Cowboy Hat Or Baseball Cap?

[Cody-n-Nancy]

Whenever I see a Resistol ad, on the Cowboy Channel, either their hats, be it felt or straw, are being worn at a rodeo, roping arena, cutting/reining shows or at a ranch working cattle. Of course, Resistol is very well known for cowboy hats, not baseball caps. Like Wrangler jeans, Resistol is a major sponsor of PRCA rodeos. Although, years ago, when I'd go to a Jackpot Roping Arena, I'd be wearing a baseball cap. Now, when I was in a rodeo arena, a cowboy hat was required for competition. PRCA rules state that.

Whenever wife and I attend a rodeo, like the Great Western Stock Show & Rodeo in Denver or the NFR in Vegas, out comes the felt hat, unless it's during the summer, then it's the straw. Go to the local livestock auction, we wear their baseball cap, they gave to us, but do see some buyers wearing cowboy hats. Now, since we are back in Colorado, if we desire, we can wear our felt or straw to Walmart, local grocery store or farm/ranch supply store and we are fine. Living in northeastern Florida, definitely was not the case! Heck, here, I've even wore my felt or straw to a restaurant for breakfast. Wore it out to dinner also, but take it off after sitting down at table. Put back on to leave. It's very cool to be back living in an area where folks don't look at a cowboy hat is being "weird" or "why are they wearing that here?" (in their mind).

So, now that you know what we do, when do you wear either a cowboy hat or baseball cap?

 

[leanin' H]

I wear a cowboy hat a lot. I've travelled a bunch for my job and I've proudly worn my cowboy hat. Folks in Philadelphia gave me a few looks but most approved. The funniest part was wearing it in Dallas and never seeing another cowboy hat for the week i was there. I wear ball caps a bunch too. I wear some kind of hat daily. I even wear my straw/felt hat to church come a Sunday and leave it perched on top of a lamp in the foyer. My cowboy hat keeps my ears from sun burning and protects my nose and face as well. But a ball cap is handy wrenching on equipment and at my day job. I hate flying as those stupid seats make wearing a cowboy hat tough when it keeps hitting the seat back. I have enjoyed some great conversations while flying that started with somebody asking me if I'm a cowboy or if I Rodeo. It allows me to try and be an advocate for ranching and agriculture and maybe teach folks a tiny bit about what we all do. I'm not an exceptionally good looking guy, but my cowboy hat has gotten me hit on by women and a couple men. I am happily married and found it amusing. When they put me in the old pine box, I want to be wearing my favorite boots and have my sombrero resting on my chest before they start shoveling dirt.

 

[leanin' H]

We were moving cattle across the desert in January one year. It was bitter cold and the wind about cut ya in half. It takes three days and is 64 miles over three counties and we do it every year. We unloaded the horses and opened the gate to start the cows south and it was about -22 F. My dad was with myself and my cousin. Dad would drive the truck down ahead of us to the wire trap we planned to leave them at the end of the first day. Then he rode his 4 wheeler back up to break a trail through the snow. I'll never forget him riding up wearing just about every piece of clothing he owns. Including a huge Russian style hat with fur and a face mask. Phil and I had on our cowboy gear that included chaps and coats and scarfs and our felt hats. I teased Dad about looking like an eskimo and he replied with "Son, there's a fine line between tough and stupid. We both know which side of that line you are on."

 

[webfoot]

I sort of got out of the habit of wearing a cowboy hay back in the 80's. I was living in Western Washington at the time. Urban cowboy was the big thing then. I didn't want to be confused with some of those people. I do have 2 good felt hats and 2 straws. I should wear them in the summer as I did have a big melanoma taken off the back of my neck a few years ago. That caused me to go long sleeve shirts all summer. At least all my ball caps livestock related.

 

[Cody-n-Nancy]

I absolutely love it when my wife wears either her felt or straw..........love it! But, also like seeing her wear one of her baseball caps also and, no hat at all.

When we first met, at a local Denny's, she was wearing a nice straw cowboy hat. Formed perfectly. Actually, I had placed a personal ad, in a local magazine and she answered it. In a pair of ladies Roper jeans and pointed boots. Not too long after we met, I bought her a pair of black Roper boots. She loved them. After those boots wore out, came a pair of Ariat Lace-Up Roper boots, like I also have.

