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Cowboy Books

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THE HORSE LOVER: A COWBOY’S QUEST TO SAVE THE WILD MUSTANGS

by H. Alan Day
Published by the University of Nebraska Press, 2014

Alan Day already owned and managed a ranch in Arizona and another one in Nebraska and needed a third about as much as he needed a permanent migraine. That’s what he said every time his realtor pestered him to take a look at an old ranch in South Dakota. Finally, Day relented and in short order, became the proud owner of that 35,000-acre “sea of grass.” But how to make the ranch profitable?

An unusual opportunity soon dropped in Day’s lap. If he could wrangle the support of the Bureau of Land Management and get approval from Congress, he could establish the country’s first government-sponsored wild horse sanctuary. Day’s lobbying proved successful, and those pristine acres became Mustang Meadows Ranch, home to 1500 wild horses.

The Horse Lover: A Cowboy’s Quest to Save the Wild Mustangs, published by University of Nebraska Press, is Day’s personal history of the sanctuary’s vast enterprise, with its surprises and pleasure, its plentiful frustrations and heartbreak. Day’s deep connection with the animals is readily apparent, as is his maverick philosophy of horse-whispering that he used to train all 1500 horses. Woven into the narrative are Day’s recollections of cowboying adventures astride some of his best horses, all of which taught him indispensable lessons about loyalty, perseverance, and hope.

Click here to order your copy today.

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Five for the Trail
by Mark L. Redmond

Mark L. Redmond has been telling stories about the old West to young readers for nearly twenty years. In “Five for the Road,” he is returning his attention to ‘big kids.’ Here is a collection of some of his best stories, including three that were unpublished until now. In his unique way he has created delightful characters who chose to outsmart their opponents rather than out-shoot them. Redmond is the author of middle grade series, “The Adventures of Arty Anderson. HIs story, “The Spittoon,” was a finalist in the 2010 Moonlight Mesa competition. Other books include, “The Switch, and The Reward.”

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Cowboy Up! Life Lessons from Lazy B
by H. Alan Day with Lynn Wiese Sneyd

Arizona’s State Historian, Marshall Trimble, writes that “Alan Day’s short stories reflect on the everyday life of the cowboy, with all his trials and tribulations better than anything I’ve ever read.” Being a cowboy all of his life, including growing up on the Lazy B, Alan has more than a few saddlebags full of entertaining stories to tell. As author Johnny Boggs notes, “Cowboy Up! puts life in perspective.”.

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The Heart of a Cowboy
by John Conley, Jr.

Thirty-six years ago, John Conley fulfilled his boyhood dreams when he moved his family to Arizona. Many of his childhood heroes filmed and starred in western movies there, such as Stagecoach, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, How the West Was Won, and Rio Bravo. Conley has continued to embrace the west, its culture, and its history, as you will read in this, his newest book, “The Heart of a Cowboy“, which includes a chapter about the National Day of the Cowboy. $20 + $4 S&H. Send us an email at orders@nationaldayofthecowboy.com if you’d like to own a signed copy. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book benefit the National Day of the Cowboy 501c3.

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LAZY B: GROWING UP IN AMERICA ON A SOUTHWESTERN CATTLE RANCH
by Sandra Day O’Connor and H. Alan Day
Published by Random House, 2002

In this New York Times bestselling memoir, sister and brother recount their childhoods spent on a 200,000-acre ranch straddling Arizona and New Mexico. Their family included their parents, D.A. and M.O, and an extended family of colorful cowboys who helped run the Lazy B ranch.

Click here for more information and to purchase the book.

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Cowboys of Color
by Don Russell

Includes 80 striking photographic images of cowboys and cowgirls, 136 pages, and twelve interviews with cowboys of color, as well as, “A History of the Modern Black Rodeo Cowboy” by Abe Morris.

To purchase go to cowboysofcolor.net

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Jerry England CowboyUp

Jerry England’s efforts as a cowboy activist seeking to protect horse-keeping in the San Fernando Valley have become legendary. He is an avid horseman, who’s been riding for more than half a century. Besides trail-riding, he participates in the fast-action sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting. He’s also a cowboy folk artist and his Old West-inspired furniture has won accolades from publications, such as Southwest Art, Sunset, and Home Magazine.

As a Western movie historian, Jerry has researched and collected memorabilia associated with Santa Susana Mountain movie location ranches for the past decade; and after making a guest appearance on ReelzChannel Dailies’ program, Hollywood Was Here – The Iverson Movie Ranch, he decided to share his research and knowledge by writing Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas and Boulder Pass: Hollywood’s Fantasyland. (Be sure and check out the great cowboy videos he’s put together on his site).

