Saturday, January 27, 2018 aMErICan PrESS C7

Before this big guy donned his acting hat, he was drafted into the u.S. army during the Korean War, had basic training at Fort Polk, La., and received a Purple Heart. Wikipedia

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By Rita LeBleurlebleu@americanpress.com

Carla “Peanut” Basco said she can spot the difference between a drug store cowboy and the real McCoy at 50 paces.

“That drug store cowboy, he comes in, buys a hat, takes it home and wears it just like it is,” she said. “He might pay as little as $40 or as much as $80 for it.”

Then there are the guys and gals who do not metaphorically speak when they declare: ‘This ain’t my first rodeo.’

“Bull riders come in and they want their hat square in front and low in front and back,” she said. “Barrel racers want the hat to be high on each side and ride low to the back and the bull riders want a round front and they like the sides even lower than the bareback riders.”

According to Peanut, the hat shaper at Triple J Western Wear in Leesville, cowboys don’t mind paying

$280 to $490 for a new hat. (Wearing a more expensive hat won’t make you a genuine cowboy. Nevertheless, read-ers might find it noteworthy that hats can cost in the thousands. Stetson sells the Diamante Premier Cowboy hat for $5,005.)

A spokesperson from the Lake Charles Boot Barn said the starting price for a cowboy hat at their store is as low as $29.99

These days the good guys do wear black and the hats are available not only in felt and straw, but also in palm.

“The palm is as popular as the straw,” said the Boot Barn spokesper-son. “It’s more flexible and holds its shape.”

The old standby rule to wear the felt in winter and the straw or palm in summer is more or less still in effect. There are exceptions to the rule. Cow-boys might wear a straw hat in the arena during the winter to keep from getting a good felt hat mucked up.

The best–selling hats at Boot Barn

are the George Strait Resistol and Larry Mahan.

Most cowboys know that it is im-portant to store or “rest” the hat up-side down. The crown is stiffer than the brim and it will help the hat hold its shape. First-time hat buyers often buy hats that are too big. The number of Xs associated with a hat is a reflec-tion of its quality. However, there is no industry standard. That means a 10x hat by one company could be of superior quality when compared to a 20x hat by a different company.

About the cowboy’s hat, the late country music singer and hall of fame rodeo champion Chris LeDoux wrote:

You’ll ride a black tornado, ‘cross the western sky

Rope an ole blue northern and milk it till it’s dry

Bull dawg the Mississippi, pin its ears down flat

Long before you take this cowboy’s hat.

Take your besT shoT!think you know your

cowboys, country and western singers, and

their hats? Match the hat with the right names.

Hat Creek Cattle Company fellers

With this guy, some things are a family tradition.

He likes it. Wait, no. He loves it.

these two like visiting with Kitty.

He’s so lonesome he could cry.

amarillo is where he’ll be.

His real name was Marion Mitchell Morrison and his nickname, the duke.

Was this guy the good, the bad or the ugly?

Clint Eastwood For a Few Dollars More

Former gunslinger takes on corrupt law man, quits cattle and gets girl.

George Strait Hank Williams, Jr. Hank Williams, Sr.Kevin Costner

as Charlie Waite, Open Range

Tim McGrawJohn Wayneas Charlie Waite,

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Dan Blockeras Hoss Cartwright,

Bonanza

Ken Curtis & James Arness

Festus Haggen & Matt DillonGunsmoke

Robert Duvall & Tommy Lee Jones

Augustus McCrae & WoodrowLonesome Dove

the word rodeo is loosely derived from the Spanish word for “round-up” or rodear, “to surround.” (RamonaHomeJournal.com)

Judges score both bull and rider for the bull-riding event. Each can get a possible 50 points.

Wade Leslie was the first bull rider to score a perfect 100, and no one has done it since. (silverspursrodeo.com)

Mia Maria Manzanares, Mcneese, is ranked first in the nation in Break-away roping and second in the nation in the Women’s all-around nIra category. (National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association website)

the Southwest Louisiana rodeo and Livestock Show added the calf scramble in 1997. It was based on the successful program conducted at the Houston Livestock Show. World champion Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, was the Calf Scramble winner in 2000.

the angola Prison rodeo is not your traditional rodeo. Events are unusual and include the Bust Out, which puts six brave cowboy inmates atop six angry bulls. When all six chutes open simultaneously, releasing men and beast into the arena, the last man to remain on the bull wins the event. (louisianatravel.com)

Professional rodeo Cowboy association World Champions to come out of Louisiana include the following: Steve duhon, Opelousas, World Champion Steer Wrestler 1986, 1987 and 1993; Mike Smith, Baton rouge, 1998; and Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, World Champion tie-down roper; Mike White, Lake Charles, World Champion Bull rider, 1999.

the reason the buzzer goes off after 8 seconds for bronc and bull riding is because that is about the time it takes before the adrenaline in the rough stock starts to decline. In the old days, if a cowhand could stay on a wild horse that long, the horse would soon be “broken.” today more emphasis is put on keeping the bull safely competitive than “breaking” the animal.

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