From its roots in cowboy and vaquero culture to the big-business excitement of today's National Finals competitions, rodeo has embodied the rugged individualism and competitive spirit of the American West. Now the long trajectory of rodeo culture comes fully alive in "Arena Legacy." Showcasing the unrivaled collections of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, this lavishly illustrated volume is the first to depict rodeo's material and graphic heritage.

Richard Rattenbury opens "Arena Legacy" with an engaging and richly illustrated history of rodeo, from its first recorded competition in Colorado in 1869, to its role in county fairs, cattlemen's conventions, and old settlers' reunions across the West, to its rise to national prominence between 1920 and 1960.

Following its historical overview, "Arena Legacy" features an extensive pictorial gallery of signature materials. A series of colorful portfolios reveals treasured artifacts from rodeo life, including costumes, trophies, buckles, and riding equipment. Here the reader will discover lavish artistry in leather and silver, flamboyant expression in western dress, and the interpretive work of both fine artists and commercial illustrators.

Certain to delight a diverse audience of rodeo aficionados, participants, collectors, and historians, this stunning volume is a fitting tribute to America's truly western sport.

Comprehensive and entertaining guidebook describes how a well-turned out carriage should look and be handled. Wealth of information about horses, harnesses, coaches, stables and liveries, plus "suggestions to the inexperienced." Over 100 captioned period photographs of coachmen, carts, gigs, phaetons, landaus, runabouts, much more.

Ground training is the key to safe, successful riding and a strong bond between horse and rider. In "101 Ground Training Exercises for Every Horse & Handler, "best-selling equestrian author Cherry Hill offers a comprehensive series of exercises that cover every aspect of ground training, from haltering to driving, from turning to transitions, from backing to body languages. The book is appropriate for work with horses of every age and breed, and it features a pre-cut hole placed so that the book can be hung in the barn or on a fence post, allowing for easy reference during training. With this book in hand, riders of all disciplines and levels can help their horses become responsive companions that are a pleasure to ride.

ONE OF USA TODAY'S "20 SUMMER BOOKS YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS" In the bestselling tradition of works by such authors as Susan Orlean and Mary Roach, a New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist explores why so many people-including herself-are obsessed with horses. It may surprise you to learn that there are over seven million horses in America-even more than when they were the only means of transportation-and nearly two million horse owners. Acclaimed journalist and avid equestrian Sarah Maslin Nir is one of them; she began riding horses when she was just two years old and hasn't stopped since. Horse Crazy is a fascinating, funny, and moving love letter to these graceful animals and the people who-like her-are obsessed with them. It is also a coming-of-age story of Nir growing up an outsider within the world's most elite inner circles, and finding her true north in horses. Nir takes readers into the lesser-known corners of the riding world and profiles some of its most captivating figures. We meet Monty Roberts, the California trainer whose prowess earned him the nickname "the man who listens to horses," and his pet deer; George and Ann Blair, who at their riding academy on a tiny island in Manhattan's Harlem River seek to resurrect the erased legacy of the African American cowboy; and Francesca Kelly, whose love for an Indian nobleman shaped her life's mission: to protect an endangered Indian breed of horse and bring them to America. Woven into these compelling character studies, Nir shares her own moving personal narrative. She details her father's harrowing tale of surviving the Holocaust, and describes an enchanted but deeply lonely upbringing in Manhattan, where horses became her family. She found them even in the middle of the city, in a stable disguised in an old townhouse and in Central Park, when she chased down truants as an auxiliary mounted patrol officer. And she speaks candidly of how horses have helped her overcome heartbreak and loss. Infused with heart and wit, and with each chapter named after a horse Nir has loved, Horse Crazy is an unforgettable blend of beautifully written memoir and first-rate reporting.

A rollicking comic treasury, starring the world's most famous cartoon horse. He has hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook and a surging presence on Instagram. Each day, he and his diverse group of friends share their mishaps, their successes, and their innermost thoughts with the world. He is seemingly ageless, looking even better now than when his ascent to fame began. Who is this intriguing Internet celebrity? Fergus the Horse (Equus hilarious), the creation of artist Jean Abernethy, has been entertaining audiences-young and old, in print and online-with his comedic adventures for the past 20 years. His rise to fame was documented in the epic equine comic collection The Essential Fergus the Horse, and now, Abernethy celebrates his age-and the wisdom that should come with it-with an all-new selection of horsey humor, including many cartoons fans have never seen before, created exclusively for this book. With a genuine appeal that crosses boundaries of breed, discipline, and geographic location, Fergus unites anyone with an eye for a horse and a need for a laugh. Readers of all ages-from 5 to 95-will be delighted by his wit, honesty, and profoundly funny observations on horses, humans, and the life they strive to live together.

Every horse, no matter in what discipline it is ridden, will benefit from working with cavalletti. For Olympic champion Ingrid Klimke, riding over cavalletti is key to success. Cavalletti training improves the horse's basic gaits, develops rhythm, suppleness and cadence and increases fitness and agility. This handbook describes how to work with cavalletti on the lunge, provides valuable new schooling ideas and inspiration for dressage work, as well as numerous layouts for gymnastic jumping. Over the years Cavalletti has become a standard reference book. This revised edition for 2018 has new photographs and has been updated and extended.

