First American Cowgirl

 The First American Cowgirl....Lucille Mulhall

Equally skilled with rifle, lariat and horse, a teenager from Oklahoma named Lucille Mulhall became America’s first cowgirl. Will Rogers wrote that Lucille's achievement in competition with cowboys was the 'direct start of what has since come to be known as the Cowgirl'. He continued to write, “there was no such a word up to then as Cowgirl”. It was coined to describe her after she beat dozens of cowboys in a 1904 cattle-roping competition that set world records.

Lucille Mulhall was born on October 21, 1885, in St. Louis, Missouri to Colonel Zack and Agnes Mulhall. Native American tribes still roamed the open grassland of the Mulhall Ranch when Lucille was growing up. Wolves prowled the prairie, preying on the Mulhall livestock. Cowhands were a vital part of ranching; roping, branding, round-ups and shooting were practical skills instead of pastimes. The little blonde girl with blue-gray eyes was an eager student for the ranch hands and cowboys who lived in the bunkhouses of the Mulhall spread. Lucille, instead of learning piano or sewing like her sisters, learned to toss a lariat and tie a steer. Lucille learned her horsemanship and skills from the Cowboys who rode the cattle drives of the Old West.

Lucille Mulhall was a cowgirl long before she entertained crowds with feats of horsemanship on Governor, her trained horse. By the age of 7, she was riding around her father’s 80,000-acre ranch. Cowboys who rode the plains of the Indian Territories tutored her in the art of lassoing. Zack Mulhall claimed that when his daughter was 13, he told her she could keep as many of his steers as she could rope in one day. Lucille, he bragged, didn’t quit until she lassoed more than 300 cattle! "By the age of fourteen,” the New York Times reported, "She could break a bronco and shoot a coyote at 500 yards.” Teddy Roosevelt was among Lucille’s fans. While campaigning in Oklahoma as a vice presidential candidate in 1900, Roosevelt first saw the blonde teenager perform. It was the Fourth of July, and Lucille roped in front of a crowd of 25,000 people at a "Cowboy Tournament.” The Daily Oklahoman reported, "Roosevelt was most enchanted with the daring feats of Lucille Mulhall.” "She rode beautifully throughout the contest and lassoed the wildest steer in the field.”

Teddy Roosevelt was so dazzled by the 14-year-old’s skills that he invited the Mulhalls to join him and a select group of Rough Rider veterans at a private dinner. That night Lucille gave the hero of the charge up San Juan Hill the silk scarf she had worn during the Cowboy Tournament.

When Zack Mulhall reciprocated the dinner invitation by asking Roosevelt to stay at his ranch, Teddy readily accepted. After watching Lucille’s daredevil antics on the ranch, Roosevelt encouraged her father to get her more exposure. "Zack, before the girl dies or gets married or cuts up some other caper,” Roosevelt reportedly said, "you ought to put her on the stage and let the world see what she can do.” During that same visit, Roosevelt spent time in the saddle riding alongside Lucille. He saw a gray wolf at a distance, which whetted his appetite for the hunt. The wolf eluded Roosevelt that day, but it didn’t escape Lucille. After Roosevelt left, she hunted down the predator. By one account, she dispatched it with a shot from her Winchester, but in another version she lassoed the creature and clubbed it to death. The pelt was sent to Roosevelt, who displayed it in the White House after he and McKinley won the presidential election that fall. Roosevelt later gave Lucille a saddle and an 1873 Winchester .44-40 that had been presented to him.

Lucille Mulhall, was the first well known cowgirl. She competed with 'real' cowboys - the range hardened cowboys accustomed to riding for days in the saddle; the cowboys who spent many hours branding cattle. Her expert roping skills were a natural talent honed by the skills of another natural roper - Will Rogers. She not only was an expert at using the lariat but she had a natural gift of working with horses. She trained horses to respond to the roping of a steer as well as how to perform a number of what she called 'tricks.' Her trained horses she called 'high schooled horses' and one was particularly famous: "Governor." She claimed her horse, Governor, knew at least forty tricks. He could pull off a man's coat and put it on again, could walk upstairs and down again, a difficult feat. He could sit with his forelegs crossed, could lie down and do just about everything but talk.

In 1904 Lucille competed against the best cowhands from across the Southwest in a roping contest at Dennison, Texas. In this competition she won a belt buckle, declaring her to be the World's Champion Lady Roper. She won three solid gold medals in Texas for steer roping, a trophy for winning a Cutting Horse contest as well as many other medals, trophies and honors. At the turn of the twentieth century Lucille Mulhall was American's greatest cowgirl.

While still in her early teens, Lucille was the top cowboy performer in the West. Extremely feminine, soft-spoken, and well educated, she seemed a paradox, for she was so steel-muscled she could beat strong and talented men at their own games. She could have been a society belle, but she loved the rough, dangerous life of a cowboy. Had she been a man, she would have been content to work on a ranch, but as a woman she was a novelty and the only way she could make use of her singular talents was in show business. The term cowgirl was invented to describe her when she took the East by storm in her first appearance at Madison Square Garden (in 1905). "Against these bronzed and war-scarred veterans of the plains, a delicately featured blonde girl appeared,” a 1905 New York Times profile intoned. "Slight of figure, refined and neat in appearance, attired in a becoming riding habit for hard riding, wearing a picturesque Mexican sombrero and holding in one hand a lariat of the finest cowhide, Lucille Mulhall comes forward to show what an eighteen-year-old girl can do in roping steers.”

