings, you’ll notice a familiar butte that often shows up in background. The distinguished land form, called Square Butte, is easy to see while riding on the Bell Cross Ranch. This ranch, located south of Great Falls, Montana, hosted the Cowboy Artists of America’s annual trail ride two weeks ago. The Cowboy Artists invited Western Horseman along for the ride, and I was honored to represent the magazine.
Chalie Russell country is the ideal location for a CAA trail ride. Several artists made comments about the colors and light in this area, and how it was reflected in Russell’s paintings.
I got a chance to visit the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls and meet several great artists on the ride who have been inspired by Russell (I think every CAA member has been inspired by Russell). Overall, it was a enjoyable time of riding, meeting new friends, sitting around the campfire, and getting out of the blistering Texas heat.
Below are several photos from the ride.

First photo: From left, Fred Fellows, Bruce Greene, Tim Cox and Bill Owen ride with Square Butte in the background.
Photo 2: Loren Entz (left) and Dave Powell help move cows and calves to a new pasture.
Photo 3: Bill Owen kills a rattlesnake as Tim Cox looks on.
Photo 4: Range tents, or cowboy tepees, line the campsite on the Bell Cross Ranch.

This winter, snowfall has been en vogue. Even in my home state of Texas, we’ve seen record snow showers. After getting an astonishing 14 inches at my house west of Weatherford on February 11, we’re experiencing more falling flakes today.

Texans aren’t used to this. Two weeks ago, I had to crawl onto the flimsey, shallow-sloped roof of my barn to shovel snow. It was on the verge of caving in. The horses were spooked at the cedar trees bent down from the heavy accumulation. Our road was covered in deep snow for two days (we don’t have very many snow-plows down here).

But it sure was nice to be able to get some good snow photos from the comfort of my back pasture. My wife hopped on her horse and rode around while I hammered out about 100 shots. Then I saddled a horse and we rode to the back of our property. Our horses snorted and acted like they were stepping into a different world, and so did we.