Every once in a while (more often if you’re lucky) you meet a character so rich and colorful that it can be intimidating for someone like me to convey the ex­perience of their story and depth of their knowledge on the mere page. Master horseman L. Dutch van Dierendonck is one of them. This September, he will even be an honored volunteer at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY.
Dutch may be a lot of things, but I wouldn’t consider him a cowboy. Maybe it is just because I …

by Amie Rodgers
At the risk of possibly oversimplifying the Cowboy Way too much, it is hard not to feel like a cowboy after a good ride through forest, fields and streams that ends with a hearty meal and good old fashioned entertainment. The life of the cowboy may be a hard one, but it is a good one.
Always up for something new, I took Keith Williams up on the invitation to saddle up, hit the trails and enjoy some cowboy hospitality. Keith Wil­liams and his father Victor own and …

by Jo Baeza
In a recent interview on Show Low’s City4 TV Connect show, Wendy Koch­heiser asked Steve Taylor, Chris Isaacs and me, “Why should people attend the White Mountains Roundup of Cowboy Poetry, Music & Art?” It didn’t take me long to answer, “Because it is one of the best cowboy poetry and art events in the country.” There are only two other major cowboy poetry events in Arizona, in Prescott and Sierra Vista. Aside from that, you’d have to travel out of state to find cowboy entertainers and artists …

Freelance photographer Harvey Caplin recorded ranch life in the American West from the 1940’s to the 1980’s, before the last roundup, capturing magnificent landscapes, picturesque people, and the growing population. This selection features his images of cowboys on the range, in camp, and working horses and cattle. Caplin went along as a trailhand during roundups, branding cattle, drives to stockyards, and the final journey to market. He patiently waited for the right time, the right light, and the right subject. For more information or to obtain a copy of this …

Submitted by Lita Nicholson at the Rim Country Museum in Payson
Most of us would agree that cowboys are a different breed. We hear about cowboy humor, cowboy po­etry, and most of all, the cowboy’s code which advises “Talk straight, shoot straight, never break your word….” (Jinx Pyle, Rodeo 101, p. 62)
So, no one will be surprised to learn that Payson cowboy Harry Shill, in his many years as a bull rider, shook up the rodeo world and redefined the ways in which a cowboy could find adventure.
Born in …