Day 1 of 3 Make a pair of teardrop-style floral spur straps adorned with a simple carving with Cow Camp Saddlery’s Mark Barcus. Under Mark’s instruction, you will learn how to lay out and place your design, how to use the tools, how to carve the design, and how to apply a simple oiled finish. At the end of the class, you will leave with well-made single-ply spur straps. Take home a wearable, working piece of art custom carved at the 40th Gathering! For intermediate and advanced students.
For over 20 years, Wyoming leatherworker Mark Barcus has created chaps, saddles, and other leather goods while working ranches in many locations. He got his start in 4-H and with the help of his father. Mark’s extensive experience in ranching and leatherworking has led to countless... Read More →
Build commemorative 40th anniversary Gathering hobbles with Doug Groves. A skilled teacher and highly respected rawhide braider, Doug started braiding out of necessity, making the gear he used every day as a working cowboy. Once again, he and his friends will share their know-how in this four-day workshop. Learn Doug’s techniques for processing rawhide—from hide harvest to finished string. And, add specially engraved silver to your project. The storytelling, camaraderie, and cooperative learning among fellow braiders makes this workshop a veritable celebration of rawhide and community! For beginning and intermediate experience levels.
Great Basin buckaroo and braider Doug Groves makes rawhide reatas, quirts, reins and bosals of great beauty and function. He started braiding out of necessity, to make the gear he needed as a working cowboy, and eventually as cowboss on the TS Ranch outside of Battle Mountain. A 2009... Read More →
Step into the heart of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering with Be the Poem. Be the Song.--a heartwarming exhibit honoring the individuals and special moments that have animated the Gathering over the past 40 years. This exhibit not only highlights the rich history of cowboy poetry and song, but also brings to life contemporary western experience and expression. Featured artists include Jeff Mundell, Sue Rosoff, Sean Sexton, R. James Shoshone, Don Weller, and gearmakers from around the West.
Stop by the Gift Shop to take a bit of the Gathering home with you, from high-quality western art to whimsical cowboy poetry momentos. Find official National Cowboy Poetry Gathering merch and memorabilia, as well as products from Gathering artists and local artisans. Gathering posters, silk wild rags, one-of-a-kind jewelry, CDs and books from your favorite poets and musicians, mugs, magnets, and more!
The Gathering has always been about words—words that reflect land, words that reflect work, words that reflect our worlds. And it’s about how those words are shared in the company of others, turning moments into memories and expression into connection. Start the 40th with a quartet of rooted performers who will make you sing, laugh, think, and feel. Their timing is impeccable. Their insight is eye-opening. And their words have heart. Join reflective rancher Darrell Holden, compelling cowman Terry Nash, skilled songster Ed Peekeekoot, and pensive poet M.L. Smoker as they reflect what’s at the heart of the Gathering.
Darrell Holden is a proud fifth-generation rancher who raises cattle on Utah’s West Desert. He started writing cowboy poetry in high school, but he only started performing after gentle nudges from his family (“nudges” may have been slightly veiled threats of bodily harm.) He... Read More →
Western Colorado beef producer and acclaimed poet Terry Nash knows how to draw you into his poetry. His tales are of the West not seen from the highway or from the rodeo bleachers. Terry lives the life he writes about, and he’s the master at showing it to you. He and his wife Kathy... Read More →
Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and storyteller, Ed Peekeekoot is a skilled and seasoned performer who has received much recognition over the years. He has a timeless kind of cool that appeals to audiences of all ages. Ed’s performances go from blazing guitar work to foot... Read More →
M.L. Smoker is Nakoda, Dakota, and Lakota, a citizen of the Fort Peck Tribes, and rooted in her family’s homeplace Tabexa Wakpa (Frog Creek). M.L.’s poems speak to themes of personal struggle and identity, drawing from Native American culture, language, and history. “Being... Read More →
