Women of Rodeo in the 1800's

Most women of the 1800's learned to ride out of necessity from helping on the ranch and practicing the skills of the range. From an early age, women could stay in the saddle, break a bronc and rope a steer.

In the late 1800's, the younger horsewomen began competing against males in a yearly gathering of herds -which progressed into participating in rodeo's.

The first rodeos began in the mid-1800 when thousands of cattle and horses were driven to town for the yearly round-up. The cowboys were eager for relaxation and would compete in tests of skills like roping, breaking horses, branding cattle and racing.

Women of the 1800, however, were not recognized in the arena until 1885.

The most famous cowgirl was Phoebe Ann Moses or Annie Oakley (pictured here).

Here are two stories of women who also helped start the movement of women in Rodeo's

(Stories are from the book "Daughters of the West" by Anne Seagraves.)

In 1897, Bertha Kaelpernick Blancett (pictured above) rode over 100 miles to enter a horse race in Cheyenne's Frontier Days and she was allowed to enter only because the arena was so muddy the cowboys refused to participate. Bertha was coerced into riding a bucking horse to keep the crowd from leaving. Once upon the animal, the petite girl had the ride of her life. Part of the time the horse was up in the air on his hind feet and once he fell backwards, but gutsy Bertha skillfully slid to his side and hung on. Although it was said at that time, that Bertha was a terrible bucker, she had managed to remain in the saddle, putting the cowboys to shame.

Later in 1904 Bertha became a star performer in Claude William's show and was a four time winner in Roman Racing at Pendleton. Bertha rode under men's rules, was seldom defeated and often beat such cowboys as Ben Corbett and Hoot Gibson.

Four years later Prairie Rose Henderson, an exuberant and talented daughter of a Wyoming rancher, rode to Cheyenne to enter a bronc busting contest. When the lady arrived, she was told, much to her chagrin that women were not permitted to ride. When Rose demanded to see the rules, she found there was no clause forbidding women to compete, and the officials were forced to let her participate. Her entrance into the arena created a sensation. Women had always been spectators, not competitors, and Miss Henderson was a colorful person. She came dashing out of the chute hanging on with all her strength and promptly lost the race. Prairie Rose, however, was really a winner, for she had opened the door to rodeo for other women to follow.

Later, Rose went on to victory in other rodeos and became one of the most flamboyant cowgirls of her era. In 1918, she entered the Gordon Nebraska rodeo wearing ostrich plumes over her bloomers and a blouse covered with bright sequins she had carefully sewn herself.

Rose eventually married a rancher and one cloudy day in 1932, Rose rode off to her last competition. This time, she faced her greatest fear, a storm, and lost her life during a blizzard. Prairie Rose's body was discovered nine years later and identified only by her champion belt buckle.

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
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How to Hook up Git-Down-Rope Bosal

Buckaroo John Brand demonstrates How To and the Why of using a "Git-Down-Rope" along with your Bosal favored by Western Horsemen, especially those following the Traditional Vaquero Style. Easy to attach and use.

The traditional cowboys used the “git” down rope to keep there horse standing still while they “git” down to shut the gate, pick up something or have some “doughgods” ( old west cowboy word for biscuits) by the campfire.

Git-Down-Rope- the Rage of the Sage

In keeping with the traditional Vaquero style- the Get-Down-Rope is becoming popular with both the casual riders, following the vaquero style, and the old west working cowboy.

The traditional cowboys used the “git” down rope to keep there horse standing still while they “git” down to shut the gate, pick up something or have some “doughgods” ( old west cowboy word for biscuits) by the campfire.

Today the, get-down-rope is used in the same way, especially in training young horses to stand still.

The Git-Down-Rope is used along with your Bosal and hackamore set up. The Bosal is favored by Western Horsemen, especially those following the Traditional Vaquero Style.

The Git-Down-Rope is used in place of a halter and is easy to use.

Watch the step by step video to learn the proper way to attach the old west “git” down rope and the proper comfortable fit for the horse.

Get Down Rope -

18' long with leather popper. 1/4" Nylon Marine yacht braid with Beautiful Natural Rawhide Button with Hair Tassel. Or 1/2" Cotton with natural rawhide button and cotton tassel (small picture). To be used in place of a halter and lead rope with a pencil bosal and hanger under a bridle for leading. When you “get down” off your horse you have a lead

Git Down Rope w/Bosal and Hanger-

Git Down Rope and 3/8" Pencil Bosal w/ 1/2" harness leather Hanger headstall (complete set as pictured)- Get Down Rope is 18' long with leather popper. 1/4" Nylon Marine yacht braid with Beautiful Natural Rawhide Button with Hair Tassel. Or 1/2" Cotton with natural rawhide button and cotton tassel. To be used in place of a halter and lead rope with a pencil bosal and hanger under a bridle for leading. When you “git down” off your horse you have a lead. Pencil Bosal is 3/8" and 14 Plait Beautiful all natural rawhide braid with a rawhide core.