In 3 minutes and 36 seconds, she lassoed and tied three steers. "The veteran cowboys did their best to beat it,” the New York Times reported, "but their best was several seconds slower than the girl’s record-breaking time. The cowboys and plainsmen who were gathered in large numbers to witness the contest broke into tremendous applause when the championship gold medal was awarded to the slight, pale-faced girl, and from that day to this Miss Mulhall has been known far and wide throughout the West as the Queen of the Range.”

Lucille had set a new world record. She won a gold medal and a $10,000 prize. Just as she had dazzled Teddy Roosevelt, Lucille now entranced journalists. Newspapers showered her with titles like "Daring Beauty of the Plains” and "Deadshot Girl,” but the one that stuck was "Original Cowgirl.”

Lucille’s career took her to Europe, where she performed for heads of state and royalty. She officially retired in 1917 at age 32. Live Wild West performances were being eclipsed by the rise of Hollywood westerns. Ironically, many of the stars of silent movies, including "King of the Cowboys” Tom Mix, got their start in Zack Mulhall’s Congress of Rough Riders. But as late as the 1930s, Lucille still did exhibition riding on the Mulhall Ranch.

Throughout her life, Lucille remained captivated by show business and more loyal to her father than to any other man. Her two marriages ended in divorce, and she rarely saw her son, born in 1909, because she was always on tour. Though Lucille was a top draw at Wild West shows and had run her own company, "Lucille Mulhall's Round-up," many people considered her an ineffective wife and mother because she had never learned to do "woman's work."

Although Wild West shows became less popular and less financially viable starting in the mid 1910s, Lucille and her brother Charley continued to perform in them through the 1930s. Show attendance dwindled, as did the number of performers. Despite the lack of publicity being given to wild west shows in the shadow of the polio epidemic, the United States' entry into World War I, and then the Great Depression, Lucille seemed unable to pull herself away from the limelight. She made her last known public appearance in September of 1940.

Lucille went back to work at her families ranch, which was located fourteen miles north of Guthrie, Oklahoma, on highway 77. The Mulhall ranch at one time encompassed 80,000 acres of land, much of which was unclaimed land. In addition some land was leased. The original ranch began with 160 acres claimed at the 1889 Oklahoma Land Opening. The Mulhall family operated their show and cattle business from this ranch and had many visitors. Some of their famous visitors were President Theodore Roosevelt, Will Rogers, Tom Mix and even the outlaw Henry Starr. Geronimo also was an admirer of Lucille's talent and gave her a beaded vest and a decorated Indian bow.

Lucille Mulhall died less than a mile from the Mulhall Ranch in an automobile accident on December 21, 1940. She was only 55 years old. In December 1975, she was posthumously inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable 
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Horse Training by the Californio Vaquero's

The Californio Vaquero's prided themselves on their horsemanship and horse tack. They took great care too hand braid their horse hair mecates and romel reins. The Vaquero’s hand braiding techniques are still used today. 

The rawhide bosals, riatas and quirts, headstalls, and hackamores are all part of the Vaquero "tool box" to train their horses.

The Vaqueros trained their horses for 7-10 years, starting at 4 years old, to react with very little pressure from the rider. At the end of training, the horse and rider would be one. 

 
The 3 stages of the Vaquero horse training were….


The 1st stage - starts with a hackamore bitless braided rawhide headstall to teach the horse to yield to pressure. The reins were long hand braided horse hair mecates.

The 2nd stage - or "Two Rein" is where the Vaquero would use a thinner simpler version of the hackamore nose piece, the bosal. This bosal was lighter for this part of the stage. The mecate bridle had a spade bit and a braided rawhide romel rein. During this stage of the training the Vaquero would hold both sets of reins and the horse would be controlled with mostly the bosal and light on the bit. Then the Vaquero would transition to only using the bit and would then get rid of the bosal all together.

The 3rd stage- is called the "Straight upon the Bridle". The Vaquero handles the horse with just the spade bit. The Bit is connected with romel reins. The bosal and mecate are used under the bridle to lead the horse. 

 
This extensive training enabled the Vaquero to control the horse with little pressure. The Vaquero's horse was a skilled cattle horse and would be tested....

The Vaquero use to test their horses skills by tying a thread to the links section of the chain part of the romel reins. The Vaquero would then bring the horse to a stop with a "light" pull of the reins. If the thread broke- the Vaquero needed to pull to hard.

Another way to show off their skills.....trying to rope Grizzlies!!!

Can you imagine the horsemanship skills and the communication of the horse and rider to stop and move in an instant to rope a Grizzly!!!!!

