Prescott Rodeo Parade Was A Ton of Fun!

[Bob Boze Bell]

July 2, 2012

Motored up the hill early on Saturday morning to ride in the 125th Annual Prescott Rodeo Parade. We were entry 881. This was my first time to ride in the parade and thanks to my neighbor Matt Grace I had a great ride:

 

Photo is by Dale Schwamborn who posted it on Facebook. Yes, the stretch Checker Cab was custom painted by Matt to include several of the businesses he loves in Cave Creek, including Harold's, The Buffalo Chip and, of course, True West, which is prominently displayed on the doors. The driver is my neighbor Tom Aughterton (former mayor of Cave Creek and current chicken wrangler). Buck Montgomery brought along his rowdy crew and they walked with us, along with Greg Carrol and Sarah. Also joining us on our ten block walk was the legendary Larry Winget (Google him if you don't believe me). Here we are before the parade:

 

But, the guy who absolutely stole the show, though, was Lee Anderson on Concho. Every time Concho pranced along the sidelines the crowd would go bananas. It really was stirring.

 

Lee is a great guy and he is our go-to-guy on all things vaquero.

 

"Ride 'em cowboy."

—Old Vaquero Saying

[Wolfgang]

Looks like a great time . . .     :)

[Dr Buck Montgomery]

It was a "Hoot!"... Thank's Bob for let'n us be part of the Triple B Posse!

Dr. Buck & His rowdy Wild Bunch

[Lee Anderson]

Every TWM event of which I've had the good fortune to take part has been more than a human is supposed to be able to stand. TWM is a great host and I appreciate all they've done for me and Concho

[Murray A. Gewirtz]

Lee, are those wooly chaps hot to wear in Arizona in the summer?

[Murray A. Gewirtz]

I see that my question about the warmth of the wooly chaps was answered in the next blog thread.

[Lee Anderson]

As for the "woolies" ........ Same as the originals worn in the early 1900s mine are not wool, they're historically correct angora goat or mohair. Since goat hide is very light weight and not very strong, the legs are lined with a light canvas for strength same as the originals. Here in Arizona woolies were not popular at the lower elevations except at rodeos. They were real flashy in the rodeo arena but out on the desert would gather every piece of mesquite, cactus, and catclaw that touched them. They were, however, worn up in Arizona's high country as they tend to shed rain water very effectively.

For those of you that tend to be nit-pickers (and I'm one of 'em), everything Concho and I were wearing in the parade, including the fully restored 1906 George Lawrence "high-back" saddle, is the sort of clothing and gear that would have been seen in the Prescott Rodeo Parade in 1912, the year Arizona became a state. In fact the 44-40 SAA in my holster left Colt's factory June 30, 1899. I have Colt's letter to that effect

[Gold Lady]

There were many Angora goat farms around the Yarnell and Kirkland AZ area.    There's a photo of a local cowboy wearing woolies in the current Peeples Valley-Yarnell Historical Society calendar.  But there is a lot of catclaw there.  I'd guess they were only worn in the open areas.

Here's an interesting, very detailed article about the area and Angora goat farm history:

http://www.prescottcorral.org/TT3/V2AngoraGoatRanching.htm