In this book, Jim Masterson, Equine Massage Therapist for the 2006 and 2008 and 2010 USET Endurance Teams, and for equine clientele competing in FEI World Cup, Pan American and World Games competitions, teaches a unique method of equine bodywork, in which the practitioner recognizes and follows the responses of the horse to touch to release tension in key junctions of the body that most affect performance. This practical book with step-by-step instructions, photographs and illustrations is ideally suited to accompany you to the yard/stables, where you can practice the Masterson Method techniques on horses. Expanded chapters with Tips & Techniques, anatomical explanations and examples from Jim's practice help deepen your understanding. A 'quick reference' section will point you to exercises that are specifically suited to your particular discipline, may it be dressage, endurance, eventing, or others in the vast realm of horse sports.

At the start of the 1940s, Montana cowgirl Nettie Brady Moser has overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles on the journey toward her dream of being a professional rodeo rider. In the 1920s, she struggled against her family's expectations and social prejudice against rodeo cowgirls. During the Great Depression, falling in love and marrying Jake Moser, then raising their son Neil took priority over rodeos, as did the constant struggle in search of grass for their horses in the drought-stricken dust bowl years. And then when Nettie did resume riding, she was devastated by the death of her friend and mentor, Marie Gibson, in a rodeo accident.
In the spring of 1941, Nettie, now 36, has grieved the loss of her friend. To regain her heart and spirit, Nettie is determined to ride again at a Cheyenne, Wyoming. To her dismay, the male-dominated Rodeo Association of America (RAA) enforces its rule barring women from riding rough stock and denies her the chance to ride. Her fury at the discrimination can't change things for women -- yet.
Based on the life of the author's grandmother, who rode rough stock in Montana in the 1920s, this sweeping romance parallels the evolution of women's rodeo from the golden years of the 1920s, producing many world champion riders, and shows its decline, beginning in the 1930s and ending with World War II in 1941.

In this sequel to Cowgirl Dreams, Nettie Brady, now Nettie Moser, is working with her husband Jake to prepare for a busy rodeo season when she's offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to London to perform with the Tex Austin Wild West Troupe. When fate once again interferes with her dreams, Nettie finds herself overcoming challenges only to set aside her passions. As Nettie and Jake work to keep their horse herd from disaster and to preserve their way of life, the realities of the Great Depression separate them. Based on the life of the author's grandmother, a real Montana Cowgirl, Follow the Dream, reveals the story of the real Montana in the mid-Twentieth Century and continues the sweeping family saga begun in Cowgirl Dreams.

From the Wild West shows of the nineteenth century to the popular movie Westerns of the twentieth century, one view of an idealized and mythical West has been promulgated. Elyssa Ford suggests that we look beyond these cowboy clichEs to complicate and enrich our picture of the American West. Rodeo as Refuge, Rodeo as Rebellion takes us from the beachfront rodeo arenas in Hawai'i to the reservation rodeos held by Native Americans to reveal how people largely missing from that stereotypical picture make rodeo - and America - their own. Because rodeo has such a hold on our historical and cultural imagination, it becomes an ideal arena for establishing historical and cultural relevance. By claiming a place in that arena, groups rarely included in our understanding of the West - African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Hawaiians, and the LGBT community - emphasize their involvement in the American past and proclaim their right to an American identity today. In doing so, these groups change what Americans know about their history and themselves. In her journey through these race- and group-specific rodeos, Ford finds that some see rodeo as a form of escape, a refuge from a hostile outside world. For others, rodeo has become a site of rebellion, a place to proclaim their difference and to connect to a different story of America. Still others, like Mexican Americans and the LGBT community, look inward, using rodeo to coalesce and celebrate their own identities. In Ford's study of these historically marginalized groups, she also examines where women fit in race- and group-specific rodeos - and concludes that even within these groups, the traditional masculinity of the rodeo continues to be promoted. Female competitors may find refuge within alternate rodeos based on their race or sexuality, but they still face limitations due to their gender identity. Whether as refuge or rebellion, rodeos of difference emerge in this book as quintessentially American, remaking how we think about American history, culture, and identity.