We have many pictures and video of both of us in Vegas during the NFR, with our felt hats on.

Funny thing is, her ex-husband hated seeing her wearing a baseball cap. Perhaps that one reason he wound up an "ex". LOL

Our Facebook picture shows both of us with our felt hat on.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

I enjoy wearing my felt hat or a straw but when working on machinery and all the wind we seem to get anymore I find myself wearing a ball cap more. I also wear a winter cap with ear flaps most of the winter.

 

[Faster horses]

Mr. FH wears a cowboy hat....felt in winter, straw in summer. He wears ball caps too, at times. Always wears a cowboy hat to church and like Leanin' H, takes it off during the service. Same with eating, he takes his cowboy hat off. He was raised with the code of the west and YOU TAKE YOUR HAT OFF WHEN YOU ARE EATING and WORSHIPPING! He never forgets.

 

[redrobin]

I don't play baseball.

 

[Mountain Cowgirl]

Mr. FH wears a cowboy hat....felt in winter, straw in summer. He wears ball caps too, at times. Always wears a cowboy hat to church and like Leanin' H, takes it off during the service. Same with eating, he takes his cowboy hat off. He was raised with the code of the west and YOU TAKE YOUR HAT OFF WHEN YOU ARE EATING and WORSHIPPING! He never forgets.

Yep! That was the rule in my family! No eating anywhere in the house but at the table and no hats or caps. Women could wear a scarf, but that was it. No exceptions. During any church service, the hat or cap is left at the entry. PERIOD! Church or community pot luck in the park and you better have your hat or cap off during prayer.

I remember one of my friends bringing her new boyfriend, a rodeo bronc rider. to a community potluck. As heads were being bowed for prayer, he fails to remove his hat. She backhands him hard and knocks the wind out of him. He looks at the preacher and says, "Isn't it a sin to hit someone for no reason?" The preacher says, "Yes, but she had a reason, now remove that hat and bow your head before she gives you a fresh one."

 

[Mountain Cowgirl]

I enjoy wearing my felt hat or a straw but when working on machinery and all the wind we seem to get anymore I find myself wearing a ball cap more. I also wear a winter cap with ear flaps most of the winter.

Hi Mud, yes that was my daddy except he never had a felt hat, always straw. He had two creased like was our family tradition and one flat-brimmed and sombrero style. The shaped one was for working cattle and town wear, and the sombrero was for his 1-acre garden, irrigating, and times he operated equipment. Once I turned 12 I was doing nearly all the equipment operating. It was fun until I hit 16 and Saturday in town was more fun than harrowing and reseeding 160 acres of alfalfa while listening to rock and roll on my transistor. I usually wore a cap for equipment operating.

He always wore his aviator furry ear flap cap when outside in the winter, no exceptions. I wore earmuffs and my ski cap. Now, I only wear my stretchy running cap for my walks or when out in the sun very long. I gave away all my western-style hats a few years ago to an active rancher family member. They were all custom-made and very expensive and shaped in the old family style that Gus in Lonesome Dove copied. Mine was made by that place in Calgary and I noticed they changed hands and raised prices. I love that place because for an extra fee they would take your new hat and throw it in fresh cow poo and stomp on it then beat it over a fence post, maybe dump coffee on it, jump on it some more and then grind it in mud and then reshape it and send it to you. Light soiling $55, medium soiling $75, and heavy soiling $95. A small price to pay for the work involved hahaha! I did my first intentional hat soiling when my dad and I got in an argument (I was 16 then) while loading cattle for auction. He was making everything too difficult. I lost my temper and threw my expensive "Sunday go to meeting" or auction, hat on the ground under the plum tree where overripe plums had fallen, and stomped on it and told him I quit. I went inside and my mama informed me I couldn't quit a job that I was born into. Go out and apologize and get the cattle loaded. She cleaned my hat, but it still had stains from the plums and I treasured those stains for many years.

Here is what my last one looked a bit like but in buckskin color and heavily soiled. This outfit used to be in Calgary, but now in the USA.

 

[Cody-n-Nancy]

I keep reading about "no hats on while eating", but, from I've seen, doesn't go with breakfast or lunch in a restaurant. Please remember, I said "in a restaurant". At home eating, no matter which meal, the hat comes off. When eating lunch (sometimes) and definitely while eating supper/dinner out, the hat comes off and is put into the booth beside me.

