Cowboy Country
Grab your ten-gallon Stetson, put on those western-style cowboy boots, and get ready for the ride of your life. Throughout the South, cowboys are considered timeless heroes. Rugged, daring, self-sufficient, free, and full of heart — Cowboy Culture embraces those values to create a wild and inspiring lifestyle. From Tennessee to Texas and up the Chisholm Trail to Oklahoma, the trailblazing lifestyle of the cowboy is alive and well in the South.
TENNESSEE
From Johnny Cash to Hank Williams to John Prine — Nashville has long been known as the heart and soul of country music. Home to pioneers and frontiersmen, like Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, Tennessee is a cultural haven for independent spirits, notable musicians, and the poetic cowboy spirit.
Modern-day Nashville is an upscale cowboy lifestyle, in the belly of the big city. The neon lights of downtown’s Honky Tonks attract visitors from across the globe and establishments along Broadway, including Nudie’s, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, Layla’s Honky Tonk, and Robert’s Western Wear, serve up toe-tapping live music and good times every night of the week. Only a 3-minute walk from Downtown’s acclaimed Ryman Auditorium, be sure to dress the part with a stop at Boot Country. This iconic Nashville shop offers an unbelievable selection of boots and their friendly, knowledgeable staff provide the best in Southern hospitality and customer service. With Boot Country’s “buy one pair, get two pair free” offer — it is easy to live out your western wear dreams.
Spend the night at the high-end boutique hotel, Urban Cowboy Nashville. Their Public House features an expansive patio with rustic fire pits and hand-crafted cocktails, creating the perfect evening for any season. With pop up food trucks, as well as a selection of house-prepared small bites, the Public House is an enchanting local watering hole in the heart of East Nashville. Stumble up to your luxurious room at Urban Cowboy’s Victorian brick mansion. This meticulously renovated hotel provides the seclusion and style to create relaxingly unforgettable memories. On Sunday morning, head over to the Texas Troubadour Theatre near the Opryland Hotel and experience the Nashville Cowboy Church. A fast-moving, interdenominational service featuring acclaimed country artists and local musicians performing their favorite gospel songs, the Church is led by Dr. Harry Yates and Dr. Joanne Cash Yates and is broadcasted to over 110 countries worldwide.
A few minutes south of Nashville at the Williamson County AG Expo Park, the Franklin Rodeo is a family-friendly attraction not to be missed. A city-wide parade opens this week-long celebration full of action-packed events. Check out what happens behind the scenes at the Franklin Rodeo Experience, the down-in-the-dirt rodeo kick-off party. Watch incredible PRCA Rodeo events every night, like bareback riding, barrel racing, bull riding, steer wrestling, and many more. With delicious food, kid-friendly adventures, like pony rides and the calf scramble, and unique vendors offering a variety of rustic, down-home crafts, goods, and gifts, the Franklin Rodeo is a marvelous week of family fun.
visitmusic.com
urbancowboy.com/nashville
nashvillecowboychurch.com
franklinrodeo.com
TEXAS
Beyond the dusty icons of Hollywood’s Wild West or the glittering lights of bedazzled country stars, the vaquero stands, tried and true, as Texas’s original cowboy. From clothing to cow roping, the vaquero shaped the history of Texas and the culture and language of the cowboy that we know today.
At the Bullock Museum in Austin, explore the history of the vaquero, the ranching landscape of Texas, and the notable rancher Richard King. Learn about King’s acknowledgment of the expertise of the vaquero in the roping, riding, and general cow knowledge, and how he set out to revolutionize the cattle business. Housing and feeding entire communities, King paid his vaqueros a monthly salary, and children were educated at ranch schools. Set out to entertain themselves after the cattle drives were completed, discover how the vaquero communities were home to the first rodeos.
