Proud, prancing palomino
sidesteps with trained tail high
and neck arched like a Roman statue.
Polished saddle of silver and finely tooled leather
are without sign of range work wear.
A curb bit is attached
to a brightly colored
headstall of woven horse hair and leather.
Lizard skin boots, polished to lacquer,
are thrust into stirrups.
Sharply creased gaberdine pants fill the saddle.
Gene Autry fancy dress coat covers a colorful shirt
with its turquoise and silver bolo tie.
All this finery is topped by a new white Stetson.
Once a country boy, now a city man, but today a cowboy.
For man and horse it is Roundup time in Trinidad.
Flags and marching bands are surrounded by
sleekly groomed horses and riders.
4-H club members on floats in their
country green and white uniforms
display their year's work.
Big nosed clowns, who in the afternoon will
hide from death in a wooden barrel,
laughingly harvest road apple reminders
of the passing Roundup parade.
The beautiful classic Packard convertible displays
the beauty of queens
and smiles of political leaders.
Streets are lined with peddlers selling
cowboy vests and hats
for the under 6 crowd.
Pickups covered with dust
and time dented horse trailers
are reminders that
the county folks are in town.
The September sun
and wind provide enough
heat and dust to authenticate the event.
After the parade ends its time for viewers
to be on stage and visit county friends.
Give a promise to take
in the exhibits and see
Esther, the prize ram, and Billy's pet beef
auctioned off in a tribal rite of male passage.
Try a picnic in Kit Carson Park
or go on out to the
Rodeo and eat the Roundup Committee's
beef, beer and beans.
Smell the horses
and hear the sheep protest.
Follow that 12 year old girl
in green and white
and admire her big fat pig.
Sit in the stadium
and listen to hear when
the ghost of great Jesse Like
will come out of chute three.
Watch the horse race
and remember to friends
that long dead Yellow Gold
could have beaten them all.
Push back your day old stetson,
talk country and
for just a few days
be alive in 1880.