Preserving The Cowboy Way

North Texas State Fair and Rodeo embraces its Wild West roots
eldon Burgoon’s hands are worn from calf roping in his young cowboy days. A few fingers are stained by the chewing tobacco habit he just can’t quit. His belt buckle—won at the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo in 1953—proudly proclaims his prowess at calf roping. He wasn’t the winningest cowboy. He didn’t have a fancy horse trailer or expensive horses. He often slept in his car. But even today he can remember the adrenaline of preparing to compete, the thousands of people filling the arena, the children sitting on their parents’ laps to get a look at the action, then the roar of applause for the cowboys as they entered the ring full of rodeo swagger.

The scars on Weldon’s hands come not from calf roping these days, but from doing leatherwork at his Western store. He still walks with a cowboy’s bowlegged saunter, if a bit slower. At 79, Weldon’s become a cowboy icon. His body is still lean, his face the perfect cut for a cowboy hat. A few years ago, the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo made him its poster boy, the experienced cowboy passing on his trade to the younger generation. On the poster, Weldon towers over a small boy wearing Wranglers, a giant silver belt buckle, cowboy boots and a black cowboy hat. The image is a reminder of our roots in the cowboy life.

The 81-year-old North Texas State Fair and Rodeo, held each year in August, celebrates and promotes that cowboy way. Like the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, Denton has a world-class midway and top-flight singers, but it also carries on the great rodeo traditions: bull riding, bucking broncos, calf roping, barrel racing and mutton bustin’ (kids riding sheep)—all for $12 a day for adults. “It’s a carnival, it’s a livestock show, it’s a rodeo, it’s music,” says Glenn Carlton, a former bull rider himself who now serves as executive director of the North Texas State Fair Association. “People say, ‘Man, I just love this fair. It’s just the right size.’” Last year, the Denton fair received the Overall Award of Excellence for fairs and events in Texas with attendance of 100,000 to 500,000.

Tradition is strong in these parts, with families like the Sorrells passing along the cowboy life to their children. Taylor Sorrells, age 12, is this year’s North Texas State Fair Rodeo Princess. A self-proclaimed tomboy who has been riding since she was 2, Taylor rode her horse Copper for the judges, talked about her favorite bull Bodacious, and sold a heck of a lot of rodeo tickets. She loves the rodeo, especially barrel racing and bull riding with its clever clowns. With a pig and a rabbit at home as well as her horse, it’s no surprise that Taylor is thinking about becoming a veterinarian when she grows up. “I know I want to live out here, like on the ranch, so I could be with my horse and I could barrel race,” Taylor says.

Promoting ranching and agriculture was the goal of the North Texas State Fair Association eight decades ago when the annual show was just a weekend event. Weldon remembers the fair in its fledgling days. He went to the rodeo with his parents for the first time in the mid 1930s, in the heart of the Depression era. The arena was a makeshift thing, with bleachers made out of flimsy willow poles. Since then, it has evolved to a full nine days of rodeo, livestock shows, concerts and a carnival.

This year, nearly 140,000 people, some from as far away as Europe, are expected to attend the fair and rodeo. They come for the traditional canning competition and the BBQ and chili cook-offs, as well as newer events such as the photography contest and youth art show. Carnival attendance soared 30 percent three years ago when Talley Amusements from Fort Worth brought their world-class carnival to the midway. This year, the Randy Rogers Band is set to play as is Jamey Johnson, Country Music Association award winner, and Denton’s own Eli Young.
During the daytime, there is something for all ages at the fair. The DATCU Kids’ Zone offers a petting zoo, pony rides, a bounce house and a miniature John Deere tractor pull. The Syracuse Sausage Fun Zone will offer a horse whisperer as well as an alligator-wrestling exhibit. (The brave can touch the alligators firsthand.) For the less adventurous, there are train rides.
For adults, a 15,000-square-foot exhibit hall features commercial displays and vendors selling everything from life-sized wooden carvings of Longhorn heads to upscale Western wear to fruits and nuts. Nanci Kimmey, executive assistant for the North Texas State Fair Association, says they visit fairs throughout the state in search of quality vendors to bring in, but the fair also includes local offerings from businesses such as Beth Marie’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream and Rhinestones Boutique in downtown Denton.

At night, the big draws are the rodeo and the concerts. The Budweiser Stage concert starts immediately following the end of the rodeo. Last year, the Randy Rogers Band broke the Thursday night attendance record held by Pat Green for eight years, and they hope to do it again this year. The rodeo in the Miller Lite Rodeo Arena attracts professional competitors from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). “I’ve seen it go from a local rodeo to a professional PRCA rodeo, which draws contestants from all over the world, including Australia, Canada, Brazil,” says Glenn.

Growing attendance has helped the North Texas State Fair Association give more money back to community and youth-oriented programs and events that preserve and promote Western heritage and values. “If you look back at the 20-year span, there are a lot of differences, but the core values are still there, and the mission is still the same,” says Glenn. The association and associates, such as the Denton County Livestock Association and Blue Ribbon Club, give away about $400,000 annually to youth in the area through scholarship support each year. Proceeds from the fair are reinvested in programs, facilities and scholarships.

In the livestock barns, area students can be seen brushing, washing and displaying their prize heifers, steers and goats. Most of the area school districts, including the Denton Independent School District, have agriculture classes and programs. The schools often have barns to keep animals so it’s not just children from farming and ranching families taking an interest in agriculture. “Once they start, they seem to stay in it,” says Glenn. “It’s pretty special to see a 6-year-old kid show a 1,000-pound steer. More than likely you will see that same kid for another 10 to 12 years.”

Revitalizing the cowboy way isn’t just about nostalgia for the folks around Denton. It’s about survival, growing crops and running ranches on less and less land. Nanci Kimmey says she adores the values this event stands for. The bull riders are good role models for the next generation. “These guys are the real heroes. They’re athletes. They’re not on steroids… They’re somebody to look up to,” she says.

They have a fan in Taylor Sorrells at least. She’ll be there this year, rooting for the barrel racers and the bull riders. Maybe someday, she’ll have her own collection of great big belt buckles like Weldon Burgoon.

 by tasha hayton