Wild West Day and Trail Ride at Cowtown

Obba Babbatunde

Cowboys, cowgirls, dudes, and dudettes, the welcome mat will be out for your cowboy good time on May 12, 2001 at Cowtown, Arizona. This event is a fundraiser for the SWBC Little Britches Rodeo Group which was formed to teach kids the history of the west, how to ride and rope, care for animals, and the competitiveness of the wild west's premier sport, rodeo.

Let your imaginations take you back to the wild west of the 1800's starting at 9:00 a.m.. Sponsored by The Old Territorial Shop of Scottsdale, and presented by the Southwest Black Cowboy Group the day's activities will begin with a trail ride for experienced horse owners only. Prizes will be placed along the trail and clues will be given to the riders. There may also be a game of cowboy trivia for additional gifts. The ride will end at the saloon in town where you can hitch your horses to the hitching rail and grab a cold drink. The first drink will be courtesy of Britt Johnson, The Black Fox. Cost for the ride is $15, which will include your admission to town and access to the rest of the day's events.

For the less experienced riders, and those without horses the Cowtown Stables will have mounts and will be conducting trail rides throughout the days. These rides will be discounted by $5 from your admission price. Special family rates will be arranged.

As you walk along Main Street be sure to speak to any of our special guests you encounter, You may get a chance to say, "Howdy!" to the likes of Obba Babbatunde, Dawsons Creek, Cherokee Kid, Ike McFadden, Young Riders, Wells Fargo commercials, City Councilman Cody Williams, or, who knows?

Keep your eyes open and be alert because there will be gunfights in downtown Cowtown throughout the day presented by the "Los Hombres Gunfight Troupe". There will also be a hanging party, a bank robbery, a posse in hot pursuit of the robbers, open saloon, food vendors, shops, exhibits, and a tribute to Nat Love and the Love family descendants.

Tap your toes and give it a whirl with the partner of your choice as a variety of music will be presented all day long with DJ Dennis Williams. If you don't hear something you want, request it. A panel of judges will be judging the "Poetry/Storytelling Slam" on the freight depot stage. That gunfire coming up from the valley will be from the five stage shooting match for the Cowboy Action Shooters. After the shooting event the old cavalry fort will be open for the inspection of the civilian visitors. The 10th Cavalry, Co. E will be on hand to recruit young and old alike as "Buffalo Soldiers" and try to show the life of these men in blue.

From 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Main Street will be emptied for an old fashioned street dance. There will be both live and recorded music, with a mixture of styles for every style of dancing, from country line dancing to swing to hip hop to Latin to dance, and for us old timers, something quiet and slow. The saloon will remain open throughout the night.

Admission for the entire day, this means you may come and go, is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 12-16, and under 12 is free. Family discounts will be available upon request.

For information about entering the storytelling contest please contact Madison Walker aka Nat Love at 602-870-3701. For information about tickets, directions and maps to Cowtown, or if you're a craftsman or vendor who'd like to be a part of what we're doing, please call the SW Black Cowboys at 602-421-1377.