Morgan Kromer

When I came to the College of Wooster, I was surprised at how many of my classmates and professors had never ridden a horse, been to a rodeo, or even seen a horse in person. When I described my experiences and relationship with my horses, I was often made fun of and labeled as just a horse girl. When I asked those peers about what it meant to be a cowboy, I got descriptions of white men, riding out west on a cow pony, fighting off Indians, and living by a deeply moral code of conduct. Most things described are exaggerations, if not complete lies, developed at the end of the Wild West era to spread a story of bravery and adventure. The aim of this project is to show more of the truth of the cowboy culture and the cowboy way. The history of the cowboy is filled with traditions that traveled from the Moors to Spain to South America to Mexico and eventually to the American West. The people that built the cowboy’s name and identity came from backgrounds of slavery and servitude. They were the outcasts of society, the unfortunate and destitute. Rarely were cowboys upper-class white men, despite the common myth. The lifestyle is not one of glory and heroics, but of loneliness, solitude, hard work, and perseverance. It is days on a cattle drive talking to the land and animals around you instead of people. It is the connection that develops between horse and rider. It is ups and downs, it is pretty and ugly. It is the clothing that was built for practicality before fashion. It is the culture that took what was, fixed it for what is, and made it their own. It is a culture that I am proud to be a part of, and hope to share with the people around me.

There is no way to truly represent the cowboy way to someone that has never gotten to experience it first-hand. Each person has their own experience, their own understanding, and their own story to tell. My exhibit is my attempt to tell part of my story. I hope that the pieces presented before you can help to shed light on the amazing world that I love and give you an insight into why being a cowboy is so much more than just a horse rider. Give you an insight into why I am a cowgirl, not just a horse girl, and why it means so much more than most people could ever imagine.