Buckaroo Leather Uses the Influence of the Vaquero when handcrafting our Hackamores

A Rawhide Accented Hackamore

A Cadillac Hackamore Set with Fiador & Mecate

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand Visit Our Unique Store Today Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Cowboy Dressage Gaits..by Jeff Wilson

I thought since Buckaroo Leather will be at the Cowboy Dressage Circuit Show #2 happening this weekend, June 20th-22nd at the Murieta Equestrian Center in Murieta Ca. this great article on Cowboy Dressage Gaits by Jeff Wilson would be appropriate!!

THE COWBOY DRESSAGE GAITS

By Jeff Wilson

Photos by Lesley Deutsch

 Free Jog

As western riders have begun to embrace dressage for their western horses, they have endured opposition created as a result of the two worlds colliding—the western world and the dressage world. The horse world at large has watched this rise of dressage horsemanship for the western horse with mixed opinions. Without a doubt, the western jog, standing alongside its English counterpart, the trot, as a legitimate dressage gait has been a hotly debated topic. 

One of the biggest misunderstanding here is because a large portion of the horse world, trying to relate to Cowboy Dressage, stumble on the word “dressage.” It is just too easy for folks to come to their own conclusion that western horses should mirror the competitive dressage world. Suddenly, the jog puts them into a quandary because this fun-tastic middle gait does not fit into that dressage world. 

Working Jog

To clear it up, Cowboy Dressage is a western division with western gaits. As soon as you begin to trot and canter, you have left the western division. Trotting and cantering belong in the dressage division. I hate to drawn lines where horsemanship is concerned, but confusion exists because people are trying to plug “dressage in a western saddle” instead of dressage for the western horse.
There is a difference.

Working Lope

An interesting bit of biomechanics to be clear on is that suspension exists only in the trot and canter; the jog and lope do not have suspension. That is a fact. Once you have suspension, you have left the western element. A western horse, developed properly, certainly does need to be able to move forward freely in a pure two beat gait. From this western working jog, developing the ability to move more forward in an opening stride becomes the free jog. In the free jog, the entire frame of the horse levels out and the horse reaches under itself from behind with a longer stride. One of the hallmarks of suppleness in Cowboy Dressage is to be able to shorten and lengthen our horses stride without changing the tempo—without slowing during shortening, and without speeding up during lengthening.

 Working Lope

It is easy for the traditional dressage person to view our western gaits as being underdeveloped and lacking engagement. Conversely, it is easy for the western person to view dressage gaits as being complicated and impractical. The truth of the matter is that the merits of both are often sadly hidden from the views of either side…Regardless, it matters during the test only. 

Cowboy dressage is about having fun with your horse, and recognizing the “try” of horse and rider. It is not about attempting to make competitive dressage horses out of our western horses!

If you want to learn more about what Jeff talked about here, or you have a question you would like to ask, you can reach him at:

 Jeff@JeffWilsonCowboyDressage.com or www.facebook.com/pages/Cowboy-Dressage-World-of-New-York

 Jeff has been training horses for over 30 years and values the western horse lifestyle in his approach to training. He gives clinics and seminars on how to reach your full potential with your horse through the training foundation of Cowboy Dressage.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality 
American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today 
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

America's First Cowgirl..Lucille Mulhall

Equally skilled with rifle, lariat and horse, a teenager from Oklahoma named Lucille Mulhall became America’s first cowgirl. 

Lucille Mulhall was born on October 21, 1885, in St. Louis, Missouri to Colonel Zack and Agnes Mulhall. Lucille Mulhall has been given many different titles. Rodeo Queen, Queen of the Western Prairie, Queen of the Saddle, American's Greatest Horse Woman. But there is no doubt that she was American's First Cowgirl.

Will Rogers wrote that Lucille's achievement in competition with cowboys was the 'direct start of what has since come to be known as the Cowgirl'. He continued to write, “there was no such a word up to then as Cowgirl”.  Lucille beat dozens of cowboys in a 1904 cattle-roping competition, she set world records.

Native American tribes still roamed the open grassland of the Mulhall Ranch when Lucille was growing up. Wolves prowled the prairie, preying on the Mulhall livestock. Cowhands were a vital part of ranching; roping, branding, round-ups and shooting were practical skills instead of pastimes. The little blonde girl with blue-gray eyes was an eager student for the ranch hands and cowboys who lived in the bunkhouses of the Mulhall spread. 

Lucille, instead of learning piano or sewing like her sisters, learned to toss a lariat and tie a steer. Lucille learned her horsemanship and skills from the Cowboys who rode the cattle drives of the Old West.

Lucille Mulhall was a cowgirl long before she entertained crowds with feats of horsemanship on Governor, her trained horse. By the age of 7, she was riding around her father’s 80,000-acre ranch. Cowboys who rode the plains of the Indian Territories tutored her in the art of lassoing. 

Zack Mulhall claimed that when his daughter was 13, he told her she could keep as many of his steers as she could rope in one day. Lucille, he bragged, didn’t quit until she lassoed more than 300 cattle! "By the age of fourteen,” the New York Times reported, "She could break a bronco and shoot a coyote at 500 yards.” Teddy Roosevelt was among Lucille’s fans. 

