From Start to Finish Showing & Marketing Cattle
Cowgirl Glam! With Miss Rodeo Canada, Jaden Holle
What Does It Take to be a Rodeo Judge?
IAL o er FIC de id OF Ro Ins ro a P ad n Ca
At Home with Canadiana Cowboy Singer Tim Hus
Lest We Forget
Letters Home
It’s Championship Rodeo Time!
Red Deer to Vegas Events
Cowboy Craftsmen
PM# 40070720
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 • $5.95
Leather, Silver & Rawhide Treasures
How to Move Pairs the Easy Way
38 AT HOME WITH TIM HUS The provincial emblems on Tim’s guitar strap are more than mere decoration, they are a testament to the Canadian Cowboy’s near-constant touring across our great country. Photo by Bill Borgwardt
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Canadian Cowboy Country October/November 2019
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 | VOLUME 23, NO. 3
22 TRAILBLAZERS
Bill Greathouse Historian Daryl Drew traces the story of cowboy Bill Greathouse
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Lest We Forget, Letters Home Letters home from cowboyturned-WWI-soldier, Raymond Bell
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TRADITIONAL COWBOY ARTS
On the Cover 2019 Miss Rodeo Canada Jaden Holle at Heritage Ranch in Red Deer. For more on the fashion she is wearing, see our fashion shoot on page 30. Photo by Nicole Templeton
Cowboy Collaboration Master craftsmen and their stunning collaborative works
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Cowgirl Glam
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COWBOY WAY
2019 MRC Jaden Holle and 1959 MRC Phyllis Dahl share the spotlight in their halfcentury shoot!
Moving Cow/Calf Pairs, Part 4 of 6 Clinician Dylan Biggs teaches a slower-yet-faster approach to moving cows and calves
40 RANCHERS’ SPECIAL
What Works for Us The start and apex of careers in showing and marketing cattle
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Rounding Up Sin City Action The NFR in Las Vegas is a treasure trove of round-theclock fun!
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Canadian Finals Rodeo Follow the action to Red Deer to celebrate Canada’s premiere rodeo!
DEPARTMENTS 7 My Point of View 9 In the Corral 13 Western Art Review 14 Spirit of the West 16 Wheel to Wheel 18 Some Days Are Diamond 20 Reflections 47 Pro Rodeo Canada Insider 59 Clownin’ Around 62 Cowboy Poetry 5
TRADITIONAL COWBOY ARTS
The collaborators, from left: Pedro Pedrini, John Willesma, Troy West, Cary Schwarz, and Chuck Stormes are each internationally acclaimed saddlemakers who converged to create this homage to the 80th anniversary of the first Hamley Wade saddle ever built
Cowboy Collaboration CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MASTERS
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ithin the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association (TCAA), collaborative projects stem from the opportunity to work with other artists who are at the top of their respective fields. The results are some incredible works of art that would not be possible without the efforts and relationships between these makers. “When you are up to your eyeballs in your own work and you know what you know, then it comes time to do ornamentation… now you are crossing a line,” says saddle maker Cary Schwarz. “I’m not a silversmith. I’m not totally checked out on what a silversmith is capable of… but if you can discuss things openly and honestly and begin to see what is possible, then you start to see through their
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eyes. That ability has been somewhat of a missing component in our cowboy trades.” “Collaboration is a careful balance of maintaining enough control and autonomy within your convictions artistically and being willing to listen. You are attempting to place yourself behind someone else’s eyes, and there can be some pretty cool discoveries if you do that.” “If you put a bunch of cowboys in a room, they’ll talk horses,” says silversmith Scott Hardy. “If they are craftsmen, they will talk craft. There is nothing more satisfying than working with someone with the same mindset because it adds to your creativity. It energizes you; it moves you forward. When I collaborate on a piece, I’m thinking of how to lift it up, to add to the work as a whole.” “One of the perks of membership is being friends with and getting to work with others at the top of their field,” says rawhide braider Leland Hensley. He recalled his inspiration for a quirt handle with a design reminiscent of a birdcage. “I had an idea that I presented to [bit maker] Ernie Marsh for a quirt handle. I didn’t know if my vision was doable. Through Canadian Cowboy Country October/November 2019
PHOTO COURTESY TONY PEDRINI
By EMILY KITCHING
PHOTOS COURTESY NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM
discussion, he offered some suggestions on how to modify my original concept into something that would be more functional and have a natural transition between the metal and rawhide elements. The idea had to change, but it became better through his input.” Last year, five master saddle makers collaborated to build a unique saddle to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first Hamley Wade saddle being built. Traditional Cowboy Arts Association members Pedro Pedrini, Cary Schwarz, Chuck Stormes, Troy West and John Willesma spent three days crafting the saddle in Pendleton, Oregon, at the Hamley & Co. saddle shop. The concept for the collaborative saddle was Schwarz’s, so as he said he found himself in the driver’s seat in some ways. “If you didn’t have trust in the relationships and the skills of each other, you could not bring together a group of independent-minded craftsmen who are pretty much used to calling their own shots,” says Schwarz. “The thing that made me think of the idea was music. One of the greatest joys of playing music is to play in a group. You make a nicer sound together than you do alone, so my thought was, ‘why can’t we do something like that and have a really incredible piece after that experience?’ There will never be another saddle like that one, even if you tried. I think we can grow as craftsmen by leaving the door ajar on that concept.” Silversmith Scott Hardy spoke about another project he collaborated on with Schwarz and bit maker Wilson Capron, a bridle set-up they called the “Story of the West.” “I thought about this piece for a long time. I’m all about the West and the history of my family and others. I wanted to pay tribute to my heritage; the ranchers that I worked for and knew in this area. After the Civil War, a lot of cattle came from Texas, up through Idaho and Montana to Canada, so working with Wilson on the bit and Cary with the headstall was fitting. Each of us has a family brand, so the silver conchos pay homage to those brands. Wilson made a globe bit, which was popular in Texas at that time. Cary elegantly hand-stitched the headstall as his contribution to lift up the piece. I didn’t tell either of them how or what to do; I didn’t treat them like a mechanic. I communicated my vision and the inspiration behind it and then left it in their hands as makers, as artists.” “If you are just looking for something utilitarian that’s fine, everyone in our group is more than capable of that. But collaborations aren’t about the easiest route, they are more about doing something that has never been done, telling a story and about moving the craft forward.” c
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Top: The flowing lines of Wilson Capron’s globe bit are supported by Cary Schwarz’s handstitched bridle, and enhanced with Scott Hardy’s silverwork on the bit and the collaborators’ family brands and the TCAA logo Bottom: “Story of the West” bridle, a collaboration between silversmith Scott Hardy, saddlemaker Cary Schwarz and bit & spur maker Wilson Capron Right: TCAA rawhide braider Leland Hensley quirt
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Pro Rodeo Canada Insider
The Short Round The distinctive CPRA logo was inspired by a photograph of Marty Wood on Harry Vold’s Stoney at the 1961 Ellensburg, Wash., rodeo. Image courtesy Canadian Professional Rodeo Association.
