What is cowboy?

As far back as I can remember I loved the 'wild west'. I read books about it, spent hours watching westerns on television and loved everything that involved horses. My favorite and oldest childhood memory is of the trip to visit my paternal grandmother. On the way I would beg my parents to stop at a place where they gave pony rides. If I was lucky, on the way home, e would stop.  Heaven!

Flash forward more than fifty years and I still have a love of the west and, of course, horses.  But I have to ask myself the question - what is a cowboy today? 

I frequently tell people on my travels that one of the attractions which drew me to Arizona was that it retains some of that flavor - there are wild horses wandering the desert and if you are lucky, you may see some of the wild burros near Lake Pleasant. Fly over and you will see tracts of land devoted to farming.  Drive up to Cave Creek and you may see a horse tied up to a post outside of a local bar (next to one of those steel horses at times). On any Wednesday or Saturday night you can watch live bull riding.  Is that what makes a cowboy?

I've stayed on working cattle ranches in Arizona. From what I can tell most ranches use ATV's for moving cattle.  The horses are for the guests who want the adventure but not for the actual work.  Does taking a group of inexperienced riders to move cattle for the pure fun of it make a cowboy?  Are there cowboys on 'dude' ranches?  Are these cowboys wrangling guests or cows?

According to the Arizona Beef Organization, in 2014 there were more than 20,000 ranches in Arizona and of those there were more than 6,000 with cattle.  Cattle and calf sales surpassed 1.17 Billion. Grazing is the dominant land use in Arizona using up over 90% of the total agricultural land use.  Cattle are raised in every county in Arizona.  Arizona has more than 300 years of history with cowboys and cattle ranching. This tradition is carried on within families even today.

If you look past the obvious, the guest ranches, the ATV's and the guys who just own a horse to ride to the local bar - there are many real cowboys still on the trail in Arizona.

In the words of the song written by Dale Evans and sung by her husband Roy Rogers,

Some trails are happy ones,
Others are blue.
It's the way you ride the trail that counts,
Here's a happy one for you.
Happy trails to you,
Until we meet again.
Happy trails to you,
Keep smiling until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we're together?
Just sing a song, and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you,
Until we meet again.

Leslie

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