A cowboy (Spanish vaquero) tends cattle and horses on cattle ranches in North and South America. The cowboy in charge of the horses, however, is the wrangler. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work in and participate in rodeos, and many cowboys work only in the rodeo. Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Binomial name Equus caballus The Horse (Equus caballus) is a large ungulate mammal, one of the seven modern species of the genus Equus. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... In North America a wrangler is someone employed to handle animals professionally, especially horses, but also others. ... Steer roping Rodeo is a traditional folk North American sport with influences from the history of Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) and American cowboys. ...

Cowgirls, are similarly employed, although most cowgirls are involved in rodeos and entertainment rather than hired as ranch hands. Despite the boy and girl in the terms, most cowboys and cowgirls are adult. Also, people who habitually dress in Western clothing often refer to themselves as cowboys or cowgirls.

American cowboy circa 1887

History

The Spanish were adept at herding livestock. During the 16th century, they brought the tradition with them to the New World. In the early 1800s, first Spain and then Mexico began offering empressario grants in what would become Texas to Americans who agreed to become citizens and convert to Catholicism. Following Texas independence in 1836 even more Americans immigrated into Texas and to the empressario ranching areas. Here they absorbed the Mexican vaquero culture, borrowing vocabulary and attire from their counterparts. The Kingdom of Spain or Spain (Spanish and Galician: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne dEspanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... The New World is one of the names used for the continents of North and South America and adjacent islands collectively, in use since the 16th century. ... Events and Trends Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815). ... The United Mexican States or Mexico (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or México; regarding the use of the variant spelling Méjico, see section The name below) is a country located in North America, bordered to the north by the United States of America, to the southeast by Guatemala and Belize, to... State nickname: Lone Star State Other U.S. States Capital Austin Largest city Houston Governor Rick Perry Official languages None Area 696,241 km² (2nd)  - Land 678,907 km²  - Water 17,333 km² (2. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now a state), and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ... This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The United Mexican States or Mexico (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or México; regarding the use of the variant spelling Méjico, see section The name below) is a country located in North America, bordered to the north by the United States of America, to the southeast by Guatemala and Belize, to... A vocabulary is a set of words known to a person or other entity, or that are part of a specific language. ... (See also List of types of clothing) Introduction Humans often wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments or attire) on the body (for the alternative, see nudity). ...

The buckaroo, also a cowboy of the vaquero tradition, developed in California and bordering states after the acquisition of California in 1850. Buckaroo is the anglicized spelling of vaquero and is still a common term in the Great Basin. Following the Civil War, their culture diffused eastward and northward combining with the earlier cowboy tradition that was following the cattle trails out of Texas northward and westward. Sharing the same base, their traditions became indistinguishable with a few regional differences still remaining. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States, commonly defined as the contiguous watershed region, roughly between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, that has no natural outlet to the sea. ... A civil war is a war in which the competing parties are segments of the same country or empire. ... Culture refers to the customs, arts, attitudes, institutions, and other traits that characterize a particular society or nation. ... A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. ...

Over time, the cowboys of the American West developed a culture of their own, a blend of frontier and Victorian values. Such hazardous work in isolated conditions bred a tradition of self-dependence and individualism, exemplified in their songs and poetry. This article is for the American West. ... In the United States and Canada the frontier was the term applied until the end of the 19th century to the zone of unsettled land outside the region of existing settlements of European immigrants and their descendants. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ... Cowboy songs are often associated with songs that the cowboys sang at night around the campfire with a lot of yodeling and sometimes accompanied by a guitar, banjo (and perhaps some canned beans). ...