While campaigning in Oklahoma as a vice presidential candidate in 1900, Roosevelt first saw the blonde teenager perform. It was the Fourth of July, and Lucille roped in front of a crowd of 25,000 people at a "Cowboy Tournament.” The Daily Oklahoman reported, "Roosevelt was most enchanted with the daring feats of Lucille Mulhall.” "She rode beautifully throughout the contest and lassoed the wildest steer in the field.”

Teddy Roosevelt was so dazzled by the 14-year-old’s skills that he invited the Mulhalls to join him and a select group of Rough Rider veterans at a private dinner. That night Lucille gave the hero of the charge up San Juan Hill the silk scarf she had worn during the Cowboy Tournament.

When Zack Mulhall reciprocated the dinner invitation by asking Roosevelt to stay at his ranch, Teddy readily accepted. After watching Lucille’s daredevil antics on the ranch, Roosevelt encouraged her father to get her more exposure. "Zack, before the girl dies or gets married or cuts up some other caper,” Roosevelt reportedly said, "you ought to put her on the stage and let the world see what she can do.” 

During that same visit, Roosevelt spent time in the saddle riding alongside Lucille. He saw a gray wolf at a distance, which whetted his appetite for the hunt. The wolf eluded Roosevelt that day, but it didn’t escape Lucille. After Roosevelt left, she hunted down the predator. By one account, she dispatched it with a shot from her Winchester, but in another version she lassoed the creature and clubbed it to death. The pelt was sent to Roosevelt, who displayed it in the White House after he and McKinley won the presidential election that fall. Roosevelt later gave Lucille a saddle and an 1873 Winchester .44-40 that had been presented to him.

Lucille Mulhall, was the first well known cowgirl. She competed with 'real' cowboys - the range hardened cowboys accustomed to riding for days in the saddle; the cowboys who spent many hours branding cattle. Her expert roping skills were a natural talent honed by the skills of another natural roper - Will Rogers. She not only was an expert at using the lariat but she had a natural gift of working with horses. She trained horses to respond to the roping of a steer as well as how to perform a number of what she called 'tricks.' Her trained horses she called 'high schooled horses' and one was particularly famous: "Governor."

She claimed her horse, Governor, knew at least forty tricks. He could pull off a man's coat and put it on again, could walk upstairs and down again, a difficult feat. He could sit with his forelegs crossed, could lie down and do just about everything but talk.

In 1904 Lucille competed against the best cowhands from across the Southwest in a roping contest at Dennison, Texas. In this competition she won a belt buckle, declaring her to be the World's Champion Lady Roper. She won three solid gold medals in Texas for steer roping, a trophy for winning a Cutting Horse contest as well as many other medals, trophies and honors. At the turn of the twentieth century Lucille Mulhall was American's greatest cowgirl.

While still in her early teens, Lucille was the top cowboy performer in the West. Extremely feminine, soft-spoken, and well educated, she seemed a paradox, for she was so steel-muscled she could beat strong and talented men at their own games. She could have been a society belle, but she loved the rough, dangerous life of a cowboy. Had she been a man, she would have been content to work on a ranch, but as a woman she was a novelty and the only way she could make use of her singular talents was in show business. 

The term cowgirl was invented to describe her when she took the East by storm in her first appearance at Madison Square Garden (in 1905). "Against these bronzed and war-scarred veterans of the plains, a delicately featured blonde girl appeared,” a 1905 New York Times profile intoned. "Slight of figure, refined and neat in appearance, attired in a becoming riding habit for hard riding, wearing a picturesque Mexican sombrero and holding in one hand a lariat of the finest cowhide, Lucille Mulhall comes forward to show what an eighteen-year-old girl can do in roping steers.”
In 3 minutes and 36 seconds, she lassoed and tied three steers. "The veteran cowboys did their best to beat it,” the New York Times reported, "but their best was several seconds slower than the girl’s record-breaking time. 

The cowboys and plainsmen who were gathered in large numbers to witness the contest broke into tremendous applause when the championship gold medal was awarded to the slight, pale-faced girl, and from that day to this Miss Mulhall has been known far and wide throughout the West as the Queen of the Range.”

Lucille had set a new world record. She won a gold medal and a $10,000 prize. Just as she had dazzled Teddy Roosevelt, Lucille now entranced journalists. Newspapers showered her with titles like "Daring Beauty of the Plains” and "Deadshot Girl,” but the one that stuck was "Original Cowgirl.”

Lucille’s career took her to Europe, where she performed for heads of state and royalty. She officially retired in 1917 at age 32. Live Wild West performances were being eclipsed by the rise of Hollywood westerns. Ironically, many of the stars of silent movies, including "King of the Cowboys” Tom Mix, got their start in Zack Mulhall’s Congress of Rough Riders. But as late as the 1930s, Lucille still did exhibition riding on the Mulhall Ranch.

Throughout her life, Lucille remained captivated by show business and more loyal to her father than to any other man. Her two marriages ended in divorce, and she rarely saw her son, born in 1909, because she was always on tour. Though Lucille was a top draw at Wild West shows and had run her own company, "Lucille Mulhall's Round-up," many people considered her an ineffective wife and mother because she had never learned to do "woman's work."

