The Fourth of July weekend means different things to different people.
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The Fourth of July weekend means different things to different people. Each of us may have a special memory of some 4th of July. Maybe it’s when you got married or had a baby or took that vacation to Yellowstone. To a lot of folks in the livestock business it means rodeo.
The Independence Day that stands out in my mind was years ago. The big rodeo at White Oaks, New Mexico. You probably won’t find White Oaks in your Rand McNally since it’s a ghost town but it’s down around Carrizozo and Capitan north of the Mescalero Indian reservation. It wasn’t exactly a card carryin’ PRCA show so it was right down my alley.
Two pardners and I arrived the mornin’ of the fourth in a fish drownin’ hat soakin’, slicker testin’ downpour. We entered up without looking at he stock. Just then the arena director on a four-wheel drive came up the draw drivin’ the bucking stock. There were mares and colts, range, ready and to say they were thin, would be kind. The bull ridin’ turned out to be cow ridin’ (they also doubled as doggin’ stock).