December 24, 2015
Would you like to go back for a day to those times when stern men talked about a matter of honor, women were proud and daring, and the real fun was not nightclubs, but country dances, shooting at tin cans and chasing the most malicious enemy - the Indian?
Why not? Without stereo systems, light music and computer games, people knew how to have fun for real! Now it’s not like that: now pathos, glamor and extended body parts “rule”. Therefore, if your birthday is in the warm season, and you want open heartfelt fun, here is a good option for wild west parties!
In order not to miss anything important, I suggest the following scenario:
1. Season and meeting time.
The best time of the year for a Cowboy Party is summer. Meeting time - 12-14.00. The costumes must be prepared in advance, so the invitees will only have to put on an outfit and arrive on time. Please note: the most suitable day of the week is Saturday. Surely your party will turn into a daily marathon of entertainment, because Sunday will serve as an excellent healer and “sleeping” before Monday!
2. Invitations.
Be creative, but don't overdo it. Draw holiday attributes (cowboy hats, boots, funny Indian) or print out a coloring book for kids with matching characters. 
For the base of the invitation, use scrapbooking paper (in country colors) or plain kraft paper. 
Write the text with a linner (capillary pen) or colored felt-tip pens.
Meet the guests, forcing them to introduce themselves “at gunpoint”. You can come up with a password, something like: "I am Walker, Texas Ranger!", And to the Indians: "I am the leader of the Cheyenne tribe!".
3. Take care about costumes!
Naturally, in order for everything to look natural in the spirit of the Wild West, everyone must be ready both externally and internally. That is to be cheerful, loud and always ready to draw a pistol from a holster or an arrow from a quiver.
More about images.
cowboy man: jeans, sew on fringed overlays, wide leather belt, plaid shirt, neckerchief, cowboy hat. Cowboy-style leather boots are desirable. If they are not there, pick up shoes with an elongated toe: what if the boots hid under wide jeans?
Also, you can add characters such as sheriff(how without a servant of the law?) 
And bandit(who, of course, is wanted for a hefty reward!). 
Cowgirl: almost everything is the same: jeans or denim shorts (skirt), a plaid shirt (or a blouse with a deep neckline and ruffles), cowboy boots, wide leather bracelets, a holster with a weapon or a rough belt, makeup “under natural” (but red is allowed pomade). Hair is loose, or braided in two pigtails. A cowboy hat will also be in place. 
If girl "not a cowboy", replace some elements with a similar country style: a knee-length or floor-length skirt, a thin blouse (light or colorful), you can wear a denim vest or jacket. The hairstyle is the same. 
Indians: these costumes are more difficult to construct. The ideal option is to rent it. You can try to make an outfit from scraps of brown fabric (better for suede) and any material at hand (feathers, bright jewelry, paints ...). Perhaps there are sandals with high laces. Pay due attention to makeup! This is half of the image. 
In case the invitees suddenly do not find some small but important attributes, stock up and be ready to hand them at the entrance. 
To better get used to the role, invite guests to watch several films - classics of the appropriate theme (westerns): "Buffalo Bill and the Indians", "Pancho Villa", "The Long Way", "The Lone Ranger", "Once Upon a Time in the Wild West", "Good bad, evil...
4. Venue and decoration.
The ideal place for a Wild West party is a dacha (in cowboy terms: “family ranch”). Rest will be noisy and loud.
You will have to work hard, since the area that needs to be prepared is very decent. A room in a country house, or an equipped tent should be decorated with red flags, wild flowers, spikelets should be placed in vases from a vine, bright feathers can be added. If you can set up a retro bar style counter - a great party highlight! Hang retro curtains. Cover the furniture with tablecloths in a characteristic color: red and white cage or retro flowers. Bales of hay will look harmonious both in the yard and near the festive table (these are not European-style repairs for you!). 
Hang around the territory something like a lasso, cowboy hats, horseshoes, put rows of cans or beer bottles on the fence. 
At the entrance to the yard, hang a large Wanted poster with a photo of one of the guests (find out who will choose the role of a bandit). Be sure to indicate the amount of the reward (preferably in kopecks: so many zeros, but real, if the Hero demands the entire amount). Organize a couple of beautiful targets (it's easy to make from Styrofoam and paint it), as well as arrange cacti around the yard (of course, from Styrofoam, draw needles with a marker - it will be very funny!). On the street, conditionally divide the territory into half cowboys and Indians. Cowboys - a haystack and wooden benches. Indians - wigwam and fire. All this can also be easily built according to a simple scheme. 
