Happy Trails with Dawni O'Bryan: Cowboy Wares

Cowboys and cowgirls like cowboy stuff, especially stuff they can use on the ranch or in competitions. That is why at every major rodeo or equestrian event you will almost always find a trade show. The trade show is filled with vendors, peddlers, and artisans. Some folks are there as a mere middleman to move the products. Others are there because they have spent all winter designing, making, carving, sculpting, and perfecting their wares.

Myth or truth, it is claimed that artists and musicians are right-brained. That is typically the side of the brain that stimulates creativity, imagination, and visual aesthetics. The left hemisphere of the brain typically helps with planning, organizing, and technical aspects. I believe I operate more from the left side as I can hardly carry a tune and need help with a simple craft at a women’s group. However, I admire those right brainers that can turn out beautiful pieces of art, jewelry, tack, equipment, and wares.

I recently decided to interview a 66 year-old cowboy artisan from Kit Carson, Colorado named Jeff Colvin. Jeff’s dad, Bill, was the foreman on the Collins Ranch, west of Kit Carson and Jeff grew up on Rush Creek. Jeff also day-worked for the late Bill Rhoades of the Rhoades Ranch north of Kit Carson. Jeff went to school at Carson and has been a rancher, running about 80 head of cattle on four and half sections. He was a bit and spur collector, he said a stingy one, and was interested in other people’s collections and would visit with them. He would pick up odds and singles. He started out making two-piece spurs, and two-piece bits where the pieces were welded together. Everything he makes now is one piece.

J.R. McChesney was a renowned American blacksmith that made high quality, handcrafted bits and spurs. He was famous for designs called the “Gal leg or Lady leg” and the “Eagle head,” of which Colvin was familiar with and inspired by. McChesney died in 1928 after creating some of the most collectible items that were made of one piece. Colvin has made somewhat of a name for himself, as well. He has been published in three books and has sold pieces in CO, KS, TX, WY, OK, MT, and OR.

Colvin assumed I was calling to place an order. He was recovering at his sister Tina’s house after a 16-hour surgery. The recovery will be extensive as the doctor’s attempted to remove cancer from his mouth and pull his teeth. He reluctantly admitted to chewing tobacco since he was 14 years old. His doctor had to really persuade Jeff to even have the surgery. In Jeff’s words, “ I told the doctor that he must be a hell of a salesman to change a bull-headed son of a bitch like me.” We wish him well as goes through radiation and is anxious to get back to his cattle and working in his shop.

News from the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver has a few area rodeo athletes qualifying for the next level of competition. All entries go through a qualifying round to make it to the brackets. Each event has five brackets. Once a cowboy or cowgirl makes it into the brackets, he or she competes in two rounds of competition. If he or she lands in the top three of the bracket, advancement is the reward. In the barrel racing competition, Shali Lord of Lamar was in bracket two and placed second in round one with 15.30 seconds and first in round two with 15.38 seconds and that was good enough to put her second in the top three qualifiers. In the team roping, Kyle Polich of Cortez and TJ Watts of Eads placed 6th in round one and 4th in round two but did not make the top three qualifiers. The bareback riding saw Kim, CO cowboy Logan Patterson place fifth in both rounds 1 and 2 but failed to make the top three qualifiers. Waitley Sharon of Ordway, CO was third in round one and third in round two of the saddle bronc riding with identical scores of 80 points. He qualified in second place to advance.

So, the next time you attend an equestrian event and visit a trade show, I encourage you to open up your pocketbook and support the folks that are working to preserve the western way of life through their handmade crafts and wares for the cowboy in us all.

Happy Trails.