Ten ranches regularly particpate in the Western Heritage Classic Ranch Rodeo.
about all the special vendors and bit and spur makers that are there at the show.” She says some of the exhibi-
tors are collectors, whose bits and spurs can range anywhere from $200 to $300 up to $25,000 for just a set of spurs, and who are often there to buy as well as sell. “We have had people from all over the world, including Europe, fl y into the Western Heritage to meet cer- tain collectors,” Chambers says. “But also at the Western Heritage are the new, contemporary spur makers, the men or women — we do have some ladies who make spurs — from whom you can or- der a set of spurs or a specially designed bit with your brand or logo. These are also makers who are trying to make a name. Down the road, some of their items could be highly collectible. So the tradi- tion continues with the spur mak- ers of today and the spur makers
60 The Cattleman December 2013
of yesterday, whose spurs are still being sold, bought and traded.” The show also features engravers
like Bill Lusk, a former Academy of Western Artists Engraver of the Year, and cowboy blacksmith Billy Klapper, whose custom work Cham- bers says is booked 6 or 7 years in advance. There are also saddle makers,
rawhide braiders, and even Dorothy Weymouth, the “Dish Lady,” who sells antique, ranch-style dishware. “It’s family,” Bobbi Jo says. “All the people are really close. We still have a couple of dealers who may have missed the fi rst or second year of the Western Heritage, but they’ve been there ever since. It’s really, really hard to get new people into the show, because people come to the Western Heritage on a really religious basis. They don’t miss it.” As do the 10 participating ranch-
es. Not only are they in the ranch rodeo, they also have entries in
the working ranch horse competi- tion and offerings in the horse sale. “As a matter of fact,” says Rochelle Johnson, “sometimes a lot of the horses that are competing in the ranch horse competition are also going to be sold in that horse sale Saturday morning.” Winners in the competition get
cash prizes and more. “We also have saddles, saddle blankets, bronze sculptures, bits, spurs, headstalls — anything that might go along with what you do with a horse,” she says. “We get different bit and spur makers every year to hand-tool these prizes that we give out to the ranches, because it’s a pretty prestigious thing to win something at the Western Heritage Classic.”
Rodeo stock Some of the stock for the rodeo
comes from Guitar Ranches, includ- ing animals used for the penning
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