Although Wild West shows became less popular and less financially viable starting in the mid 1910s, Lucille and her brother Charley continued to perform in them through the 1930s. Show attendance dwindled, as did the number of performers. Despite the lack of publicity being given to wild west shows in the shadow of the polio epidemic, the United States' entry into World War I, and then the Great Depression, Lucille seemed unable to pull herself away from the limelight. She made her last known public appearance in September of 1940.

Lucille went back to work at her families ranch, which was located fourteen miles north of Guthrie, Oklahoma, on highway 77. The Mulhall ranch at one time encompassed 80,000 acres of land, much of which was unclaimed land. In addition some land was leased. The original ranch began with 160 acres claimed at the 1889 Oklahoma Land Opening. 

The Mulhall family operated their show and cattle business from this ranch and had many visitors. Some of their famous visitors were President Theodore Roosevelt, Will Rogers, Tom Mix and even the outlaw Henry Starr. Geronimo also was an admirer of Lucille's talent and gave her a beaded vest and a decorated Indian bow.

Lucille Mulhall died less than a mile from the Mulhall Ranch in an automobile accident on December 21, 1940. She was only 55 years old. In December 1975, she was posthumously inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame.






Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable 
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today  
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Tomasini Training Center Teaching the Language of Lightness

Training horses and their riders to move with softness and self carriage is the goal of the Tomasini Training Center. Horse Trainer and clinician, Susan Tomasini focuses on the Cowboy Dressage mission of training and riding with a "soft feel". Susan defines soft feel as "the language of lightness in the conversation between horse and rider".  All of Susan's lessons, clinics and training reflect this "language of lightness".

Susan herself is a founding partner of Cowboy Dressage World. Susan has been apart of the equestrian world since she was 18. She trained and showed jumpers for clients at Mike Manesco's stables in Los Angeles. By word of mouth, Susan began teaching good horsemanship skills and starting colts for local clients. This started her on her journey with Cowboy Dressage and Eitan Beth-Halachmy. 

Susan also conducts Cowboy Dressage clinics at her training center. Cowboy Dressage is an exciting fast growing equine discipline. Cowboy Dressage is the blending of both Traditional Western and Classical Horsemanship. By taking the best of both disciplines you create a discipline that teaches light hands and soft feel communication for both horse and rider. 

Cowboy Dressage clinic language of Lightness Series.....

                                      May 2nd and 3rd 2014

To see Susan's 2014 clinic schedule click here......

 

Read Susan's informative blog too.....

                     Visit her facebook page and youtube page





Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving 
the Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

American Horse Tack & Horsemanship on The Best of America by Horseback

A few weeks back Buckaroo Leather Products visited Justin Dunn's beautiful Ranch in Guffey, Colorado. While at the ranch the good folks at "Best of America by Horseback"  came to Justin's Ranch to film Justin's Mustang Horsemanship and his equine program at Nighthawk Ranch, a camp for children recovering from cancer. 

Cinnamon with the bitless sidepull

photo by Ory Photography

During the filming, Justin and Buckaroo John filmed a commercial featuring Justin's Dunn bitless sidepull and the Justin Dunn signature saddle both manufactured by Buckaroo Leather products. It was a great experience and such a pleasure to work with the folks at "Best of America by Horseback".  

 Harley (showing off the saddle) and Justin filming

 photo by Ory Photography

You can also see Justin's two amazing BLM mustangs, Cinnamon and Harley in the commercials showing off the saddle and bitless sidepull made right here in America!

See a sneak preview of the commercials to air below..

The commercials will begin running on November 5th on RFD TV during the "Best of America by Horseback" show. 

(see show times below)

Buckaroo John, Cinnamon (showing off the saddle and bitless sidepull) and Justin filming

 photo by Ory Photography

 

The episode on the "Best of America by Horseback" about Justin and his equine program at the Nighthawk Ranch will start in January.

Best of America by Horseback show times


Tues. at 4:30 pm (ET) 3:30 pm (CT)
Wed. at 2:30 am (ET) 1:30 am (CT)
Fri. at 12:30 pm (ET) 11:30 am (CT)
Sun. at 12:00 am (ET) 11:00 pm (CT)

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving 
the Western Horseman the safest most durable 
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today 
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Join Buckaroo Leather at the Light Hands Horsemanship

 

Light Hands Horsemanship

May 30th - June 2nd 2013

Santa Ynez. Ca

 

Light Hands Horsemanship is the brain child of these great horsemen, Dr. Robert M Miller, Eitan Beth-Halachmy (Cowboy Dressage), Lester Buckley, and Jon Ensign. This innovative concept and format in the teaching of horsemanship was born from horsemen and women asking these clinicians... “Ok, you have shown us how to start a young horse, now what?” or “This is great to see such an advanced horse but how do we get there?

Always listening to the needs of their horse public the four of them decided to form a group of horseman in a clinic setting that will take you from “Birth to the Advanced Horse.”