By the 1890s, the open ranges of the Indian Territory were gone and the large cattle drives from Texas to the railheads in Kansas were over. Smaller cattle drives continued at least into the 1940s, with Arizona cattle driven to the railhead at Magdalena, New Mexico. Meanwhile, ranches multiplied all over the developing West, keeping cowboy employment high, if somewhat more settled. State nickname: The Sunflower State Other U.S. States Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Governor Kathleen Sebelius Official languages None Area 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² (15th)  - Land 81,815 mi²; 211,900 km²  - Water 462 mi²; 1,196 km² (0. ... State nickname: The Grand Canyon State, The Copper State Other U.S. States Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix [[List of Governors of {{{Name}}}|Governor]] Janet Napolitano Official languages English Only State Area 295,254 km² (6th)  - Land 294,312 km²  - Water 942 km² (0. ... Magdalena is a village in Socorro County, New Mexico, USA. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 913. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

In the 1930s and 1940s, Western movies popularized the cowboy lifestyle but also formed persistent stereotypes. In pop culture, the cowboy and the gunslinger are often associated with one another. Events and trends Technology Jet engine invented Science Nuclear fission discovered by Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann Pluto, the ninth planet from the Sun, is discovered by Clyde Tombaugh British biologist Arthur Tansley coins term ecosystem War, peace and politics Socialists proclaim The death of Capitalism Rise to... Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Events and trends Technology First nuclear bomb First cruise missile, the V1 flying bomb and the first ballistic missile, the... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ... In modern usage, a stereotype is a simplified mental picture of an individual or group of people who share a certain characteristic (or stereotypical) qualities. ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ... Categories: Stock characters | Stub ...

Much has been written about the racial mix of the cowboys in the West, but cowboys ranked low in the social structure of the period and there are no firm figures. The Cattle on a Thousand Hills by John Ambulo in the March 1887 issue of The Overland Monthly states that cowboys are "... of two classes—those recruited from Texas and other States on the eastern slope; and Mexicans, from the south-western region. ...". Census records bear that out. The cowboy occupation undoubtably appealed to the freedmen following the Civil War. It is estimated that about 15% of all cowboys were of African ancestry—ranging from about 25% on the trail drives out of Texas, to very few on the northern ranges. Similarly, cowboys of Mexican descent also averaged about 15%, but were more common in Texas and the southwest. American Indians also found employment as cowboys early in the history of the West. Many of the early vaqueros were Indians trained to work for the Spanish missions in caring for the mission herds. Following the dissolution of the reservation system around 1900, many of the Indian trade schools also taught ranching skills to Indian youth. Social structure (also referred to as a social system) is a system in which people forming the society are organized by a patterns of prelationships. ... A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

American Indian youths learning to brand cattle at the Seger Indian Industrial School near Colony—on the old Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation in Oklahoma Territory, ca. 1900.

American Indian students branding cattle. ... American Indian students branding cattle. ...

Paniolo

The Hawaiian cowboy, the paniolo, has as rich a history and tradition as the mainland cowboy. As with the cowboy, the paniolo learned their skills from Mexican vaqueros. Kamehameha III brought these vaqueros over from California in 1832 to teach the Hawaiians how to handle their cattle. At that time California was still part of Mexico and Hawaii was known as the Sandwich Islands. Hawaiian could refer to the Hawaiian language the native Hawaiian people a resident of the state of Hawaii. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Governor Linda Lingle Official languages Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ...

Cowboys of other nations

In addition to the Mexican vaquero, the North American cowboy, and the Hawaiian paniolo, the Spanish also exported their horsemanship and knowledge of cattle ranching to the gaucho of Argentina, the llanero of Venezuela, the huaso of Chile, and, indirectly through the Americans, to Australia. In Australia, which has a large ranch (station) culture, cowboys are known as jackaroos and cowgirls as jillaroos. This article describes the South American cattle herder. ... Argentina is a country in southern South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east. ... A llanero was a type of Venezuelan cowboy who disliked the elite and plantation-owning people of Caracas. ... The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela)1 is a country in northern South America. ... A huaso (feminine huasa) is a Chilean countryman and skilled horseman, similar to the Argentinian gaucho and the American cowboy. ... The Republic of Chile is a country in South America occupying a long coastal strip between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean. ... Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. ... A jackaroo is an Australian cowboy. ... A jackaroo is an Australian cowboy. ...

