Posts Tagged ‘Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo’
When Water Weeps
We Americans, not they or us, but all Americans, we grieve. Every life matters.
“The cure for anything is salt water. Sweat, tears, or the sea.” —Isak Dinesen
Not bullets.
Read MoreBill Pickett, steer wrestling pioneer
In my book Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo, I salute Bill Pickett, the fearless cowboy of Cherokee and African American descent.
Read MoreWelcome to the wide world of cowboy boots
Rodeo entrants choose steel-toed cowboy boots for maximum protection against large-hoofed animals. That’s just the start of the many differences in cowboy boots. Different boots are made for different cowboy…
Read MoreHawaii knows rodeo!
Ever since writing Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo, I’ve been amazed at discovering so many rodeo hotspots I had never imagined. The 24th Panaewa Stampede Rodeo graced Hawaii’s Big…
Read MoreJordan ‘Slick’ Phelps is a 2-time champ. No bull!
Oglala Sioux Tribal member Jordan “Slick” Phelps is a two-time bull riding world champion. All this by age 19? This competitor started at age FOUR. Cowboy up!
Read MoreRodeo entrants look and feel good in chaps
Fringed pants with no seats. Seatless pants?!? What are chaps? This cowboy apparel has real uses beyond stylish looks. Here’s a tribute to chaps, with a definition for “chinks,” the…
Read MoreWhat’s that icy rodeo treat called?
Shaved ice. Shave ice. Snow cones. No matter what you call it, the treat tastes great on a summer day. At rodeos and elsewhere, the icy wonders are gobbled. Eating…
Read MoreCowboy hats provide fashion and function
Young rodeo entrants might think of a cowboy hat only as a fashion statement. But back in the 1800s, it was used for comfort and protection. Take a look at…
Read MoreRodeo thrives, from south to north!
The Navajo nation is just one hotbed of weekly rodeo action during the season. Throughout North America, rodeo remains popular. One epic event happens in in Alberta, Canada: the Calgary…
Read MoreWomen in rodeo: a decades-old tradition
Don’t think that rodeo just started being a sport for males AND females. Proof comes from the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, founded in 1948. News from WPRA events is extra…
Read MoreA Cowboy’s Prayer extends beyond rodeo
On page 12 of Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo, I share a version of “A Cowboy’s Prayer” I heard shared during the Grand Entry of a Navajo rodeo. The…
Read MoreRodeo excellence begins with the right lariat
In Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo, entrants may get to know their favorite lariat almost as well as their horses. Is a rope just a rope? Not in rodeo!
Read MoreYoung rodeo competitors seek a trophy they can wear
In Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo, young entrants learn that champions are rewarded with decorative belt buckles. In the early days of rodeo, many contestants were former boxers. If…
Read MoreA Hall of Fame for Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo riders?
Since the rodeo season wound down in September, young riders will have a winter to dream of 2016 competitions. Or, they could imagine themselves as future members of the Pro…
Read MoreCapturing the look and feel of water, in words and pictures
“You are water–at least two-thirds of you. Even your bones! Water in the discs in your backbone give support so you can stand, walk, and run. Your brain is mostly…
Read More