Each of these clinicians are unique and committed to their particular field of teaching and training.   One of the things that they all have in common and will stress in their presentations, is the use and development of “LIGHTNESS.”

“LIGHTNESS” is their cornerstone, it is what all 9 clinicians strive for from their “first touch thru advanced training”. You will see “lightness” from the hand held touch of a lead line to the hand and rein communication of the advanced horse and rider.


Values:
Listen before speaking.
Observe before acting.


Empathize before judging.

Lead by example.

Look inward for answers.
Commit to lifelong learning and self-improvement.

From Dr. Robert Miller

....."The horse is one of the most perceptive , most reactive, most responsive, most aware, and fastest learners of all creatures. Why then has it been the subject of so much severity, the recipient of so much pain, the victim of overuse of tools such as the whip, the spur, and the bit?

If we learn the principles of teaching and scientifically correct means of communication with another species, then we can train horses with the LIGHTEST of stimuli, produced with our hands, our voice, our seat, our legs."

Along with the cornerstone clinicians this event will have our good friend horse trainers Richard Winters and Sarah Winters.  Richard and Sarah will be presenting a colt starting demonstration with a beautiful young Andalusian. Sarah will be teaming up with legendary horseman Jack Brainard for an advanced horsemanship demonstration you won't want to miss.

Also in attendance will be trainers Jack Brainard, Sheila Varian, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Rick Lamb will be the MC.

This event is sponsored by Spalding Laboratory and is in its seventh year. This event always sells outs, if you are interested in this event I encourage you to visit the Light Hands Horsemanship website. You can check clinic schedules, clinic topics, learn more about the trainers and more. This event will also have good old fashioned camp fire stories, a Santa Maria Barbecue and vendors, like Buckaroo Leather.

Buckaroo Leather will be there all through out the event with our quality leather horse tack on display to touch, smell and see the quality craftsmanship up close. We look forward to being apart of this event and look forward to see you all there!






 
Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand 
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Horses Helping Our Hero's.....Rainier Therapeutic Riding

Rainier Therapeutic Riding is a non-profit organization that helps wounded active-duty and veteran service members and their families by providing therapeutic horsemanship services . A few months ago Buckaroo Leather had the extreme pleasure, along with Mark Bolender of Bolender Horse Park of watching this incredible group in action. Mark has partnered with Rainier Therapeutic Riding to provide funding and awareness to this program. 

Buckaroo Leather was extremely impressed with this organization and their dedication to our deserving wounded hero's.  Buckaroo Leather encourages all who love horses and our veterans to learn more about this group and their up coming fundraiser in November.

 
The mission of Rainier Therapeutic Riding is to utilize equine-assisted therapy to promote healing, teamwork and fellowship dealing with post traumatic stress and other physical and emotional challenges faced by our active and retired military. The concept of using horses to provide therapy to humans is similar to the effective nature of dogs visiting shut-ins. 

As an outdoor activity, it is also similar to the athletic benefits provided to injured military by scuba diving and golf. However, one unique aspect of horse back riding makes it especially effective in dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). All horses have a behavior called hyper-reactivity, the fright and flight reaction to perceived threats. Soldiers diagnosed with PTSD have this same behavior. This means they react with great fear and anxiety to situations that are actually non-threatening. By showing the soldiers how to train horses not to be afraid of scary mud puddles in the trail (for example), they can see that fears they experience are not always justified and may be worth expending effort to overcome.

The riders move towards a goal of trail riding and horse-camping. Soldiers develop horsemanship skills and facilitate personal healing using the unique behavior traits that both horses and people with PTSD share. Using horses appropriate to their skill level, soldiers learn to train their horses to work through their hyper-reactivity. Learning to control their body language, breathing, and to become conscious of their own bodies reactions to stress earns the horses’ respect for the soldier as a leader. 

 
“I came into this project not knowing really what to expect. I never thought it would help me this much. I came into it still paralyzed from the knee down on my right leg walking on a cane with severe PTSD and anxiety from my deployment. And now after just the past 9 weeks of working with the horses and volunteering at the stables I am now much happier emotionally, walking without a cane and as of last week I am able to lift my leg 45 degrees backwards...” Dean Baker

Rainier Therapeutic Riding will be having their Second Annual Heroes, Horses and Hope Dinner and Auction on November 9th, 2013. Since Rainier Therapeutic is a non-profit organization, events like this help raise vital funds for the program. This is an amazing opportunity to support this group. If you are interested in donating an item for the auction or attending the event click here.

If you are also interested in volunteering or signing up as a rider please contact.....

rtriding.org
saddleup@rtriding.org 
or Debbi Fisher at 360-259-3782
 




Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand 
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today
 Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Buckaroo Leather Products Welcomes Allison Trimble

 Buckaroo Leather Products is honored to have horse trainer Allison Trimble using and endorsing our leather horse tack.

Willfully: (adverb) acting intentionally, deliberately, of one's own free will, freely, spontaneously, voluntarily, willingly and with purpose.

Guided: (Verb) lead, piloted, steered, instructed, directed.

