With everyone running around the Calgary Stampede with a cowboy hat, it can be difficult to tell the career cowboys from the fellas who pull out their boots just for the 10-day event.
Posted: 07/09/2014 2:12 pm EDT | Updated: 07/09/2014 2:59 pm EDT
Here’s a few tips we’ve learned along the way that will help you determine if you’re talking to a real cowboy or some guy who just moseyed over from a corporate event.
A real cowboy…
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… works with horses and cow and knows his way around the farm or ranch.
A Stampede cowboy…
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… works in an office tower. And probably takes his boots off under his desk because they pinch his toes.
A real cowboy…
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… does not wear shirts emblazoned with big, gaudy logos, unless he’s riding or competing with help from a sponsor.
A Stampede cowboy…
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… thinks ads all over a shirt give him barn cred, or something. But really, he just looks like a walking billboard.
A real cowboy…
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… is humble and polite. He uses words like “miss,” “sir” and “ma’am.”
A Stampede cowboy…
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… is known to cat-call the ladies and crush empty beer cans on his head. He forgot his manners at the parade and won’t likely find them again until Stampede is over.
A Stampede cowboy…
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… has a bit of crap from a porta-potty on his boots — and maybe a bit of his own urine.