As far as church goes, we have two Cowboy Churches locally and we've been to one of them. All the men during the Service, including the Pastor/Minister, wear their hats. The other Cowboy Church does the same. Went to a Cowboy Church in Colorado Springs and all hats were left on during the Service. However, when we went to a local small church for 2019 Christmas Eve Service, I took my cowboy hat off, when I entered the sanctuary, and put it under where I was sitting. Seen another guy do the same thing. IOW, Cowboy Church must be different. Coy Hoffman is a very popular rodeo Minister.

 

[Mountain Cowgirl]

Cowboy church was never heard of until 1972 and stayed in the shadows until the 1990s. Hat wearing during service is a new phenomenon that started as an incentive to attract rodeo performers and lovers. Before this time, even at rodeos, if a service was held at the corrals so churchgoers could skip traditional church, hats still came off from opening prayer to closing prayer. It was only when the idea of a "cowboy" church became popular that hats were allowed during service. The idea that real cowboys and ranchers established these churches, is false. They were established strictly for rodeo convenience and evolved from there.

In the area I grew up, we had a community church in the rural Grange hall every Sunday. Everyone there was the real deal working rancher or farmer. Most wore suits or clothes that didn't look like work clothes. Most men wore "cowboy" boots, but they were a dressy pair and polished to perfection. Women wore heels or pumps. Hats were left at the door except small hats and scarves worn by women. Sunday was a special day to dress up. The women always wore dresses or skirts. We usually had a potluck following the service. For me, this is still the real cowboy church.

Modern times have changed many things. Now you can attend a virtual church service dressed in your flowered PJ's, bunny slippers, and wear a sombrero if you want.

 

[Cody-n-Nancy]

Cowboy church was never heard of until 1972 and stayed in the shadows until the 1990s. Hat wearing during service is a new phenomenon that started as an incentive to attract rodeo performers and lovers. Before this time, even at rodeos, if a service was held at the corrals so churchgoers could skip traditional church, hats still came off from opening prayer to closing prayer. It was only when the idea of a "cowboy" church became popular that hats were allowed during service. The idea that real cowboys and ranchers established these churches, is false. They were established strictly for rodeo convenience and evolved from there.

In the area I grew up, we had a community church in the rural Grange hall every Sunday. Everyone there was the real deal working rancher or farmer. Most wore suits or clothes that didn't look like work clothes. Most men wore "cowboy" boots, but they were a dressy pair and polished to perfection. Women wore heels or pumps. Hats were left at the door except small hats and scarves worn by women. Sunday was a special day to dress up. The women always wore dresses or skirts. We usually had a potluck following the service. For me, this is still the real cowboy church.

Modern times have changed many things. Now you can attend a virtual church service dressed in your flowered PJ's, bunny slippers, and wear a sombrero if you want.

I do know that there is an organization called Cowboys For Christ. The Minister of the Cowboy Church we attended, has some cattle and some of the people don't look like they are ranchers at all.

However at one Cowboy Church, many of the folks do own/ride horses and participate in local County Fair Parade. Right outside the church is an area, that during the summer months, saw horses with dummy steer heads on them, are set up for those that want to rope a dummy after church.

I also found out that there are those that go to Cowboy Church, that live in the country atmosphere, but have nothing to do with anything farm or ranch related. They just like living there. They attend Cowboy Church because they don't like the mega churches and all of the folks that go to them. Cowboy Church draws in a very small congregation.

Yes, things have changed from the "olden days". Some folks like the change, while others don't.

And, btw, during a prayer at Cowboy Church, all men remove their hats.

 

[Cody-n-Nancy]

Hi Mud, yes that was my daddy except he never had a felt hat, always straw. He had two creased like was our family tradition and one flat-brimmed and sombrero style. The shaped one was for working cattle and town wear, and the sombrero was for his 1-acre garden, irrigating, and times he operated equipment. Once I turned 12 I was doing nearly all the equipment operating. It was fun until I hit 16 and Saturday in town was more fun than harrowing and reseeding 160 acres of alfalfa while listening to rock and roll on my transistor. I usually wore a cap for equipment operating.

