Cowboy culture: 24 hours of behind-the-scenes photos from Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
BY JAMES HARTLEY, AMANDA MCCOY AND CHRIS TORRES WITH FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM UPDATED JANUARY 31, 2024 12:18 PM
The Fort Worth of the 1800s, a hub of livestock trading and a living monument to cowboy culture, hasn’t died. While it may have faded and can be overshadowed by the urban sprawl that has expanded over much of North Texas, the city’s history and culture take center stage each year during the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Ranchers, farmers, horse trainers and livestock traders flock to the city where the west begins for 23 days of competitions, auctions and education. They come from all across the country, from just down the road to driving for days from places like Oregon, Wisconsin, Montana and the Dakotas.
MUSTANGS
Other competitors, like Jessica Flaherty, came to show off different skills. The 23-year-old drove from Maine with Waffles, a buckskin horse she bought in Oregon, for the mustang competition.
About four months ago, Waffles was a wild, untrained horse. By the time Flaherty showed up at the stock show, she was confident in the training she and the horse had been through together.
“You have to build a bond quickly,” Flaherty told the Star-Telegram. “You get 120 days to break and train the mustangs, and that’s not a lot of time. You have to get comfortable with each other. You have to learn how to train them, the best methods. You have to learn to trust these horses that have never been handled by a human, and show them they can trust you.”
JANUARY 18, 7:48 P.M.
Eliot Holtzman of Versatile Horsemanship takes care of his show horse Cuban over night in their stalls at the Burnett Building in the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Holtzman and his wife Catie compete in the ‘Mustang Champions Freestyle’ competition where they impress the judges with tricks and creativity. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
JANUARY 18, 8:07 P.M.
Show horse Mocha Bay Latte gets ready to warm up for the “Mustang Magic Freestyle” competition held on Friday with his owner Chris Phillips in the Exercise Arena in the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
Flaherty first started training mustangs in 2015, but she’s been riding horses since she was 3 years old. She grew up around horses and has loved them her whole life. Wearing chaps and a brimmed hat, she stood in the stalls Jan. 18 brushing and tacking Waffles. The smell of dirt, hay and horse manure permeated the building. Waffles, patient and unbothered as onlookers walked around and stopped to gaze, nickered as another horse on the other side of the massive stalls whinnied. Flaherty and Waffles didn’t win the mustang competitions — made up of the hands on, pattern riding, trail and for the top 10 finishes the freestyle classes. They placed fifth. But the hard work paid off. An auction that followed the competition saw Waffles go to a new owner for $14,000, the highest price of the night.
Chris Phillips won the competition. His mustang, WFR Mocha Bay Latte, sold for the second highest price. It was $3,500 less than Waffles sold for.
Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/article284646165.html#storylink=cpy