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

Nicker Bait Cookies are at Buckaroo Leather

Your Horses Will Thank You!

Buckaroo Leather is proud to be offering Nicker Bait horse cookies!

Buckaroo Leather has been offering these cookies as a gift for your horse with each purchase-and the response has been overwhelming!

These Nicker Bait cookies are a hit- pick up a few for your horse today at Buckaroo Leather!

During my travels on the horse trail, the best horse treat I have found is Nicker Bait. Nicker Bait is a nutritious cookie for your horse. Melinda Abplanalp, the creator of Nicker Bait horse cookies, is a horse owner herself. Her cookies are tested on horse ranging from the pickiest to the horse that will eat anything.


The Nicker Bait horse cookies are made from organic fruits and vegetables and have no preservatives. Depending on which flavor you choose, carrot, banana chip, or sweet potato (pictured to the right), you will find only that fruit or vegetable ingredient plus whole grain oats, flax, barley and molasses. They also have seasonal fruits available including cherry, apple, fig and pear. These cookies are filled with more vegetables than other brands ensuring a nutritious snack for your horse. Plus they have a great flavor and your horse will love them!

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

Night Latch- Safety for the Old West Cowboy

In the old west, a cowboy may use the expression, “eatin’ gravel without stoopin’.” This means a cowboy has just been thrown from a horse!

Whether you are an old west cowboy or a “cowboy” of today nobody wants to be thrown from an out of control horse.

Part of the traditional cowboy’s bronc gear was a Night Latch or “Oh Damn strap”. This night latch is still very handy today.

A night latch is a safety strap attached to a saddle to help you stay on an out of control horse. You are using the strap to form a loop to grab like a suitcase handle (or bareback rigging.)

The saddle horn is an option, but with a night latch, you can pull yourself down into the saddle, which gives you greater leverage than holding the horn.

Try this experiment; next time you in your saddle-

First hold the horn, then grab the lariat rope strap or front saddle strings and pull yourself down, imagining the feeling if your horse were acting up. You should feel more secure.

But remember: the rope strap or saddle strings are too light to serve the real purpose.

This is one method used to rig a traditional night latch:

Use a four foot length of catch rope.
Double the rope.
Run the looped end of the rope through the gullet of the saddle from the front.
Run both free ends through the loop. Leave enough room to slip your hand between the saddle and the rope.
Twist the ends around the loop and back through themselves, as shown.

Buckaroo Leather has two night latch styles available- pictured to the right

3/4" harness leather with a stainless engraved buckle
and
1/2" cotton rope.



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

Part 1 How To Fit and use the Fiador Throatlatch with your Bosal and Mecate

Two Part series on how to use the various applications of the vaquero Style Fiador Throatlatch with your Mecate and Bosal Training system. Demonstrated by Buckaroo John Brand of Buckaroo Leather. thanks to Barns by Harrahs, Northern California Blue Ribbon Barn dealer.

The Fiador Throatlatch assure a better fitting Rawhide Bosal, especially with a Fine Mecate

The Vaquero Style Western Tack is becoming the Rage by Performance Horse Fans, Nationwide/

Part 6, Visit to Buckaroo Leather. Assembling Leather Headstall

Tour of the Buckaroo Leather facility-manufacturers of American made leather horse tack.

Look for the new fiador throatlatch and Leader Bungee at http://www.buckarooleather.com

The Leader Bungee Horse Tie

The Leader Bungee Horse Cross-Tie is a breakthrough in lead rope technology that finally solves the horse pull-back problem.

The Leader was developed by a farrier, through years of field testing.

All Leader products will stretch to cushion a horse's resistance virtually eliminating the explosive behavior displayed at the end of a taut rope.

Without a doubt, there are few incidents as potentially dangerous or explosive as a panic stricken horse struggling at the end of a taut leadrope. It's an all too common occurrence dreaded by every horseman and can easily result in injury to both horse and handler.

The leader has been used with exceptional results on horses of all temperaments.


Pictured above-From left to right- Cross tie, Trailer Tie, Tie Up Lead.


The Leader is the safest stretch lead on the market. Unlike the hardware store variety "bungee cord" the leader is designed specifically for the equestrian industry.

The Leader has a dacron cover over a solid core of special blend neoprene. The core is designed to break first and will then slide harmlessly through the dacron sleeve.


Heavy-duty stainless steel hardware.

Colors available: Black with blue speckles.

The Leader's Cross-Tie features a bull snap at one end and quick-release snap at the other. The length is five feet long.

We can order custom lengths by request.
The Leader is endorsed by veterinarians and trainers.

The Leader has a calming effect on horses that is truly remarkable!

One Year Unconditional Guarantee! Should the Leader Cross-Tie break for any reason you'll receive a new one!



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

The Women of the 1800's-Life on the Frontier

Women in the 1800’s took part in all facets of Frontier Life. The hardship of frontier life required that all members of the family take part to make ends meet. So, 1800 women mounted their horses to hunt with their husbands and also camp out for days. Some women even became cattlewomen. One such cattlewomen was Elizabeth E. Johnson.