Arrange colorful retro posters.
5. Music.
Entertainment is necessary and important. First of all, it's loud music. Remember how much space is occupied by waving arms and skipping, which they call dance! By the way, it would not hurt to watch a couple of videos before the holiday, it would be great if many people pick up the songs, the dances, and the temper of the scorchers! Suitable tracks will be hits from: Ann Murray, Gene Watson, George Strait, selective songs by Madonna, Pink, as well as tracks from the mentioned films!
6. Entertainment.
Contests are talked about a few hours after the start of the celebration: let the audience adapt and get used to the roles. If we talk about two warring "groups" (cowboys and Indians), who today decided to reconcile for the sake of a common friend (birthday boy), then the contests must be chosen correctly. Cowboys and Indians must compete, otherwise the peculiarity of such an unusual company will be lost. I offer the following options:
Competition "Who is more". Two teams are thrown into tin cans. The team with the most coins in the bank wins.
Competition "In the apple". The cowboys take turns firing five shots with children's pistols, the Indians with a bow (it's possible that the bow will be a problem - stock up on darts!). Each to their own target. The one with the most "wounds" wins. If both teams hit (all five times), then the one who hit closer to the center of the target.
Candle Burning Competition. Two people (one from each team) from the same distance must extinguish three candles with a water pistol.
Contest "Take me, horse." Each team has a horse and a rider (boy and girl respectively). It's simple: run to the fence and back. The faster horse wins. In the second option, two participants must saddle a wooden toy horse. (26-2)
Competition "In search of treasures". Give two teams a poorly drawn map to find the treasure. Whoever thinks faster - takes the treasure. In the role of treasure - a bottle of good alcohol.
The team with the most points gets a gift. Let it be something edible, otherwise it’s hard to please 5-6 people at once. If one person is awarded, it may be a modern cowboy-style hat, a leather belt, or a flask.
Be sure to think about what songs you can sing around the evening fire. Or maybe your company likes scary or just interesting stories...
7. Menu and drinks.
Cowboys, like Indians, are people with an appetite. Save light snacks for a French-style party. Coarsely chopped meat, barbecue, baked chicken thighs, shish kebab, balyki, ham will be relevant here. Stews, pilaf with vegetables in large containers are also suitable. 
Do not be afraid to add spice to dishes - today it is appropriate! Drinks also dictate the mandatory availability of choice. Cowboys go great with tequila, whiskey, beer and (yes!) milk! The latter is generally their native drink. But the Indians have their favorite "drink of the gods" from cocoa beans and various spices. In short, cook cocoa for them, not a single feast was held by the Indians without it.
Finally. Don't forget to take lots of photos. They are sure to be exclusive. 
Let your friends appreciate your work, and you will have a great time knocking your heels on the wooden floor and shouting out that “if there is no meat in the roast beef, it’s not roast beef” or “The sheriff’s Indians don’t care about problems”! 
At the word "cowboy" an image of a courageous John Wayne pops up in his head with a cigar in his mouth, a pair of Colts and a stern look, but in fact a cowboy (English cowboy, from cow - "cow" and boy - "guy") - the name used in the US Wild West in relation to cattle herders.
Interestingly, the cowboy hat was invented by John Stetson in the 1860s. It is still popular in the southwestern United States, northern Mexico and the western provinces of Canada.
Rodeo (Spanish: Rodeo) is a traditional sport that historically began among Mexican and American cowboys. It is believed that the rodeo as an open sport was first held in the Texas city of Pecos in 1883.
The era of cowboys began in 1865, when it was necessary to herd giant herds of feral bulls, mainly in Texas, and ended about twenty years later.
Contrary to popular belief, the cowboys didn't fight the Indians. The Indian Wars, which began in 1864, were fought between Indian tribes and the US Army. At times, the Indians themselves became cowboys, because they knew how to stay in the saddle and shoot from childhood.
In the so-called cowboy towns, there were not enough women and some of the cowboys danced with each other. The one who portrayed a woman tied her hand with a handkerchief.
According to statistics, over the past hundred years there were no more than 20 thousand representatives of this profession.
