Wild and Wooly West-Rodeo in 1922

Another great selection from the British Pathe' collection of early Texas films on YouTube!

Bucking Bronchos from the 1930s as seen by British Pathe

A fascinating look back at the rodeo tradition in Texas, as seen by British Pathe filmmakers in the 1930s.

Van Horn Rodeo

Getting Ready for the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo in Alpine!



Scenes from previous Big Bend Ranch Rodeos in Alpine!

One of the best ways to watch real cowboys showing real cowboy skills is Alpine's Big Bend Ranch Rodeo, coming up August 12-13.

From their website: 

"The Big Bend Ranch Rodeo is a sanctioned rodeo by the Working Ranch Cowboy Association. The Working Ranch Cowboy Association is an organization committed to promoting and show casing the skills of those cowboys who still make their living with cattle. It also puts on the World Championship Ranch Rodeo in Amarillo every fall by taking the champion teams from each sanctioned rodeo. The WRCA promotes many good causes, manages its own scholarship program and provides financial support for cowboys and families going through hard times. We are proud to be affiliated with them.

A partner event to the BBRR, a chuckwagon cookoff, is conducted yearly where cooks and wagons compete against each other to see who can cook the most authentic camp food, over an open fire or with coals in cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens. We invite everyone to taste the fare on Saturday afternoon before the rodeo. Other events to complete the weekend include a Ranch Horse Association of America competition and a Ranch Horse Cutting competition."

Big Bend Ranch Rodeo's Chuckwagon Contest

One of Alpine's premier events each year is the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo, an opportunity for real cowboys to show off real cowboy skills.  This year's event is August 12-13 at Sul Ross's rodeo grounds at their Range Animal Science Center on Hwy 90 E.  Also part of the festivities is a Chuckwagon Contest; read about that here.

For the rodeo calendar listing on the Texas Mountain Trail website, click here.  To visit the rodeo's website, click here.

Rodeo Dreams In Van Horn

Head on over to Van Horn for their Frontier Days Celebration and Ranch Rodeo, June 17 and 18!  Details are here; the rodeo's facebook page is here!

Click here for a slideshow of a previous Van Horn rodeo...lots of great kids competing!

Honoring the Working Dogs

This fella was eager to help the workers at the Van Horn Junior Rodeo last summer.  All over the region, dogs are a part of ranch life.  We salute them today! 

Do you have a favorite ranch dog story you'd like to share?  Feel free to put one in our comments section or visit our Facebook page and share your story there!  On facebook, we're "Texas Mountain Trail Region."  Join the fun!

Rodeo!

Rodeo boys

Van Horn's Rodeo last summer!

Looking back at 2009--Van Horn's 4H Rodeo

Rodeo Girl

Taken at this year's 4H Rodeo in Van Horn.

Rodeo Girls

Taken early this summer at Van Horn's 4H Rodeo, one of the best smalltown rodeos in Far West Texas!

Calf Roper

Another view of Van Horn's 4H Rodeo from this summer. These kids are great!

A look back at summer: Van Horn's 4H Rodeo

Every year in late June, the small community of Van Horn holds its 4H Rodeo. The rodeo grounds are at the east edge of town, in full view of the mountains.

Rodeo Boys waiting their turn

Another shot of Van Horn's American Junior Rodeo this year! To see a slideshow of all our photos from the rodeo, click here.

Leaving the shoot

Taken at Van Horn's American Junior Rodeo this summer. To see all our photos from this year's rodeo, click here. (and click on this photo to get a closer view!)

Celebrating America

Today we celebrate our country's independence, and there are few activities more American the the Junior Rodeo. This was taken at last month's American Junior Rodeo, a 4H event, in Van Horn.

Rodeo Girl

Some of the competitors in Van Horn's American Junior Rodeo this weekend. You can access a slide show of all our rodeo photos, here.

Leggett Week Begins! Big Bend Cowboy Rendezvous

From time to time we like to feature images from photographers visiting the region, and starting today, we're featuring the photography of David Lee Leggett...it is David Leggett Week!

Currently a resident of Dallas, Leggett is a frequent visitor to West Texas. He says, "I grew up on and around ranches in East and West Texas. When I am not in Dallas, I am usually at my family's ranch near Menard, TX. I am a self-taught photographer. I began photographing, processing and printing images at age 12. I primarily depict scenes from nature and west texas. My obsessions tend to lean toward thunderstorms, windmills, cows and the open Texas sky."

Leggett captured great images of the recent Big Bend Cowboy Rendezvous on the O6 Ranch north of Alpine. You can see his work at: http://www.phlography.com/

Rodeo Season

Recently, Van Horn had its annual 4H Rodeo, and the crowd enjoyed watching the kids ride and rope.