posted on Jan. 15, 2016, at 4:08 p.m. Gabriel H. Sanchez BuzzFeed Staff
Here are the most moving, sorrowful, and beautiful pictures from the past week.
It's a powerful testimonial to how interesting people find Texas Longhorns that BuzzFeed chose a shot from the Denver downtown cattle drive as #4 of the Top 25 photos of the week. Featured in the photo is past ITLA Past President and Lifetime Member Stan Searle on Monument, Colorado (Searleranch.com, Silverado Ranch).
Texas Longhorns in downtown Denver officially kick off 108th National Western Stock Show
The cold, miserable, snowy, "Stock Show weather" arrived a week early, so the kick-off parade for the 108th edition of the National Western Stock Show progressed the 14 blocks up 17th Street from its starting point at Union Station in downtown Denver under a sunny sky and temperatures at a seemingly balmy 40 degrees.
After the Stock Show discontinued the downtown parade for a number of years, the parade was revived in 1985, and the tradition of the parade has continued without interruption right up to the 108th National Western.
The herd of Texas Longhorn cattle, belonging to the Searle Ranch, lead the annual National Western Stock Show parade as it makes it's way up 17th Avenue on January 7, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. Along with the cattle were horseback riders, cowboys and cowgirls, the Westernaires, and antique tractors. The parade was led by Grand Marshal Rich Karlis, a former Denver Broncos' place-kicker. The 2016 National Western Stock Show opens Saturday. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
The Stock Show is part of the history of Denver. It is a reflection of the early days of the city, when Denver was a railroad hub, from which beef cattle were sent to feedlots and markets across the United States.
"The Stock Show is a huge cultural icon - we have been doing this in Denver for 108 years," said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. "It's very important to the fabric of our state. I'm excited about what is about to happen here, and I'm looking forward to everyone coming to Denver and enjoying it."
Aside from being part of the tradition of the city of Denver, the National Western Stock Show is a huge money-maker.
"The Stock Show is responsible for over 60,000 people coming to Colorado over this celebration. Over $8 million will be infused into our economy as a result of these next couple of weeks," said Mayor Hancock.
In addition to politicians, there was plenty of rodeo royalty on hand, as rodeo queens and their attendants from all over Colorado came to ride in the parade. There were antique trucks and wagons, a mountain man or two, the Greeley Stampede Riders, the Westernaires and a whole lot of silver encrusted Bohlin parade saddles.
But the stars of the show were the Texas Longhorn cattle that led off the parade.
"You could run 300 Angus down the street and it would create less excitement than three dozen Texas Longhorns, because that's what people associate with the Old West," said Stan Searle, owner of the Searle Longhorn Ranch in Monument, Colo.
"The first cattle into Denver were Longhorns," added Searle. "Longhorns were the cattle in the trail drives from Texas up the Arkansas Valley around 1860, when Oliver Loving first brought them to Denver. After the Civil War, Goodnight and Loving hooked up and brought the cattle over Raton Pass to Denver, on what became the Goodnight-Loving Trail."
Watching Longhorn cattle being driven through the concrete canyons of downtown is a reminder of the historical significance that the cattle industry has had on the city of Denver.
Parades are family events, although the kids seem to not care too much about the history - they just know that a parade is fun and a great way to kick off the National Western Stock Show.
Cattle rustling has always been about easy money - both in the 1800s and 2015 - and in 2015 the money was particularly easy. At the start of 2015, beef prices were high after yearlong droughts caused ranchers to significantly cut their herds, limiting supply and increasing demand - and rustlers responded, said Larry Gray, executive director of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association's law enforcement and theft prevention services.
This year, the number of Oklahoma livestock thefts grew by 19.5 percent, from 77 in 2014 to 92 cases in mid-December 2015, according to data from the association.
Those 2015 cases involved 1,645 animals, 139 percent more than 2014's 687, the data indicates. When prices were at their peak, Gray said a 600-pound calf could fetch about $2,000 at auction. Toward the end of the year - after supply surpassed demand - that same calf might bring about $600, maybe more.
Cattle have an above average return because when you sell a cow, you are paid exactly what the cow is worth. Its price doesn't depreciate over time like some goods.
Take for instance a four-wheeler, special ranger Brett Welldon said. If you steal a four-wheeler worth $1,000, you may sell it for half that price. Not so with livestock.
"You can sell a calf, a bull, anything like that, you're going to get 100 percent of what it's worth," Welldon said. Couple high market prices with a high reward product, and the number of thefts increases. "It makes it a pretty lucrative endeavor for a thief," Gray said.
There is some risk, though. If caught and convicted, cattle, horse and mule rustlers face a felony charge and a mandatory three-to-10-year sentence, a fine or both, according to Oklahoma statutes.
Unlike Oklahoma, Texas keeps a database of cattle sold in sale barns across the state, essentially the livestock equivalent of the FBI's National Crime Information Center, Gray said.
"When we have cattle stolen in Oklahoma, we about have to go to, or contact, each market and ascertain whether that number of head, or that description of those type of cattle have been sold," Gray said. So when cattle prices are up, Oklahoma's designated six special rangers are busy.
In most thefts, Gray said rangers find thieves have a common background in livestock know-how. There's also a subgroup of cattle rustlers: addicts.
"You get guys who have a meth problem but are pretty handy with cattle, and they steal cattle because it's low risk, high reward," Welldon said.