About a third of the cowboys were blacks who gained freedom after the Civil War, but had neither work nor property. Another third of the cowboys were Mexicans and a third - the descendants of immigrants from Europe.
The work of a cowboy was considered low-paid, he received 25-40 dollars a month. For this reason, a rare cowboy had his own horse, usually they worked on the master's horses.
The cowboy's earnings were low, and in the winter, many cowboys were forced to work on the ranch simply for food and a roof over their heads. Cowboys received relatively large amounts of money only for driving cattle. The cowboy spent a significant part of his money on drinking, and the most popular drink among cowboys was beer, not whiskey, as is usually shown in westerns.
Cowboys were hired to drive cattle, but the most interesting thing began when they returned with the money they earned. The authorities from the towns along their route hired bandits to protect the population from the wild cowboys.
There was only one president in American history who was a cowboy by trade. This is Theodore Roosevelt. Early in his career, from 1883 to 1886, he worked as a cowboy.
The first cowboy church was organized in Waxahachee, Texas. Now the cowboy Christian movement is united in the American Association of Cowboy Churches.
The image of a typical American cowboy is completely imposed on us by Western films: a middle-aged man with a slight unshaven on horseback, a wide-brimmed hat on his head, a cigarette in his teeth, tight jeans on his legs, a frayed leather jacket over a plaid shirt, high-heeled boots with spurs and , of course, a lasso and a revolver hanging from a belt.
But the reality can be quite different from the generally accepted template of a typical cowboy. We present 5 interesting and unexpected facts that will complement, and maybe even turn your idea of cowboys upside down.
Cowboys didn't carry guns
In any movie about the Wild West, there will be a scene when the crowd fills up in a local bar, and each of them has one or even several revolvers hanging from his belt. Soon, as a result of the resulting conflict, two cowboys leave the bar to duel.
But this scene hardly has anything to do with reality. If only because a cowboy is a peaceful profession and its representatives, in contrast to the generally accepted opinion, did not have a violent temper, more suitable for bandits. In addition to the fact that there was no need to carry a weapon, it was quite expensive to have a revolver or rifle with you - cartridges in those days cost a lot of money.
The only situation when cowboys took weapons with them (most often issued by the rancher) was when cattle were driven between pastures. It was a rather risky occupation due to the possibility of meeting bandits, fugitive criminals or aggressive Indians along the way.
Cowboys are not bandits, but ordinary workers
A typical day of a cowboy did not consist of dashing shootouts with the local sheriff and horse races, but of monotonous work on the ranch, which included going around the territories, repairing fences and pens, branding young animals, searching for runaway cattle ...
The American word "cowboy" itself comes from a combination of two words: "cow" - a cow, "boy" - a guy / boy, which does not at all characterize a cowboy from an aggressive side.
This is interesting: among the cowboys, it was quite common to meet blacks or Mexicans. According to rough estimates, they occupied 2/3 of the total number of shepherds.
Difficult working conditions and low wages taught the cowboys to mutual assistance and collective responsibility. It is significant that in those days in large American cities many times more crimes were committed than in the vastness of the Wild West.
Cowboys' Favorite Drink Isn't Whiskey
What will a cowboy order after a hard day at a bar to soak his throat? Whiskey? But no! Cowboys' favorite drink has always been beer, on which they spent most of their money.
By the way, cowboys earned quite a bit. They received good money only for driving cattle between pastures, but this work was associated with a risk to life.
Cowboys didn't wear wide-brimmed hats.
Contrary to popular belief, a brimmed hat was not an indispensable attribute of any cowboy. Among the shepherds of the Wild West, hats were not very popular. And if someone wore a headdress, then it was almost always a bowler hat that was fashionable in those days.
Many cowboys didn't have horses.
Can't imagine a cowboy without a horse? But the reality is that almost none of the shepherds had the means to maintain their own horse, and those who still rode on horseback simply rented the animal from the rancher.
In addition, cowboys often did not need horses. Due to the too hot and arid climate, all the cattle grazed near the master's ranch for most of the year, so all the work for the cowboy was within walking distance.
This is interesting: given that cowboys rarely traveled on horseback, it would be quite unexpected to meet a cowboy who traveled on ... a camel. But such shepherds did exist. In 1855, the US government, as part of the program for the development of the Wild West and the advancement of the frontier (wild land development strip) to the west, ordered the purchase of several dozen camels so that cowboys could perform their duties even in the heat.
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