True West and Encore Westerns shared a long table at the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium last weekend. The event is held at Ruidoso Downs and Billy the Kid Casino. Our table this year faced a big, tan wall that was quite perfect for photo ops. Cowboys and families would walk along, stop right along the wall as if they were posing for Richard Avadon. I took this photo right from our table.
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The cowboy at left is picking his teeth, that's Sue Lambert our regional sales rep second from left, a news subscriber and his girlfriend talking to another friend and that's Jeff Hildebrandt of the Westerns Channel talking to a cowboy performer at far right.
Almost immediately, I realized that this is a perfect backdrop to take posed photos and also slice-o-life photos, like this one of a family waiting for something.
![](http://api.ning.com:80/files/QOkGyeZ5XawEhjyv3HWLkgUpcpUZ*TWEI96VBUUohfWqmuwH5v1u9u4ZtiiXtgkRMRWSGiw8xzVdQGXKwalvs249Q3qYxlGG/cssignofthetimes.jpg)
The little girl playing with her hand-held-device is just about perfect. meanwhile, I spotted all kinds of people stylin'. This is a Capitan Cowboy (the Capitans are north of Lincoln, NM) with a pet pooch. Love that 'stash.
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I stopped these guys and had them line up along the wall. Can you guess what they have in common?
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They are the Honey-Do Spoiler chuck wagon crew in matching pink shirts. Ain't they sweet?
Meanwhile, there were a contingent of mountain men that were pretty spectacular. This is Mountain Man Ralph, who comes damn close to the visage of Jim Bridger, if you ask me.
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"History only tastes bitter to those who think it should be sugar-coated."
—Old Vaquero Saying