Working cowboys

On the ranch, the cowboy is responsible for feeding the livestock, branding or marking cattle and horses, and tending to their injuries or other needs. They also move the livestock to market. In addition, cowboys repair fences, maintain ranch equipment, and perform other odd jobs around the ranch. These jobs vary depending on the size of the ranch, the terrain, and the number of livestock. On larger ranches, or on those with lots of cattle, a cowboys may specialize in one task or another. On smaller ranches with fewer cowboys—often just family members—the cowboy tends to be a generalist employed in many tasks. Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ...

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics collects no figures for cowboys, so the exact number of working cowboys is unknown. Cowboys are included in the 2003 category, Support activities for animal production, which totals 9,730 workers averaging $19,340 per annum. In addition to cowboys working on ranches, in stockyards, and in rodeos, the category includes farm hands working with other types of livestock (sheep, goats, hogs, chickens, etc.). Of those 9,730 workers, 3,290 of them are listed in the subcategory of Spectator sports which includes rodeos, circuses, and theaters needing livestock handlers.

Dress

Most cowboy dress, thought of as Western wear, grew out of the environment in which the cowboy worked. Many of the items were adapted from the Mexican vaqueros.

• Cowboy hat; a hat with a wide brim to protect from the sun and the elements; there are many styles, probably influenced by both the Mexican sombrero and US (and Confederate) Cavalry hats.
• Cowboy boot; a boot with a high top to protect the lower legs, pointed toes to help guide the foot into the stirrup, and high heels to keep the foot from slipping through the stirrup while working in the saddle.
• Jeans, or other sturdy tight-fitting pants; heavy pants designed to protect the legs and snug fitting to prevent the pants legs from snagging on brush, corral equipment, and other hazards.

Tools

• Chaps; guards worn to protect the legs when riding through heavy brush or during rough work with the livestock.
• Lariat; a tightly twisted stiff rope with a loop at one end enabling it to be thrown to catch animals (sometimes called a lasso, especially in the East).
• Spurs; a tool designed to help a rider communicate with the horse when the hands are busy or when it is too noisy for oral commands.
• Rifle; a weapon needed to protect the livestock from predation by wild animals. Occasionally cowboys will carry a pistol when not physically working cattle, especially in brushy areas.
• Cow dog; many people, including cowboys, find a herding dog invaluable in locating and controlling livestock.

Cow pony

There is no substitute for the horse on a large ranch. It travels where vehicles cannot. Horses, along with mules and burros, also serve a pack animals. The most important horse on the ranch is the cutting horse. Because the rider is busy working while riding, the horse must neck rein and have good cow sense—it must instinctively know how to anticipate and react to cattle. For the university, see Stetson University. ... Categories: Stub | Hats ... American cowboy circa 1887 A cowhand tends livestock, especially cattle. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Categories: Stub | Safety clothing ... A lasso is a loop of rope that is designed to be thrown around a target and tighten when pulled. ... A spur is a metal instrument composed of a shank, neck, and prick, rowel (sharp-toothed wheel), or blunted end fastened to the heel of a horseman. ... A rifle is any long gun which has a rifled barrel. ... A pistol or handgun is a usually small, projectile weapon, normally fired with one hand. ... Breed standards (external links) FCI - see ANKC, AKC, ANKC CKC, KC(UK), NZKC,UKC The Australian Cattle Dog (ACD), also known as the Queensland Heeler or Blue Heeler, is a herding dog developed in Australia for handling cattle. ... A herding dog is a dog that either has been trained in herding or that is a member of a breed developed originally for herding. ... Binomial name Equus caballus The Horse (Equus caballus) is a large ungulate mammal, one of the seven modern species of the genus Equus. ... In its common modern meaning, a mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. ... Binomial name Equus asinus The donkey or ass (Equus asinus) is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae. ... A horse responds to neck rein techniques when it has learnt that a light pressure of the right rein against its neck on that side means for the horse to turn left, and a light pressure of the other rein against its neck on the left side means for the...

