Texas Cowboy Reunion
Wild cow milking is a signature event in Stamford
It was 1930. The Great Depression had begun, but falling crop prices and heavy debt had long plunged rural America into economic misery. In the West Texas city of Stamford, 13 community leaders met to propose a celebration to boost morale amid hard times. Given the area’s rich ranching history, they settled on a rodeo, centered around July 4. So began the Texas CowboyReunion.
This event would provide a diversion from the country’s struggles but also promote the legacy of the West Texas cowboy, a way of life disappearing amid 20th-century mechanization. The first year was a success: over 12,000 people watched three days of calf roping, bronc riding, steer riding and rodeo’s first-ever wild cow milking. The Old Timers Association, composed of retired cowboys, was formed for historical commemoration.
BANG FOR THE BUCK The annual gathering of working cowhands, not professional rodeo riders, honors the traditions of the Texas cowboy. (In the past)
The event took off. Permanent facilities were built in a natural amphitheater. In 1937, as rural populations peaked, a record 70,000 visitors attended. Wild cow milking wouldn’t be Stamford’s only innovation. Double mugging, a Texas rodeo staple in which two cowboys rope and tie a yearling steer, was created. So was barrel racing’s signature clover- leaf pattern. In 1940, the American Quarter Horse Association held its first show in Stamford, billing the event as the “world’s largest amateur rodeo.” Contestants were primarily working cowboys. In 1935, legendary cowboy humorist Will Rogers quietly flew into town and was spotted watching from the grandstand. After some prodding, he thrilled the crowd with a roping demonstration in what would be one of his last public appearances before his death the next month.
BULL SESSION Conceived during the Great Depression as a way to honor the men and women who remembered the days of the open range, Stamford’s reunion still tips a Stetson to the ways of yore. Contestants both young and old vie for prizes in such rodeo sports as roping, barrel-racing and, of course, bronc and bull riding.
Today, dozens of volunteers strive to uphold the founders’ mission. Between June 28 and July 1, Stamford will host over 15,000 visitors from near and far. The Old Timers Association will meet to preserve the legacy of the West Texas cowboy. Visitors will eat barbecue, talk cowboy life and watch contestants, still primarily amateurs, perform.
Real cowboys and cowgirls will rope calves, race barrels, ride broncs and bulls, wrestle yearlings, milk wild cows and tame wild mares. Old-timers will rope calves and race barrels. Texas cowboy culture will be presented through art, chuckwagon cooking and poetry. Cowboys and cowgirls will square off in an old-fashioned matched horse race. Every night after the rodeo, visitors will dance under the stars to Western swing and Texas country music.
Left A total of 12,000 people attended Stamford’s first event, in 1930. By 1937, that figure grew to more than 70,000, earning the title “World’s Largest Amateur Rodeo.” Right Texas Cowboy Reunion Official Program.
In 1930, West Texas was consumed by discouragement. The weather and economy weren’t cooperating, and the government wasn’t any better. Thirteen bold men had spent years building a new community on the dusty Rolling Plains and weren’t deterred. They chose to make Stamford the center of something memorable, better than the encroaching melancholy world. Eighty-seven years later, that legacy lives on. Rural economies face boom and bust. Weather and government aren’t any more helpful than they were in 1930. But no matter what else happens, on the July 4 weekend in Stamford, you’ll find a real cowboy reunion in a real cowtown.
