WESTERN HERITAGE
Farm and ranch museum hosts 20th annual Cowboy Days
Twenty years of celebrating the Old West.
That’s the milestone the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum is marking with its annual Cowboy Days on March 2-3 in Las Cruces.
“Every year, we try to make it better,” says Craig Massey, the museum’s communications manager. “We’ve been doing this for 20 years, and it’s grown into a great community event.”
The festival is the museum’s annual tribute to the state’s ranching heritage and brings together skilled riders, talented musicians and outstanding cooks and offers lots of activities.
“Cowboy Days is the museum’s biggest event of the year,” museum director Mark Santiago says. “We have a variety of activities and entertainment for the entire family, and we add something new each year.”
One of the new programs offered this year is called “Old West Melodramas,” which will take place in the museum’s theater twice each day. The titles of the skits are “Evil Banker,” “Frontier Mortician,” “Pecos Bill and a Matter of Mistaken Identity” and “Billy the Kid.”
Volunteers also will share cowboy and Western short stories.
Massey says horseshoeing has been added to the schedule this year, with two demonstrations each day.
“One of our staff members shoes horses in his spare time,” he says. “He will be leading the demonstrations.”
A popular activity involving livestock is the Parade of Breeds, which will take place twice each day. Seven breeds of beef cattle are taken into a pen, and guests learn about their different characteristics and origins.
“The Parade of Breeds is one of the best programs we have,” Massey says. “It’s outstanding visually and educationally. The cattle enthusiastically enter the round pen, and the opportunity to see them up close and interact with an expert on horseback is a rare experience.”
Cowboy mounted shooting takes place in the Roping Arena, with a morning and afternoon session each day. The Back Country Horsemen of America’s local chapter will also be on hand.
And on Saturday, March 2, the Sheep to Shawl program begins, with the shearing of one of the museum’s Debouillet sheep. The wool will be carded and then spun by several demonstrators.
Pony rides for kids ($5), mechanical bull rides ($3), mini-train rides ($3), and stagecoach rides by Frontier Adventures (donation) are offered both days. There are also free children’s craft activities and games, including some provided by New Mexico Historic Sites.