In some cases, though, there's no such know-how, and it's part of what tips authorities off in the first place.
To catch a thief On Oct. 21, livestock auction employees at the Vinita sale barn thought it was suspicious when two Claremore residents arrived to a sell a newborn calf.
First, the two didn't know where to unload the animal. Second, they brought the few-days-old calf unaccompanied by its mother. But what heightened employees' suspicion was when the two finally unloaded the malnourished calf from the cab of a pickup truck, said Special Ranger John Cummings with the association.
"That's not normal. That kind of raised a red flag," Cummings said.
From there, the employees notified the association to investigate. The two Claremore residents - Jenny Lynn Davis, 36, and Robbie Don Ellis, 24 - now face a felony charge of larceny of a domestic animal.
The two lived together on a cattle ranch in west Claremore when they reportedly took the calf from its mother to sell at the auction, Cummings said.
But this isn't always the chain of events. The Tulsa Stockyards are open day and night, and people can unload cattle around the clock. However, most drop off cattle on Sundays and Monday mornings and afternoons, Tulsa Stockyards owner Joe Don Eaves said.
When people shift from those hours, or when they're ignorant of typical procedures, Eaves said he's skeptical of them. "If we have someone show up at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning with a load of cattle, that makes you suspicious," Eaves said. Unlike at the Vinita sale barn, though, Eaves said he waits for investigators to contact him and turns over records or will suspend sales as needed.
Past to present The association's rangers worked an average 883 livestock theft cases in both Texas and Oklahoma through 2010 to 2014, accounting for an average $4,374,170 in market value, according to the association's theft report. In Oklahoma, the dollar amount of property recovered from 2014 to 2015 rose by 45 percent from $436,916 to $636,282, according to association data. Despite those numbers, Gray said people are sometimes surprised to learn cattle rustling still exists. "The bottom line is the same: it's all money - but they don't go out on horseback anymore," Gray said. Instead, modern-day rustlers use existing pens, trucks and a bag of feed.
In addition to money, Gray admits some thieves take a certain pleasure in committing the seemingly antiquated deed. "To be real frank, some of the thieves think it's romantic to a commit a crime that was committed in the 1800s," he said. Heading into 2016, market analysts show cattle prices are low, meaning the association's special ranger will likely get a bit of a break in cases - but they won't be on vacation, either.
"It doesn't matter if (prices) declined some, those thieves are still out working," Eaves said. Paighten Harkins 918-581-8455 paighten.harkins@tulsaworld.com
'Lonesome Dove' & Stockyards' future
The trail to the American West leads to Fort Worth this spring, and it could not come at a more ideal time for a city that cherishes its Cowtown past.
A 25th anniversary celebration for the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove will begin Jan. 15 along with the Stock Show, and it will continue into June at the city's art and history museums, schools and event sites.
The first event is a Western art exhibit at the Sid Richardson Museum in Sundance Square, on streets where cattle were actually driven by real-life cowboys on the way to the Chisholm Trail.
On March 31, the Lonesome Dove Reunion and Trail will wind its way into the historic Stockyards, where actors Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones and others will pay tribute to writer Larry McMurtry of Archer City at a sold-out event benefiting the project's archive at Texas State University in San Marcos.
By then, city leaders may be closer to resolving questions about the complicated but welcome development plan for private property nearby in the Stockyards.
Hickman Properties and Los Angeles-based Majestic Realty have announced a $175 million, 70-acre project, bringing needed jobs to north Fort Worth and long-awaited economic growth for the central city.
But much of the Stockyards is in a 40-block National Register historic district, and city officials have begun hashing out ways to protect the most significant landmarks and require compatible new construction.
Already, officials have proposed protecting about 20 blocks of retail buildings and livestock barns along Exchange Avenue and Rodeo Plaza. But preservationists wish to keep more, particularly the handsome Swift & Co. double staircase on Northeast 23rd Street a block east of where Lonesome Dove stars will gather in March.
Mostly, the City Council has stayed out of planners' way and awaited new rules and construction standards. The Zoning Commission considers new design standards next week, with a council vote scheduled Feb. 2.
Along with the anniversary of pop culture's most famous cattle drive comes the reminder that Fort Worth is where the world comes to see cowboys and the American West.
We hold that history dear, and we want to carefully protect our greatest keepsakes. But we also want to respect private landowners' commitment to the Stockyards and welcome new business, growth and success.
Thank you for your continued support of the International Texas Longhorn Association's E-Drover. The E-Drover remains one of the most cost effective ways to reach Registered Texas Longhorn cattle owners and enthusiasts.
Be sure to advertise your ranch, cattle and other special events.
Those 2015 cases involved 1,645 animals, 139 percent more than 2014's 687, the data indicates.
"You get guys who have a meth problem but are pretty handy with cattle, and they steal cattle because it's low risk, high reward," Welldon said.
The first event is a Western art exhibit at the Sid Richardson Museum in Sundance Square, on streets where cattle were actually driven by real-life cowboys on the way to the Chisholm Trail.
Mostly, the City Council has stayed out of planners' way and awaited new rules and construction standards. The Zoning Commission considers new design standards next week, with a council vote scheduled Feb. 2.
Thank you for your continued support of the International Texas Longhorn Association's E-Drover. The E-Drover remains one of the most cost effective ways to reach Registered Texas Longhorn cattle owners and enthusiasts. 