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Ladies of Tradition
Tradition” can be defined as the transmission of customs and beliefs from generation to generation, from the old to the young and from the past to the present for the future. Our Western history is filled with tradition. Texas, with its legendary stories of the Alamo and Texas Rangers, has been and is big on tradition. The Code of the West is strong in the Lone Star State and is exemplified in a very unique and colorful group of women known as the “Ladies of Texas Tradition” or “LOTT”.
am both a Ladies Senior 4 mounted shooter and a sister of LOTT. One of the things I love to do with Pearl, my 8 year old Palomino shooting horse, is to participate in the annual all-women five day LOTT trail ride we call a “Trek”. Approximately 100 women meet at Prairie Haynes State Park in Killeen, TX, to make the Trek each October. They come from various parts of Texas with their ponies to share camaraderie, good will, laughter and tears. These LOTT sisters are making memories and passing on tradition.
LOTT began in 1993 with 12 women who had an idea that they could forge a sisterhood with the horse as its core. There is nothing better for a woman’s soul than her horse.
Our first seven years of the Trek were held at the LH7 Ranch in Bandera, TX. This was the home of the legendary Maudeen Marks, a charter member of LOTT. She was quite a character. She never married, and her pride and joy were her foundation Texas Longhorn cattle.
Maudeen’s father, E. H. Marks, registered the LH7 brand in 1898 and established the ranch in 1907 in Western Harris County (Houston). He built one of the nation’s finest and largest herds of authentic Longhorns. In 1952, he was one of four founders who began the Salt Grass Trail Ride for the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. I had the honor to drive Maudeen’s wagon for several years on Salt Grass, including the 100th anniversary of the brand in 1998. It was a great loss to LOTT and Texas when Maudeen passed away in 2009, just shy of her 91st birthday. Her idea of heaven was “to own Texas, stock it with Texas Longhorn cattle, staff it with Texas Rangers, ride from windmill to windmill and have a dance every night.” She personified the tradition we try our best to carry on.
Our next five years were at the famed YO Ranch near Kerrville, another ranch deep in Texas history. Since 2004, we have been at the Prairie Haynes State Park. Our dream is to have a place of our own.
A typical Trek includes two and a half days of trail riding with a half day of play day/guest day. We stay in either horse trailers or cabins. Some ladies have made group names for themselves such as “Animal House,” “Animal House Annex,” “Trailer Trash,” “Bunkhouse B_____s,” etc. The fun begins early and always ends late. All our meals are catered and all our help (except the cooks), from guides to EMTs, are female.
The major focal point of each Trek is the indoctrination of the new applicants, the “Mavericks”. These ladies are akin to a pledge going through Rush; they serve the membership in all their needs, put on a humorous skit, and vie for the Top Maverick award. Survivors come back the following years as second and third year guests before becoming members. I was fortunate enough to be in the first Maverick class in 1994.
A very special moment occurred this past year that had its seed planted by another mounted shooter, Jana Morris. I was introduced to Templeton Thompson’s music when Jana created the slideshow on Western Shooting Horse’s website entitled Girls & Horses. The slideshow features women mounted shooters and their horses. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to do so.
I fell in love with both Templeton’s voice and music. I thought what a wonderful asset she would be to LOTT because she was originally from Texas (currently living in Nashville as a songwriter) and performs with her horse, Jane. To make a long story short, I was able to arrange for her to come for guest day. During lunch, I shared Jana’s slide show with LOTT and our 55 guests–and they were all in tears.
I then asked Julie Bray to come up because I wanted to play another song Templeton had written entitled “She Remembers Ridin’.” It was about a young woman who died of Alzheimer’s. Every time I listened to the song, it brought back memories of one of our LOTT sisters, Janie Northrop, who we lost in 2007 to Alzheimer’s. Janie and Julie were sisters in real life and I wanted Julie to know I thought of Janie often. It was a moment I will never forget.
I was so honored and thankful to have Templeton there. She is truly an amazing singer/songwriter. If you haven’t heard her music, you are missing out. After I heard Girls & Horses, I downloaded all of her CD’s. She has a new CD out entitled Planet Cowgirl. You can purchase it on her site at www.planetcowgirl.com.
I am a very blessed cowgirl because I have made great friends in LOTT and in mounted shooting, and I’m so grateful for them all.
Dee Dee lives with her husband Gary in Bandera, TX. She is President of Cowboy Capital Mounted Shooters (www.cowboycapitalmountedshooters.com).  Related posts:
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