"This is the way I wish for my clients to be approaching their horses. I want them to steer, lead, direct their horses with purpose and intent. I want them to be confident in their understanding of training philosophy."......Allison

Allison Trimble is a very talented horsewoman. She believes in the ability of the Non Pro to have a primary role in the training of their own horse. Willfully Guided is an educational program based on Allison's training process. It offers insights into the art of building a willing and sustainable partnership with your performance horse.

Learn more about Allison by visiting her website, watching her horse training video's on Youtube or sign up for her newsletter.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable 
Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

HorseGirl TV Innovative Horse Care and Tack Tips

HorseGirl TV is an innovative online series to educate both young and old about the equestrian world and give the Horseman innovative horse care and tack tips.

HorseGirlTV® is an award-winning, forward-thinking online series focusing on the positive aspects of the equine industry.


The mission at HorseGirlTV® is to educate the equine community while simultaneous entertaining and educating kids, families and mainstream audiences exposing the wonderful world of horses to the world thus enriching and expanding our industry.


HorseGirlTV's goal is to continually create unique, quality equine entertainment for the wired generation.

HorseGirl TV approached Buckaroo Leather for an interview. Of course Buckaroo Leather was honored and proud to do the interview with Angelea Kelly Walkup, the talented creator of Horse Girl TV and CEO and Chief Equine Officer.

To hear the 2 interviews please click the links below......


HorseGirl TV interview #1

HorseGirl TV interview #2

If you are interested in staying informed and up-to-date on innovative Horse Care, Horse Tack and Horse accessories, we suggest you subscribe to this group of Podcasts and Videos found at Horse Girl TV

Thank you to HorseGirl TV for the interview and I encourage all horse enthusiasts to visit HorseGirl TV website and blog and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the
Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Lucille Mulhall-the Fist American Cowgirl!

Equally skilled with rifle, lariat and horse, a teenager from Oklahoma named Lucille Mulhall became America’s first cowgirl. Lucille Mulhall was born on October 21, 1885, in St. Louis, Missouri to Colonel Zack and Agnes Mulhall. There were other horsewomen, of course, like those who rode in William F. "Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West shows, but none were cowgirls.

Lucille Mulhall has been given many different titles. Rodeo Queen, Queen of the Western Prairie, Queen of the Saddle, American's Greatest Horse Woman. But there is no doubt that she was American's First Cowgirl.

Will Rogers wrote that Lucille's achievement in competition with cowboys was the 'direct start of what has since come to be known as the Cowgirl'. He continued to write, “there was no such a word up to then as Cowgirl”. It was coined to describe her after she beat dozens of cowboys in a 1904 cattle-roping competition that set world records.

Native American tribes still roamed the open grassland of the Mulhall Ranch when Lucille was growing up. Wolves prowled the prairie, preying on the Mulhall livestock. Cowhands were a vital part of ranching; roping, branding, round-ups and shooting were practical skills instead of pastimes. The little blonde girl with blue-gray eyes was an eager student for the ranch hands and cowboys who lived in the bunkhouses of the Mulhall spread. Lucille, instead of learning piano or sewing like her sisters, learned to toss a lariat and tie a steer. Lucille learned her horsemanship and skills from the Cowboys who rode the cattle drives of the Old West.

Lucille Mulhall was a cowgirl long before she entertained crowds with feats of horsemanship on Governor, her trained horse. By the age of 7, she was riding around her father’s 80,000-acre ranch. Cowboys who rode the plains of the Indian Territories tutored her in the art of lassoing. Zack Mulhall claimed that when his daughter was 13, he told her she could keep as many of his steers as she could rope in one day. Lucille, he bragged, didn’t quit until she lassoed more than 300 cattle! "By the age of fourteen,” the New York Times reported, "She could break a bronco and shoot a coyote at 500 yards.” Teddy Roosevelt was among Lucille’s fans. While campaigning in Oklahoma as a vice presidential candidate in 1900, Roosevelt first saw the blonde teenager perform. It was the Fourth of July, and Lucille roped in front of a crowd of 25,000 people at a "Cowboy Tournament.” The Daily Oklahoman reported, "Roosevelt was most enchanted with the daring feats of Lucille Mulhall.” "She rode beautifully throughout the contest and lassoed the wildest steer in the field.”

Teddy Roosevelt was so dazzled by the 14-year-old’s skills that he invited the Mulhalls to join him and a select group of Rough Rider veterans at a private dinner. That night Lucille gave the hero of the charge up San Juan Hill the silk scarf she had worn during the Cowboy Tournament.

When Zack Mulhall reciprocated the dinner invitation by asking Roosevelt to stay at his ranch, Teddy readily accepted. After watching Lucille’s daredevil antics on the ranch, Roosevelt encouraged her father to get her more exposure. "Zack, before the girl dies or gets married or cuts up some other caper,” Roosevelt reportedly said, "you ought to put her on the stage and let the world see what she can do.” During that same visit, Roosevelt spent time in the saddle riding alongside Lucille. He saw a gray wolf at a distance, which whetted his appetite for the hunt. The wolf eluded Roosevelt that day, but it didn’t escape Lucille. After Roosevelt left, she hunted down the predator. By one account, she dispatched it with a shot from her Winchester, but in another version she lassoed the creature and clubbed it to death. The pelt was sent to Roosevelt, who displayed it in the White House after he and McKinley won the presidential election that fall. Roosevelt later gave Lucille a saddle and an 1873 Winchester .44-40 that had been presented to him.