From the Wild West shows of the nineteenth century to the popular movie Westerns of the twentieth century, one view of an idealized and mythical West has been promulgated. Elyssa Ford suggests that we look beyond these cowboy cliches to complicate and enrich our picture of the American West. Rodeo as Refuge, Rodeo as Rebellion takes us from the beachfront rodeo arenas in Hawai'i to the reservation rodeos held by Native Americans to reveal how people largely missing from that stereotypical picture make rodeo--and America--their own. Because rodeo has such a hold on our historical and cultural imagination, it becomes an ideal arena for establishing historical and cultural relevance. By claiming a place in that arena, groups rarely included in our understanding of the West--African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Hawaiians, and the LGBT community--emphasize their involvement in the American past and proclaim their right to an American identity today. In doing so, these groups change what Americans know about their history and themselves. In her journey through these race- and group-specific rodeos, Ford finds that some see rodeo as a form of escape, a refuge from a hostile outside world. For others, rodeo has become a site of rebellion, a place to proclaim their difference and to connect to a different story of America. Still others, like Mexican Americans and the LGBT community, look inward, using rodeo to coalesce and celebrate their own identities. In Ford's study of these historically marginalized groups, she also examines where women fit in race- and group-specific rodeos--and concludes that even within these groups, the traditional masculinity of the rodeo continues to be promoted. Female competitors may find refuge within alternate rodeos based on their race or sexuality, but they still face limitations due to their gender identity. Whether as refuge or rebellion, rodeos of difference emerge in this book as quintessentially American, remaking how we think about American history, culture, and identity.

Burton K. Wheeler (1882-1975) may have been the most powerful politician Montana ever produced, and he was one of the most influential - and controversial - members of the United States Senate during three of the most eventful decades in American history. A New Deal Democrat and lifelong opponent of concentrated power - whether economic, military, or executive - he consistently acted with a righteous personal and political independence that has all but disappeared from the public sphere. Political Hell-Raiser is the first book to tell the full story of Wheeler, a genuine maverick whose successes and failures were woven into the political fabric of twentieth-century America. Wheeler came of political age amid antiwar and labor unrest in Butte, Montana, during World War I. As a crusading United States attorney, he battled Montana's powerful economic interests, championed farmers and miners, and won election to the U.S. Senate in 1922. There he made his name as one of the ""Montana scandalmongers,"" uncovering corruption in the Harding and Coolidge administrations. Drawing on extensive research and new archival sources, Marc C. Johnson follows Wheeler from his early backing of Franklin D. Roosevelt and ardent support of the New Deal to his forceful opposition to Roosevelt's plan to expand the Supreme Court and, in a move widely viewed as political suicide, his emergence as the most prominent spokesman against U.S. involvement in World War II right up to three days before Pearl Harbor. Johnson provides the most thorough telling of Wheeler's entire career, including all its accomplishments and contradictions, as well as the political storms that the senator both encouraged and endured. The book convincingly establishes the place and importance of this principled hell-raiser in American political history.

Many if not most women have been locked in a battle with their bodies for as long as they can remember. And when it comes to riding horses, they drag their arsenal of self-doubt with them every time they step into the saddle. Some quit riding completely. Others ride, but are frustrated by their lack of progress as riders or what they see as poor performance. They succumb to silent self-torment as they wonder how they look, what others think, and whether they have any business on the back of a horse if their jeans feel a little too tight.
Regardless of seat size, riding discipline, or the degree -- or even truth -- of the body issues with which they struggle, the scars on female self-image in our society run deep and wide. So with the humor and big-sisterly swagger that readers and reviewers have come to love, Melinda Folse, author of bestseller "The Smart Woman's Guide to Midlife Horses," has decided to step in with a delightful, insightful, fulfilling new book. "Riding Through Thick and Thin" delves to the bottom of the issues that have long held women hostage, bringing together experts, research, resources, and stories to encourage, inspire, and empower. Readers will find some answers that may surprise them: Believe it or not, this is not about losing weight or getting fit (although if that's a point of interest, there's a section packed with helpful tools and ideas). This book is more about what's going on in every woman's mind -- and it taps new findings in neuroscience to reveal that permanent change to deeply ingrained body image issues is not only possible, but it may be much easier than we think.

Cowboy Skills is a fascinating, practical guide to the skills that have made the cowboy famous worldwide as both an outdoorsmen and rancher. Readers can replicate outdoor living by trying a hand at rounding up cattle, breaking horses to saddle, and living off the land. Learn key skills like: Handling a stampede Using the proper saddle and tack Proper ways to use a lasso and lariat Classic songs and lingo And much more! Whether you're an avid outdoorsman or a wannabe cowboy, Cowboy Skills is your handbook to not only surviving the Wild West, but flourishing. The style of the cowboy is both famous and infamous, and the skills are ones for the ages. The cowboy has been a successful outdoorsman for ages, and now you can too with the skills, tips, and tricks included in this handy manual.

When barefoot running guru Christopher McDougall takes in a neglected donkey, his aim is to get Sherman back to reasonable health. But Sherman is ill-tempered, obstinate and uncooperative - and it's clear his poor treatment has made him deeply fearful of humans. Christopher knows that donkeys need a purpose - they are working, pack animals - and so when he learns of the sport of Burro Racing or running with donkeys, he sets out to give Sherman something worth living for. With the aid of Christopher's menagerie on his farm in rural Pennsylvania, his wife Mika and their friends and neighbours including the local Amish population, Sherman begins to build trust in Christopher. To give him a purpose, they start to run together. But what Sherman gains in confidence and meaning is something we all need: a connection with nature, the outdoors, with movement. And as Christopher learns, the side benefits of exercise and animal contact are surprising, helping with mental and physical health in unexpected ways.