Jerry comes from a family whose pioneer heritage can be back-trailed for over twelve generations across the forests and prairies of America. Antiques and collectibles offered on his site are from his personal collection. He has collected, bought, sold, and traded cowboy, native American, old West antiques for more than 30 years. Jerry is active in the preservation of horse-keeping in Chatsworth, CA, and has made many positive contributions in Los Angeles as the president of the Chatsworth Equine Cultural Heritage Organization (Chatsworth ECHO) which he founded in 2000.

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Cowboy Park – John O Baxter

John O. Baxter’s newest book, Cowboy Park: Steer-Roping Contests on the Border (Texas Tech University Press, 2009), tells of the rodeo a century ago, when Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona outlawed steer roping contests. Without their home turf to practice on, the one place a southwestern roper could go to hone his skills was Cowboy Park, the arena established in 1907 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas

During the formative years of rodeo that preceded the first Calgary Stampede in 1912, Cowboy Park promoted the sport of steer roping and provided a ready training ground for up-and-coming champions. From its inception until growing political turmoil in Mexico brought the enterprise to a halt, Cowboy Park kept the sport alive and fostered celebrity—its “alumni” swept the first prizes in Calgary and continued to dominate for some years. This unique institution, despite its significant influence on the future of rodeo, has until now received scant attention.

Through the history he has recovered and photographs—many published here for the first time—John Baxter documents and illuminates the era of Cowboy Park and the early champions who won their spurs there.

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Western Legends: Yesterday & Today.. African Americans 1798 – 2009 (Volume 1)
By Elizabeth Ann Lawless

This book highlights black frontiersmen, pioneer women, buffalo soldiers, cowboys, musicians and more. These are seldom told stories of courage, adventure and success in the 1800s when the Western Territory of the U.S. was wild. Includes living western lLegends who continue those exciting lifestyles today. Great role models and stories for difficult times. 

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Living the Code 
By Dakota Livesay

“Living The Code” is not only assembled from  Dakota Livesay’s over 70 years of life experience,  it is also a collection of conversations with men and women of principle, theologians, historians and educators, and the study of their writings.

This book, if taken to heart and faithfully applied, will change your life for the better.

http://livingthecode.com/order.html

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Cowboy: The Ultimate Guide to Living Like a Great American Icon
by
Rocco Wachman (former host of CMT’s Cowboy U

Cowboy is an insider’s look into ranching, rodeos, chuck wagon cooking, cowboy music, country and western dancing, and—most importantly—the cowboy spirit. Cowboy includes instructions, recipes, profiles, photographs, and trivia that vividly depict the day-in, day-out rituals of this iconic lifestyle that shows what it meant to be a cowboy in frontier days, and what it means to be a cowboy today.

Wachman was the celebrity host of six seasons of Country Music Television’s Cowboy U and is currently a senior instructor at Arizona Cowboy College.

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Moonlight Mesa Associates is a small, independent publishing house located in Wickenburg, Arizona, specializing in the Western genre, both fiction and nonfiction. Current titles include Cowboy/Native American poetry by Stoney, Greywolf Bowers; historical fiction novels by Jere D. James; a young reader Western, The Littlest Wrangler,  by J.R. Sanders; a modern Western dealing with Arizona border issues by R. L. Coffield, a biography of Casey Tibbs by Rusty Richards, and a number of titles on the 2013 calendar.

Becky Coffield, Publisher
Moonlight Mesa Associates, Inc.

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Restoring Vintage Western Saddles
by ALAIN EON
NBSSCA Member – SHATA Member – TWCA Member

Restoring Vintage Western Saddles is a definitive book about the restoration of vintage old time saddles. It includes more than 340 pictures showing step-by-step restoration work, from taking the saddle apart to its final presentation. 15 old time saddles are presented.

ALAIN EON
168, rue Maurice Arnoux
92120 Montrouge
FRANCE
email: alain.eon@free.fr
http://alain.eon.free.fr

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Come and Get It! The Saga of Western Dinnerware
by Corinne J. Brown

Come and Get It! is not about ranch recipes, it’s about the beautiful and fun western tableware which was created in America over a period of more than fifty years by U.S. pottery companies such as Wallace China, Tepco, and Syracuse. Corinne Brown introduces us to a valuable cultural, as well as ‘utilitarian,’ piece of our history which reflects our love of all things western. Many of these dishes were owned by celebrities, hotels, working ranches, and dude ranches, as well as by those who simply embraced the cowboy inspiration they fostered.

As one would hope, Ms. Brown’s book is loaded with excellent photographs, some of extremely rare patterns you’re not likely to see anywhere else. For avid collectors of Cowboy Culture, and especially of cowboy dishes, this book is a must own.

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Developing the Art of Equine Communication
By Lee Anderson

Lee Anderson has spent a lifetime studying, researching, practicing and proving what he writes regarding equine communication. This book will benefit all equine owners as well as novice and seasoned riders.

www.historicaloldwest.org

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