*Elizabeth E. Johnson was born in Missouri in 1843. She moved to Hays County, Texas soon after her father had established the Johnson Institute there in 1852. Lizzie began teaching at the school when she was sixteen. Later she left to teach in schools at Manor, Lockhart, and Austin. Quietly she saved her money and added to her income by writing stories for Frank Leslie’s Magazine. As she accumulated money, she invested it. At one point she purchased $2,500 worth of stock in the Evans, Snider, Bewell Cattle Co. of Chicago. She earned 100 percent dividends for three years straight and then sold her stock for $20,000. On June 1, 1871, she invested the money in cattle and registered her own brand (CY) in the Travis County brand book along with her mark.

Lizzie Johnson’s wealth continued to grow. So did her responsibilities. In the summer of 1879, at the age of thirty-six, she married Hezkiah G Williams, a preacher and widower with several children. She continued to teach school in Austin, write magazine articles, and invest in cattle. She maintained control over her wealth, having had her husband sign a paper agreeing that all of her property remained hers. On his own, Hezkiah entered the cattle business in 1881, but he was a poor businessman who also liked to drink, and Lizzie had to keep pulling him out of financial trouble. At least twice Lizzie and Hezkiah traveled up the Chisholm Trail to Kansas. They rode behind the herd in a buggy drawn by a team of horses. This was about 1879, and Lizzie was the first woman to drive her own herd up the trail. For several years she and her husband, after coming up the trail, spent the fall and winter months in St. Louis, where Lizzie made extra money by keeping books for other cattlemen. When she died in 1924, at the age of 81 (her husband had died on 1914), Lizzie Johnson’s estate totaled more than $200,000, including large holdings in Austin real estate.

(*An excerpt from Emily Jones Shelton, “Lizzie E Johnson: A Cattle Queen of Texas” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol L (1947) pp 349-366)

The old west is filled with stories like this of men and women and their adventures on the trail. They worked hard for a living and expected their horse tack to work just as hard and last.

The styles of the old west tack and durability can be found at Buckaroo Leather. Buckaroo Leather carries old cowboy tack like, the Old West Bridle, Old Cowboy Style Headstall, Old West Martingale Breast Collar, and the Old Time Breast Collar/Choker.

The styles of the old time horse tack are not only appealing to the “old time cowboy” but like the horse tack of the 1800, the durability and quality is essential to the cowboy and the horse.

Check back for more stories from the 1800’s on women, cowboys, horse tack and saddles.

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

100% Alpaca Fiber Cinches-The Natural Choice

According to ancient Incan legend, alpacas were loaned to humans on Mt. Ausangate in Peru, left on earth as long as they were treated well and respected. Domesticated for over 5000 years, they were used by the Incas for food, fuel, clothing, and transportation, although today their usage commercially is mainly for their fleece.

Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, much as wool is. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world.

Alpaca fleece is a light weight or heavy weight, depending on how it is spun, soft, durable, luxurious and silky natural fiber. While similar to sheep’s wool, it is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin which makes it hypoallergenic.

Alpaca wool is considered as soft or softer than cashmere and lighter than sheep’s wool, and is fine and strong. Alpacas come in 22 basic colors, including white, black, brown, grey, tan, and cream. The finest part of alpaca fleece is found on their back and sides. They are sheered much like sheep and the fiber is combed, carded, and after a basic cleaning process is ready to spin.

The qualities of Alpaca fiber make it a natural resource for a horse’s cinch. First, it is a natural organic fiber, not processed, which is better for the environment.

Second the strength and extreme durability of this fiber is a must for the horses cinch.
The softness and breathability of Alpaca fiber makes the cinch comfortable and non abrasive for the horse-making your horse very happy!!!

The Elasticity of alpaca is comfortable to your horse and has a natural give as it moves. Makes training, roping or even pleasure riding a comfortable and rewarding experience for the horse and rider.

Buckaroo Leather has these popular all natural 100% Alpaca Cinches. Choose from either

The Alpaca Cutter/Pleasure Cinch C637

(pictured to the right)

27 strand 100% Alpaca cutter cinch with reinforced sewn center, stainless steel dees, billet pocket, and flat beveled stainless steel ROLLER buckles. New buckles have a flattened end and ROLLER to help latigo from binding. Stainless steel hardware!

The Alpaca Roper Cinch C638 (pictured to the right)

27 strand 100% Alpaca Roper cinch with reinforced sewn center, stainless steel dees, billet pocket, and flat beveled stainless steel ROLLER buckles. New buckles have a flattened end and ROLLER to help latigo from binding.

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

Part 5 A Visit to Buckaroo Leather, Alpaca Cinches, Tooled Breast Collars and More Quality

Following through the stages of Handcrafting USA Raised Steer Hides, from Hermann Oak Leather, into Durable Quality Leather Horse Tack. The brand Family takes pride in their 30 year Tradition of Quality Leather Horse Tack, Made in the USA.