Tack:

• Western Saddle; a saddle with specially designed for working with cattle; it has stirrups to allow the rider to stand or resist the pull of livestock while working, a horn so the lariat can be snubbed, tiedowns to provide secure mountings for any additional equipment needed for work on the ranch, and various other modifications.
• Saddle blanket; a blanket or pad is required under the Western saddle to provide comfort and protection for the horse.
• Bridle; a Westen bridle usually has a curb bit and long split reins to control the horse in many different situations.
• Saddle bags; a bag which can be mounted to the saddle for carrying various sundry items and extra supplies.

Vehicles

The most common vehicle driven in ranch work is the pickup truck. Sturdy and roomy, with a high ground clearance, it can haul ranch supplies from town and still handle rough trails on the ranch. It is used to pull stock trailers transporting cattle and livestock from one area to another and to market. With a horse trailer attached, it carries horses to distant areas where they may be needed. Motorcycles are sometimes used, but the most common smaller vehicle is the four-wheeler. It will carry a single cowboy quickly around the ranch for small chores. In areas with heavy snowfall, snowmobiles are also common. Western Saddles are saddles used in--or based on the ones used in--cattle ranching in the United States. ... A saddle blanket is the woven blanket, usually made of wool, which is folded and inserted under the Western Saddle in order to absorb sweat, cushion the saddle, and help it conform to the horses back. ... A bridle is the headgear which is used to control a horse when riding it. ... Pickup truck with extended cabin and homebuilt lumber rack. ...  A group of “quad bike” all terrain vehicles The term all-terrain vehicle is used to describe a number of small open motorised buggies and tricycles designed for off_road use. ... A snowmobile tour at Yellowstone National Park (NPS Photo) A snowmobile is a land vehicle propelled by one or two rubber tracks, with skis for steering. ...

Rodeo cowboys

In the beginning there was no difference between the working cowboy and the rodeo cowboy, and in fact, the term working cowboy did not come into use until the 1950s. Prior to that it was assumed that all cowboys were working cowboys. The early cowboys worked on the ranches and displayed their skills at the roundups. The word rodeo is from the Spanish rodear (to turn), which means roundup.

The advent of professional rodeos allowed cowboys, like many athletes, to earn a living by performing their skills before an audience. The rodeos also provided employment for the many working cowboys needed to handle the livestock. Many rodeo cowboys are also working cowboys and most have working cowboy experience. An athlete is a person possessing above average physical skills (strength, agility, and endurance) and thus seen suitable for physical activities, in particular, contests. ... Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ...

The dress of the rodeo cowboy is not much different than that of the working cowboy on his way to town. What is known as the cowboy shirt however, coming from the early movie industry, was adapted especially for the rodeo. Snaps, used in lieu of buttons, allowed the cowboy to escape from a shirt snagged by the horns of steer or bull. Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... A bull is a male of various animal species, including: cattle elephant whale In English, bull is usually spoken to refer specifically to male cattle, with terms such as bull elephant disambiguating the term for other species. ...

Cowgirls

Although cowgirls share much with the cowboy, their history is somewhat different. There is no record of any girls or women driving cattle up the cattle trails of the Old West. Although many undoubtedly helped on the ranches, and in many cases ran them, few routinely dressed in the clothing suitable for working cattle from horseback.

Charles Goodnight, however, did invent a side-saddle following the Civil War that allowed women to comfortably ride horses while fashionably dressed. The West was too vast for walking and too rough for carriages and buggies in many places. The traditional charras of Mexico ride such side-saddles today while exhibiting superb horsemanship in charreadas on both sides of the border. Charles Goodnight (March 5, 1836- December 12, 1929) was a cattle rancher in the American West. ... Charrería is the Mexican style of traditional Spanish horsemanship that developed in central and northern Mexico under the hacienda system. ...

It wasn't until the advent of the Wild West shows that cowgirls came into their own. Their riding, expert marksmanship, and trick roping entertained audiences around the world. By 1900, skirts split for riding came into design, freeing women to compete with the men in many events. In the movies that followed they expanded their roles in the popular culture and movie designers developed attractive clothing suitable for riding Western saddles.