Get your cowboy fix at the world’s largest livestock show and rodeo. Explore all that the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has to offer with special attractions like the Ranching and Wildlife Expo, Agventure, or the always fabulous, Carnival. Pre-rodeo events include the barbeque competition — featuring a range of dishes, like the highly coveted chili cook-off award. At the Livestock Show, take in the beauty of the majestic horse at the Quarter Horse, Painted Horse, and Ranch Rodeo show. Support local 4-H and FFA clubs at the Livestock Auction while checking out the chickens, rabbits, goats, cattle, and horses available for sale. Daily competitions in a variety of categories, like saddle bronc riding, bull riding, chuckwagon racing, and team roping, culminate in the ring with the Rodeo prize purse totaling over 2 million dollars. Grab a glass of wine before the evening’s entertainment at the Champion Wine Garden featuring beverages from the Rodeo's International Wine Competition. The nightly highlight of the Rodeo boasts performances from a plethora of spectacular, top-tier artists like Kasey Musgraves, Santana, Brad Paisley, George Strait, and the home-grown ZZ Top — all previous headliners.
Discover the incredible history of the black cowboy at the American Cowboy Museum just outside of Houston. Prominent in cowboy culture, many of the first black cowboys were born into slavery and found a better life on the wide-open ranges, becoming cowboys, ranch foremen, rodeo clowns, and federal peace officers in the West. Learn about one of the most admired and esteemed rodeo performers in the country, William Pickett was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971. Founded by the fourth-generation owner of the Taylor-Stevenson Ranch, Mollie Stevenson, the American Cowboy Museum honors the black, Native American, and Mexican American cowboys who created, influenced, and revolutionized cowboy culture.
At the George Ranch Historical Park, step back in time and delve into the life of the Texas frontiersmen. With multiple homesteads ranging from the 1830s to the 1930s, the 20,000-acre working farm showcases historic home tours, costumed interpreters, hands-on activities, and blacksmithing demonstrations. Explore the cowboy barns from the 1930s and 40s, while modern cattlemen demonstrate their skills at roping, sorting, and moving cattle to the ranch’s still operational dipping vat.
thestoryoftexas.com
rodeohouston.com
theamericancowboymuseum.org
georgeranch.org
OKLAHOMA
With a plethora of guest and dude ranches and nationally acclaimed heritage museums, Oklahoma is a prime destination to explore all things cowboy.
At the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan, discover the danger, excitement, and adventure of the 1,000-mile-long historic cattle path. Stand in awe of the majestic, “On Chisholm Trail,” sculpture. A monument to the American cowboy, this acclaimed work of art measures 15-feet high and nearly 35-across. In the interactive area, test your skills roping a cow, riding a bucking bronco, or even designing your own cattle brand. Be inspired by the acclaimed works of western artists, like Remington, Russell, and Bierstadt, in the Garis Gallery of the American West, one of the largest collections of western and Native American art in the West.
America’s leading institution of Western history, art, and culture, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City was founded in 1955. With dynamic educational programs and exhibits of Western art and artifacts, the Museum collects, preserves, and showcases the enduring legacy of the American West.
Embrace the lifestyle of a cowboy at one of Oklahoma’s many guest and dude ranches. Located on working cattle farms, observe first-hand the skill and expertise involved in the robust and vigorous nature of America’s living cowboys. At the Flying J Ranch approximately 90 miles west of Oklahoma City, immerse yourself in an all-inclusive ranch experience. Their western town, cabins, ranch, and horseback riding center is located on 1,200 acres of grassland in the Oklahoma plains. Explore your inner dude at the Meadow Lake Ranch near Tulsa. With lessons in tomahawk throwing, archery, and shooting, sample Meadow Lake Ranch’s wide range of activities and cowboy skills. After a day spent horseback riding and calf roping, relax with a bed and breakfast stay at one of the ranch’s many lodging options, like lakeside cabins, authentic Indian tipis, and bluff-top cottages. On the western side of the state, learn about life on the ranch at Hoot Owl Guest Ranch near Black Mesa, Oklahoma’s highest point. Spend the day learning the ins and outs of a successful working cattle ranch. With a small herd of Registered Angus cattle and over 100 years of experience, the Collins family welcomes guests to lend a helping hand and learn from some of the hardest working ranch hands. From the porch of one of the private log cabins, draw up to the campfire and gaze up at the mesmerizing stars that fill the sky over No Man’s Land.
onthechisholmtrail.org
nationalcowboymuseum.org
travelok.com
From the wide-open skies over Oklahoma to the rough and tumble vaqueros of Texas, to the glitzy country artists of Tennessee, the Cowboy lifestyle flourishes throughout the South. Embrace the freedom of the plains, the lyricism of the music, and the rugged independence of Cowboy Culture.