Lucille Mulhall, was the first well known cowgirl. She competed with 'real' cowboys - the range hardened cowboys accustomed to riding for days in the saddle; the cowboys who spent many hours branding cattle. Her expert roping skills were a natural talent honed by the skills of another natural roper - Will Rogers. She not only was an expert at using the lariat but she had a natural gift of working with horses. She trained horses to respond to the roping of a steer as well as how to perform a number of what she called 'tricks.' Her trained horses she called 'high schooled horses' and one was particularly famous: "Governor."

She claimed her horse, Governor, knew at least forty tricks. He could pull off a man's coat and put it on again, could walk upstairs and down again, a difficult feat. He could sit with his forelegs crossed, could lie down and do just about everything but talk.

In 1904 Lucille competed against the best cowhands from across the Southwest in a roping contest at Dennison, Texas. In this competition she won a belt buckle, declaring her to be the World's Champion Lady Roper. She won three solid gold medals in Texas for steer roping, a trophy for winning a Cutting Horse contest as well as many other medals, trophies and honors. At the turn of the twentieth century Lucille Mulhall was American's greatest cowgirl.

While still in her early teens, Lucille was the top cowboy performer in the West. Extremely feminine, soft-spoken, and well educated, she seemed a paradox, for she was so steel-muscled she could beat strong and talented men at their own games. She could have been a society belle, but she loved the rough, dangerous life of a cowboy. Had she been a man, she would have been content to work on a ranch, but as a woman she was a novelty and the only way she could make use of her singular talents was in show business. The term cowgirl was invented to describe her when she took the East by storm in her first appearance at Madison Square Garden (in 1905). "Against these bronzed and war-scarred veterans of the plains, a delicately featured blonde girl appeared,” a 1905 New York Times profile intoned. "Slight of figure, refined and neat in appearance, attired in a becoming riding habit for hard riding, wearing a picturesque Mexican sombrero and holding in one hand a lariat of the finest cowhide, Lucille Mulhall comes forward to show what an eighteen-year-old girl can do in roping steers.”


In 3 minutes and 36 seconds, she lassoed and tied three steers. "The veteran cowboys did their best to beat it,” the New York Times reported, "but their best was several seconds slower than the girl’s record-breaking time. The cowboys and plainsmen who were gathered in large numbers to witness the contest broke into tremendous applause when the championship gold medal was awarded to the slight, pale-faced girl, and from that day to this Miss Mulhall has been known far and wide throughout the West as the Queen of the Range.”

Lucille had set a new world record. She won a gold medal and a $10,000 prize. Just as she had dazzled Teddy Roosevelt, Lucille now entranced journalists. Newspapers showered her with titles like "Daring Beauty of the Plains” and "Deadshot Girl,” but the one that stuck was "Original Cowgirl.”

Lucille’s career took her to Europe, where she performed for heads of state and royalty. She officially retired in 1917 at age 32. Live Wild West performances were being eclipsed by the rise of Hollywood westerns. Ironically, many of the stars of silent movies, including "King of the Cowboys” Tom Mix, got their start in Zack Mulhall’s Congress of Rough Riders. But as late as the 1930s, Lucille still did exhibition riding on the Mulhall Ranch.

Throughout her life, Lucille remained captivated by show business and more loyal to her father than to any other man. Her two marriages ended in divorce, and she rarely saw her son, born in 1909, because she was always on tour. Though Lucille was a top draw at Wild West shows and had run her own company, "Lucille Mulhall's Round-up," many people considered her an ineffective wife and mother because she had never learned to do "woman's work."

Although Wild West shows became less popular and less financially viable starting in the mid 1910s, Lucille and her brother Charley continued to perform in them through the 1930s. Show attendance dwindled, as did the number of performers. Despite the lack of publicity being given to wild west shows in the shadow of the polio epidemic, the United States' entry into World War I, and then the Great Depression, Lucille seemed unable to pull herself away from the limelight. She made her last known public appearance in September of 1940.

Lucille went back to work at her families ranch, which was located fourteen miles north of Guthrie, Oklahoma, on highway 77. The Mulhall ranch at one time encompassed 80,000 acres of land, much of which was unclaimed land. In addition some land was leased. The original ranch began with 160 acres claimed at the 1889 Oklahoma Land Opening. The Mulhall family operated their show and cattle business from this ranch and had many visitors. Some of their famous visitors were President Theodore Roosevelt, Will Rogers, Tom Mix and even the outlaw Henry Starr. Geronimo also was an admirer of Lucille's talent and gave her a beaded vest and a decorated Indian bow.

Lucille Mulhall died less than a mile from the Mulhall Ranch in an automobile accident on December 21, 1940. She was only 55 years old. In December 1975, she was posthumously inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame.


Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the
Western Horseman the safest most durable

Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand

Visit Our Unique Store Today

Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site