The growth of the rodeo brought about another type of cowgirl—the rodeo cowgirl. In the early Wild West shows and rodeos, women competed in all events, sometimes with the men. That changed after 1925 when Eastern promoters started staging indoor rodeos in places like Madison Square Garden. Women were generally excluded from the men's events and the women's events dropped. In today's rodeos, cowgirls compete mostly in the timed riding events such as barrel racing, and most professional rodeos do not offer as many women's events as men's events. Cowgirls seldom compete in the men’s events once they reach adulthood although several do compete in all events in high-school and college rodeos. Outside of the rodeo, cowgirls also compete in Western Pleasure Riding, Reining, and Endurance Riding competitions. Barrel racing is a rodeo event that features a horse or barrel racer and one mounted cowgirl, also called a barrel racer, running a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels in a triangular arrangement. ... Reining is a Western horseback riding competition. ...

Today's cowgirls have adapted cowboy clothing and riding techniques to suit their own needs. Seldom does today's cowgirl ride sidesaddle. A cowgirl may wear either a skirt cut so as to allow her to sit in the saddle, or jeans. If working on the ranch, where they perform most of the same chores as cowboys (and are seldom referred to as cowgirls), they generally dress to suit the situation.

Popular Culture

The long history of the West in popular culture tends to define those wearing Western clothing as cowboys or cowgirls whether they have ever been on a horse or not. This is especially true when applied to entertainers and those in the public arena who don Western wear as part of their persona. Many people, however, particularly in the West, wear Western clothing as a matter of form and think of themselves as lawyers, bankers, etc.—even those raised on ranches do not consider themselves cowboys or cowgirls unless so occupied.

In art and culture

• Fine art: Cowboy Artists of America.
• Literature: Western fiction, List of Western fiction authors, Cowboy poetry.
• Film: Western movie, List of Western movies.
• Television: TV Western.
• Music: Western Music, Western swing, List of famous Cowboy songs.
• Sports: Cowboy action shooting, Rodeo, Indian rodeo, Charreada.

The Cowboy Artists of America (often referred to as the CA, or sometimes the CAA) was founded in 1965 by four prominent western artists, Joe Beeler, Charlie Dye, John Hampton and George Phippen. ... Western fiction is a genre of literature that is typically set in any of the American states west of the Mississippi River and between the years of approximately 1860 and 1900. ... This is a list of some notable authors in the western fiction genre. ... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ... A Fistful of Dollars (Clint Eastwood spaghetti western) All the Pretty Horses, Matt Damon Annie Get Your Gun Bad Girls, Madeline Stowe Blazing Saddles, The most popular parody of westerns in film history Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969, two outlaws on the run) The Crossfire Trail, Tom Selleck... A western television show is a cowboy story which takes place in the old west and involves cowboys, cattle ranchers, miners, farmers, Indians, guns and horses. ... Poster from the Western Music, directly related to the old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, was originally composed by and about the people settling and working in the American West and western Canada. ... Western swing, also known as Country Swing, is dance music with an up-tempo beat and a decidedly Southwestern US regional flavor. ... Cowboy songs are often associated with songs that the cowboys sang at night around the campfire with a lot of yodeling and sometimes accompanied by a guitar, banjo (and perhaps some canned beans). ... Cowboy Action Shooting, also known as Western Action Shooting, is a competitive shooting sport which originated in California, USA, in the early 1980s. ... Steer roping Rodeo is a traditional folk North American sport with influences from the history of Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) and American cowboys. ... Indian rodeo is the rodeo subculture of Native American rodeo performers. ... Charrería is the Mexican style of traditional Spanish horsemanship that developed in central and northern Mexico under the hacienda system. ...

See also

• Herding: Buttero, Drover, Goatherd Shepherd, Transhumance.
• Ranching: Station.
  • Barbed wire
  • Livestock branding, Branding iron.
  • Longhorn cattle, Mustang
• Rodeo:
  • Men's Events: bull riding, bareback bronc riding, saddle bronch riding, calf roping, steer roping, steer wrestling, team roping.
  • Women's Events: barrel racing, breakaway roping, goat roping, pole bending.
  • Charreada: Charro.

Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group, maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place - or any combination of those. ... This article needs cleanup. ... A drover is a person that drives livestock to a new location, usually referring to the pre-20th century practice of walking with them and herding them similar to a cowhand. ... A goatherd is a person who herds goats for a living. ... In a draw in a mountainous region, a shepherd guides a flock of about 20 sheep amidst scrub and olive trees. ... Transhumance is the seasonal movement of livestock between mountainous and lowland pastures. ... Ranching is the raising of cattle or sheep on rangeland, although one might also speak of ranching with regard to less common livestock such as elk, bison or emu. ... Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. ... Modern barbed wire Barbed wire is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand(s). ... Livestock branding in the American west has evolved into a complex marking system still in use today. ... Categories: Stub ... The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to six feet in width and have a slight upward turn at their tips, as well as for their distinctive burnt orange coloring. ... A mustang is a small, hardy, naturalized (feral) horse of the North American west. ... Steer roping Rodeo is a traditional folk North American sport with influences from the history of Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) and American cowboys. ... Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a large male bovine, weighing between 1,000 and 2,500 pounds, which is held in a small pipe enclosure called a bucking chute. ... This article or section should be merged with Saddle bronc Bareback bronc riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on an untamed equine or bronco, weighing between 800 and 1,500 pounds, which is held in a small pipe enclosure called a bucking chute. ... This article or section should be merged with Bareback bronc Saddle bronc riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a saddle on an untamed equine or bronco, weighing between 800 and 1,500 pounds, which is held in a small pipe enclosure called a bucking chute. ... Calf roping is a rodeo event that features a calf and one mounted cowboy. ... Steer roping also known as steer tripping is a rodeo event that features a steer and one mounted cowboy. ... Steer wrestling, also known as bull dogging, is a rodeo event that features a steer and two mounted cowboys, along with a number of supporting characters. ... Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer and two mounted cowboys. ... Barrel racing is a rodeo event that features a horse or barrel racer and one mounted cowgirl, also called a barrel racer, running a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels in a triangular arrangement. ... Breakaway roping is a rodeo event that features a calf and one mounted cowgirl. ... Goat tying is a rodeo event that features a teathered goat and one mounted cowgirl. ... Pole Bending is an amateur rodeo event that features a horse and one mounted cowgirl, running a weaving or serpentine path around six poles arranged in a line. ... Charrería is the Mexican style of traditional Spanish horsemanship that developed in central and northern Mexico under the hacienda system. ... For the entertainer whose full name is Maria Rosario Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza, see: Charo A Charro is a traditional cowboy of central and northern Mexico. ...

Additionally

• All Indian Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
• American West
• American Old West
• List of cowboys and cowgirls

The All Indian Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (AIPRCA) is a Native American organization which promotes Indian rodeo. ... This article is for the American West. ... Great Basin region, typical American West The Western United States has played a significant role in history and fiction. ... The following list of cowboys and cowgirls was compiled to show examples of the cowboy and cowgirl genre. ...

Further reading

• Beck, Warren A., Haase, Ynez D.; Historical Atlas of the American West. University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma, 1989. ISBN 0-8061-2193-9
• Nicholson, Jon. Cowboys: A Vanishing World. Macmillan, 2001. ISBN 0-333-90208-4
• Phillips, Charles; Axlerod, Alan; editor. The Encyclopedia of the American West. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1996. ISBN 0-02-897495-2
• Slatta, Richard W. The Cowboy Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, California, 1994. ISBN 0-87436-738-7

External references

• Cowboys - Vaqueros, Origins Of The First American Cowboys (http://www.unm.edu/~gabbriel/) By Donald Gilbert Y Chavez
• Na Paniola Pipi – The Hawaiian Cowboy (http://www.kaahelehawaii.com/pages/culture_paniola.htm)
• 101 Ranch Wild West Show (http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/wildwestshow/101.html)

External links

• National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/index.html)
• American Cowboy (magazine) (http://www.americancowboy.com/)