Country Lifestyles
December 2016 Profile, Rusty Riddle – The Riddle Way
By Jessica Crabtree
A large personality comes to mind when describing Rusty Riddle, formerly known as “the happy red head.” “Rusty’s approach to life has always been determination. Whatever it took to get something done, that was Rusty’s way,” said Riddle’s wife, Dollie. She would know after 42 years of marriage.
When reminiscing about a young Riddle, Dollie recalls their first time meeting and early years of dating, “His reputation preceded him,” she laughed. “We just lived life to the fullest back then! That was my motto. We had a lot of fun,” Riddle interjects. The “back then” meant his years of rodeoing professionally as a bareback rider, a career that spanned 10 years.
Riddle was born in 1948, the oldest of four children. The family called Weatherford home. Attending school first at Granbury, then when the bus route finally reached their rural home, he completed school and graduated from Weatherford High School. Riddle’s time as a youth was consumed with work. At six years old, his family bought a dairy. By the age of 10, he and his younger brother, age nine, were running the business. “We would get up in the morning before school and milk then get home from school and milk again,” he explained. “Me and my brother would ride the milk cows. One day we’d ride her with a saddle, then next maybe with a bull rope,” he chuckled. “We rode whatever we could find. If it moved, we’d ride it,” Riddle said.
By the age of 15 his parents divorced and the dairy was sold. “At that point, I’d seen all the black and white cows I’d wanted to. I got my first taste of bareback riding and that was all it took,” he assured. By 16 Riddle was traveling and competing in rodeos. Starting out, the young cowboy wanted to do it all, every event. When he was 18 Riddle found Tommy Steiner from Austin and began working for him feeding livestock and driving trucks. That was the young man’s first taste of pro rodeo. The time allowed Riddle to gain experience practicing and study other competitors.
In 1968, Riddle obtained his PRCA card. With no time to spare, the rodeo cowboy hit the ground running, traveling and competing. “Like they say, it’s not when you get hurt, it’s how bad in rodeo,” Riddle said. In 1970 Riddle was in Jackson, Miss. when a bull stepped on him, breaking all his ribs on one side, collapsing his lung. The serious injury put him out the rest of the year. That is when Riddle drew the line, opting to only ride bareback horses, “I just saw I could ride bareback horses a little better and saw there was more opportunity there for me.”
To read more pick up a copy of the December 2016 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
Riddle riding bareback at the Weatherford rodeo in 1977. (Photo courtesy of Dollie Riddle)
Riddle riding at Calgary in 1974 on Reg Kesler’s Country Cousin. (Photo courtesy of Dollie Riddle)
By Lacey Vilhauer
Ingredients:
1-2 cups vegetable oil
½ cup diced white onion
2 tsp minced garlic
½ TBSP chili powder
¼ tsp oregano
½ tsp ground cumin
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ to a full can of Rotel tomatoes and green chilis
8 (burrito-sized) flour tortillas, warmed
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Toppings: salsa, sour cream, guacamole, queso
Directions:
Brown hamburger meat and onions in a large skillet until onions are slightly softened. Add in garlic chili powder, oregano and cumin. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in Rotel. Cook and stir another five minutes. Set aside.
Warm tortillas in the microwave. On each tortilla, place about ½ cup of meat mixture. Do not overfill. Top with shredded cheese. Fold sides over the meat and cheese, then fold bottom over the sides and roll up. Place all folded chimichangas, seam side down, on a large plate and repeat with remaining tortillas.
To read more, pick up a copy of the May issue of NTFR. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Dal Houston
I am terribly saddened by all the argumentative discourse that seems to be going on in today’s world. It seems as though it is no longer enough just to disagree on certain issues. We are expected to classify someone as an enemy if they do not always agree with us on all issues, lest we be considered weak.
To make things even worse, because those who disagree with you are now considered enemies, the sentiment seems to be that it is only fair and proper to destroy them, because they are the enemy, again with the fear of ridicule for being weak if we do not fight.
With all that said, and seemingly unrelated, I am a big John Wayne fan. From watching him dive into his role as a cowboy, to marveling at his time portraying a soldier or appreciating his acting gig as a sailor, there is seldom a week that goes by without me watching at least one
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Martha Crump
That old adage, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.,” may have some basis in truth when applied to minor situations. However, when what you don’t know is presented in the form of a “Trojan Horse” and is what amounts to an incredible attempt to fleece American property rights, it becomes a different story altogether.
To put this unbelievable tale together, we need to step back to Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order which pledged commitment to help restore balance on public lands and waters, to create jobs, and to provide a path to align the management of America’s public lands and waters with our nation’s climate, conservation, and clean energy goals.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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