Cowboy Up

If you are reading this then the term "Cowboy Up" likely means, to you, things like enduring discomfort to get the job done and being loyal to who you work for (riding for the brand) and getting the job done.

In the book, "Cowboy Ethics" by James P. Owen there is a Code of the West which is similiar to what others publish as the Cowboy Code and that simply states:

~ Live each day with courage.
~ Take pride in your work.
~ Always finish what you start.
~ Do what has to be done.
~ Be tough, but fair.
~ When you make a promise, keep it.
~ Ride for the brand.
~ Talk less and say more.
~ Remember that some things aren't for sale.
~ Know where to draw the line.

I can't find much fault with that excepting I would have added:

~ Treat people and animals with respect - especially the eldery, women and horses.
~ Stand up for those who need standing up for.
~ Love the land, this country and respect the law.

When I was in the military it always stuck in my craw when senior leaders would say things like "Don't cowboy this up", or, "Were not cowboys so stick to the plan", and a host of other things that were disparging to Cowboys but not said in disrespect, but from a point of ingorance,.......but irritated me anyways.

Fast forward to today and I saw on the news that the University of Wyoming, whose mascot is a Cowboy riding a Bucking Horse with Hat in hand, is under fire for their their latest marketing slogan which is "The World Needs More Cowboys".  A spokesman for the University said "A Cowboy is not what you are, but who you are."

However, people have taken offense to the Universty's slogan. In my mind these are the kind of people who take offense to many things, but I digress. A native American said words to the effect that 'if you are not a white person and especially a native American, then the image of a white cowboy on horseback does not present a good image.' Okay, fair enough. But lets re-live the shameful history of how native Americans were treated. Nobody from that time period is alive today. But we could sure do good to take the work ethic from the 1800's and apply it today.

So is a Cowboy an racist or sexist stereotype? I think not. Some of the bests Cowboys, most unknown but some known by their Rodeo successes, are Black Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic Americans. And some of the best hands on any ranch are women. In fact women likely have the advantage of possessing a higher compassion and the lack of a male ego to burden them. Western Horseman magazine publishes a column each month titled "Women of the West" where they showcase modern women in the ranching industry. I doubt they think the slogan "The World Needs More Cowboys" is sexist or even any bit inappropriate.

Fox News is reporting that Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said ranchers are worried that the dispute may cast “aspersions on a time-honored way of life and work. We are proud of the true image of the real cowboy or cowgirl, often of very diverse race or ethnicity, riding the range on a well-groomed horse while sporting a cowboy hat, chaps, spurs and a rope.”

Sometimes when I'm riding along a road a car will stop and children will pile out excited to see a horse (they ain't excited to see an old guy that's for sure). I enjoy talking to them about horses, putting them on my horse for pictures (I think my horse likes it too) and one will invariably ask "Mister, are you a Cowboy?" and I respond "Who wouldn't want to be a Cowboy? Me? I'm still trying."  And that's true.  I'm not ashamed for what I am working for no matter what some person who hasn't stepped on dirt lately thinks.