Marty Wood on Harry Vold’s Stoney at 1961 Ellensburg, Wa., rodeo. Photo credit Devere Helfrich, 1961, safety film negative. Devere Helfrich Rodeo Photographic Collection, Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 81.023.19190.
MARTIN ROY (MARTY) WOOD 1933–2019 Born in Bowness, Alta., Marty Wood earned Canadian Saddle Bronc Riding Championships in 1954–55 and 1963 and was the Calgary Stampede Champion in 1954, ’57, ’61, ’64 and ’65. He topped that by winning three World Saddle Bronc Championships (1958, 1964, 1966). Wood finished second in the world standings four times: 1957, 1962, 1963 and 1967, and was no lower than fifth in the world standings from 1957–67. He qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 50
15 times, which is tied for fifth most alltime in saddle bronc riding. He was inducted in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1991, the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1994, the Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla., in 2008. The distinctive CPRA logo was inspired by a photograph of Marty Wood on Harry Vold’s Stoney at the 1961 Ellensburg, Wash., rodeo. —T.M.
By TERRI MASON, BARB POULSEN
BREAKAWAY ROPING Breakaway Roping is an exciting new event making an appearance on the Canadian rodeo scene. As the event gains in popularity, the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association would like to clarify a few points: While Breakaway Roping is not a CPRA sanctioned event; the CPRA is looking at the possibility of adding it as an optional event in 2020. As such, we need to make sure we have rules sufficient to handle the new event. Breakaway Roping at the 2019 CFR is not running with the regular evening rodeo performances but instead as an exhibition event during the afternoons of October 31– November 1, with no affiliation to the CPRA championships. Any rodeos that are holding a breakaway event are doing so separately from their CPRA sanctioning agreement, with Breakaway Roping being run either before or after the CPRA rodeo performance. Anyone awarded an All Around or High Point title in conjunction with the Breakaway Roping is not considered a CPRA All Around or High Point champion. In the CPRA, a contestant must compete in both a riding and timed event to earn an All Around title, and the High Point Aaward requires competition in two major CPRA events. Look for more information with respect to Breakaway Roping and the CPRA in the coming months. —B.P.
Canadian Cowboy Country October/November 2019
C.P.R.A.
GIVING THANKS
Rob MacKenzie and Curtis Anderson entering the Ponoka Stampede infield. Photo courtesy Curtis Anderson.
“It’s not often we see how it all turns out,” said former paramedic Rob MacKenzie. MacKenzie wasn’t even the paramedic on duty — he just happened to be in the stands on the fateful day that Curtis Anderson was severely injured in the bull riding at the Ponoka Stampede. On June 26, 2002, Anderson, then a 27-year-old bull rider with 10 year’s experience, was struck twice in the head by the bull he was on. The first responder had recently completed advanced training with specialized equipment — which turned out to be exactly what was needed to save Curtis’ life. “I intubated Curtis in the back of the ambulance,” said MacKenzie. He was able to get Curtis breathing again, and the bull rider was then rushed to hospital where he would spend three weeks in a drug-induced coma. Fast-forward 17 years. MacKenzie had since changed careers from paramedic to Calgary police officer. When the Ponoka Stampede organizers heard that the lifesaver was going to be attending, they arranged for him and Curtis to be transported into the arena — this time safely seated on a horse-drawn wagon. In front of the packed grandstand, Curtis was handed a microphone, and on behalf of his family and friends — and himself — he was finally able to thank the man who saved his life. “Curtis and I have been in contact via texting, but it was the first time I met him in person,” says Anderson. “Curtis is very inspiring, and it meant a lot.” —T.M.
ELIZABETH ANN “LIZ” KESLER 1926–2019
Photo courtesy CPRA
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Born and raised in Texas, Liz was an accomplished rodeo secretary and timer and the widow of Canadian stock contractor Reg Kesler. Highlights of the many honours she received in her life include the Montana Governor’s Award for preservation of Western Heritage, being inducted (with Reg) into the 2008 Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame, receiving the Tad Lucas Memorial Award at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, being inducted into the Montana Wall & Hall of Fame in Billings, MT and receiving the American Cowboy Culture Award as Pioneer Woman at the Cowboy Symposium held in Lubbock, TX.
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