Equine
Fire and Smoke – The Texas Smokin’ Guns gives new life to an old tradition
By Martin Aldridge
Men and women on horseback, dressed like they were getting ready to do a scene in an old west movie, complete with six shooters tucked in their holsters, line up quietly in front of the announcer’s stand at an arena in Boyd to pay tribute to one of their own who lost his battle last year to Huntington’s before competing in an event named in honor of him, the Cody Plowman Memorial Shoot.
“I want to give everyone that loved him the same strength, courage and mojo that he gave us,” says his daughter Brady over the speakers.
It’s a quiet moment before the arena fills with horses racing from one end to the other amidst the sound of gunfire. Soon the arena is filled with flashes of light and thick white smoke that barely clears between events.
The riders today are all part of a rather new but growing type of competition known as Cowboy Mounted Shooting, held by a club based in Weatherford known as the Texas Smokin’ Guns. Plowman was a member, and it’s not hard to see why he enjoyed competing.
“We have one of the largest clubs in the United States,” says club president and one of its founders, Louis Ciferni, who claims the club currently has about 100 members. To read more pick up the June 2015 issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch.
By Krista Lucas Wynn
Each year, when the professional rodeo season wraps on Sept. 30, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association announce the Nutrena Horse of the Year, presented by the American Quarter Horse Association, in each event. This is a prestigious award, voted on by the members of the associations. To be named Horse of the Year by fellow competitors is a high honor only a few achieve.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Krista Lucas Wynn | Copy Editor
The name, “Daddy of ’em All,” instantly brings to mind the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and western celebration. Cowboys and cowgirls from all across the country dream of competing on the iconic Cheyenne arena dirt.
Every July, pro rodeo contestants travel to Cheyenne, Wyom. to vie for the title of champion of the Cheyenne Frontier Days. The rodeo is steeped in western tradition and celebrated the 125th year this summer. With nearly two weeks of rodeo action, fans watched bareback riding, calf roping, breakaway roping, saddle bronc riding, team roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, bull riding, and steer roping.
Steer roper, Tuff Hardman, knew winning “the Dad” was a tall order, but with a good horse and a few prayers he left no doubt who the best steer roper at Cheyenne was when it was all said and done. After two rounds, Hardman qualified back for the finals tied for ninth place with a time of 30.8 seconds.
To read more, pick up a copy of the September issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Utilizing the horse to human connection.
By: Hannah Claxton | Editor
Deep in the heart of Texas, both humans and horses at Stable Strides Farm in Pilot Point, Texas aer demonstrating just how big their hearts really are. Founded by Mandy Cleveland in 2001, Stable Strides Farm serves dozens of Equestrians with Disabilities and Veterans each week.
Deep in the heart of Texas, both humans and horses at Stable Strides Farm in Pilot Point, Texas aer demonstrating just how big their hearts really are. Founded by Mandy Cleveland in 2001, Stable Strides Farm serves dozens of Equestrians with Disabilities and Veterans each week.
“My boys have been riding since they were 18 months old, and for the first 17 years they had a leader and sidewalker. When we moved here, and Mandy started teaching them, she just said, ‘Let’s see what they can do,’ and they ride independently now,” Danielle Frank explained, whose two sons, Adison and Aiden, ride with Stable Strides Farm. “Mandy is amazing beucase she doesn’t place any limits on them, she always wants to see what they can do.”
It is her dedication to never setting limits that earned Cleveland a spot as a national finalist for the NSBA 2024 Dianne Eppers Cowgirls Reaching-Out-to-Community Award. The award was established by the NSBA Foundation to recognize cowgirls across the industry for their selfless contributions to the equestrian community.
To read more, pick up a copy of the September issue of the NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
(Photos Courtesy of Hannah Claxton)
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