by Barry Denton of Arizona, Courtesy of Bit & Bridle Magazine
The Calgary Stampede disqualifies Tuf Cooper for spanking his horse at their rodeo. What many non-horsemen do not realize is that horses will occasionally take advantage of you in a high pressure situation. This appeared to be the case with Tuf and Topaz, but the rodeo officials in Canada saw it differently. Pretty ridiculous in my book, but Tuf will have to be a little more controlled next time around. Perception instead of substance seems to prevail these days thanks to an over sensitive and self-aggrandizing media. Tuf Cooper, being the class act that he is, left the rodeo without incident. It would have been a great time to make a statement, but he did not.
Where is P.T. Barnum when you need him? At ESPN’s annual ESPY’s ceremony Caitlyn Jenner has received the “Arthur Ashe Courage Award”. Courage award for what? The big question is, will Caitlyn be back on the front of the “Wheaties” box? While I am well aware that she was on the cover of Vanity Fair how do you explain this to your kids? Do you advise your young boy to work hard to become an accomplished athlete so that he can eventually become a woman? It appears to me that you have to make pretty big bucks to afford sex change operations. Hopefully this will become part of Obamacare so everyone can afford to have it done.
In San Francisco, California which is a sanctuary city an illegal alien- repeat felon, guns down a thirty two year old woman for no reason. He did not even know her and just fired randomly. He was in San Francisco because it is a sanctuary city. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors does not seem to have a problem with this. They seem to think it is fine to support illegal alien repeat felons that gun down innocent folks. They appear to have no interest in changing any law that might prevent this from happening again. For that matter they are not following federal law in regard to the illegal aliens. Now tourists will be flocking to San Francisco to get gunned down on vacation. It may add to the adventure.
Many of you horseman know about Traveller, Robert E. Lee’s great gray horse that he got in 1861 in Greenbriar, VA as a four year old. The horse was of Gray Eagle stock and won first prize at the Lewisburg Fair in 1859 and 1860. The horse was high spirited and quite a handful, but the two became great companions throughout the Civil War. The great grey horse outlived the general by several years and was well provided for until his death. Since I am a direct descendant of Robert E. Lee I have made a lifelong study of the General and came to realize what a remarkable human being he was. Before you label me a southern sympathizer I also had a northern civil war hero in my family. His name was Captain Thomas Finney a hero at the Battle Of Little Round Top in Gettysburg and also an interesting character. General Lee was the first general asked by President Abraham Lincoln to head the Union Army. Lee replied that he would have to wait and see whether his home state of Virginia voted to secede or to stay with the union. He told Lincoln he could not fire upon his relatives and neighbors. Lincoln understood and agreed to wait to see what Virginia would do. When Virginia decided to secede from the union General Lee resigned his commission.
The story of General Robert E. Lee keeps getting more interesting and there are many volumes written to find out about it. However, after Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina decided the Confederate Battle Flag should no longer fly over the state capitol, the extreme leftists want to erase the history of the Civil War. They claim that the battle flag is a symbol of racism. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The flag honored those that fought and struggled during the long war that pitted families and friends against each other. After the American Revolution it is the most significant war the United States has fought. Now we have left wing fanatics trying to erase it by digging up old generals and destroying monuments to the great men and women that endured the War Between the States.
The left wing fanatics may want to stop and think that the great Arlington Cemetery is built at Lee’s home. Do they want to dig up and dishonor all the war dead?
If the left wing extremists want to talk about hate and racism they may want to discuss getting rid of some RAP music. When I think of people I consider racists I think of Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, and Adolf Hitler to name a few. I do not think of the Confederate Battle Flag. Perhaps if you do, you may want to read some history before it is erased by these fanatics. These are the same fanatics that say the Holocaust never happened. Why is America giving any credence to these nuts? Do not wait for your lily livered politicians to do it because they won’t. Get your rebel out and stop this nonsense.