He always wore his aviator furry ear flap cap when outside in the winter, no exceptions. I wore earmuffs and my ski cap. Now, I only wear my stretchy running cap for my walks or when out in the sun very long. I gave away all my western-style hats a few years ago to an active rancher family member. They were all custom-made and very expensive and shaped in the old family style that Gus in Lonesome Dove copied. Mine was made by that place in Calgary and I noticed they changed hands and raised prices. I love that place because for an extra fee they would take your new hat and throw it in fresh cow poo and stomp on it then beat it over a fence post, maybe dump coffee on it, jump on it some more and then grind it in mud and then reshape it and send it to you. Light soiling $55, medium soiling $75, and heavy soiling $95. A small price to pay for the work involved hahaha! I did my first intentional hat soiling when my dad and I got in an argument (I was 16 then) while loading cattle for auction. He was making everything too difficult. I lost my temper and threw my expensive "Sunday go to meeting" or auction, hat on the ground under the plum tree where overripe plums had fallen, and stomped on it and told him I quit. I went inside and my mama informed me I couldn't quit a job that I was born into. Go out and apologize and get the cattle loaded. She cleaned my hat, but it still had stains from the plums and I treasured those stains for many years.

Here is what my last one looked a bit like but in buckskin color and heavily soiled. This outfit used to be in Calgary, but now in the USA.

View attachment 534

This hat looks like it has a "Montana" crease in it. Crease goes from the back to the front. When I was in Montana, I seen some men wearing hats like this. One man, at our local Walmart, had a hat on like this. I mentioned the "Montana crease" to him, of which he didn't know anything about, but did say the hat was bought in Montana.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Heck I should go into business, I could make good money soiling hats,
I seem to be a dirt magnet ,a Silver belly and me can attract dirt fast then sugar can flies.

 

[Cody-n-Nancy]

Heck I should go into business, I could make good money soiling hats,
I seem to be a dirt magnet ,a Silver belly and me can attract dirt fast then sugar can flies.

Funny, but the same can go for brand new boots. After buying a new pair of Ariat Lace-Up Ropers, and went to a rodeo, the guys made sure they wouldn't stay nice and clean! They kicked some arena dirt on them and it didn't bother me at all, because I knew why they were doing it. I just laughed.

 

[webfoot]

For kicks I just checked out my present selection of ball caps. Toppenish Livestock Commission, Simplot Western Stockman, Brookman Livestock, and Superior Livestock Auctions. They aren't cowboy hats but I doubt you will find anyone other than a rancher or cowboy wearing any of those hats. No seed, fertilizer, or equipment hats so that leaves the dirt farmers out too.

 

[Cody-n-Nancy]

Funny how many folks won't even look at what's written on a baseball cap, but I'm sure not one of them! IOW, I'm very observant and notice what is written on a baseball cap and t-shirt. If someone is wearing a PRCA Circuit jacket or an NFR jacket, I'll notice that as well. I also notice trophy belt buckles.
Sometimes I will talk to the person wearing this stuff, and sometimes not.

Met a Quick-Draw World Champion once in Walmart.

 

[Faster horses]

Our 'Cowboy Church'...is really more a 'Western Church." This was discussed last Sunday. A guy came here a few years back and tried to start a Cowboy Church. He was very chrasmatic but he didn't last long. He wanted a cult, not a church. I asked a founder of a Texas Cowboy Church what Cowboy Church meant. He said it has a bulls-eye on Rodeo Cowboys, then Working Ranch Cowboys and then
people who value the western way of life. He said it is "Church in the dirt", so to speak. In the first Cowboy church that came to town, there weren't many of the first two. The church folded and the church we attend now is an offshoot of the first one and it's much better IMO. Attendence is up, they started over with 12 people attending a year ago. Interesting that our pastor is also a Representative in the WY legislature. He's ultra Conservative and says he spends his day job with the steal and spend crowd in Cheyenne. Then he corrects himself and says, "I mean the tax and spend crowd in Cheyenne." He's always good for a laugh.

Anyway, that's why the discussion on Cowboy Church or Western Church came about.
Most everyone takes their hat off during the service and when eating, ALWAYS WHEN PRAYING.
It's a sign of respect.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

I wear them both and I don't like to judge a person by what they wear. Some top ranch hands wear a ball cap and running shoes when they aren't riding. Who knows maybe a bronc fell on their foot that a runner just works for them when they are fencing ect.