Rojas and the Tehachapi Vaquero

Rojas and the Tehachapi Vaquero

 The Case of Sole

Justin Classics

By Stephen L. Wilmeth

     As I get older I find that my interest in styles has become bifurcated.  On one hand, simplicity and utility have become increasingly standard fare, but there has been a tug of nostalgia for things old, rarely seen, or unique.  For example, my uncle recently made the decision I should have several hand made items that were crafted for my maternal grandfather and identified with the cross triangle brand.  I was like a kid at Christmas unwrapping the package he sent containing two buckle sets and a tie clasp.  They were immediate treasures that will be worn for everyday as well as special occasions.

     The Details matter

     We were not fortunate enough to get to know Arnold Rojas of Kern County, but we knew several Californios who called him friend.  His book in our library was signed by one of those fellows, and I suspect the words written in that brief message would have made “Chief” a bit emotional by what that friend  . . . mine and his  . . . said.

     Mr. Rojas became a vaquero.  Like so many of his peers, he did not come from wealth.  Many of the old time Californios he was around probably viewed him as more wishful than real initially, but he became what he admired in those old time western slope cowboys.

     If you read Rojas, you become immersed in center fire rigged slick fork saddles and rancid bear tallow rubbed reatas, but you come to realize you are taken in by the little details of his mind as much as the stories he memorialized.  Where else can you read about the colors and the personalities of those Spanish horses that first waded ashore in the New World?

     It was Rojas who cast some degree of sense of the purpose jingle bobs had other than the cadence to which a finished bridle horse walked, and it was Rojas who suggested to me through time what the purpose of fringe was on leggins’ of any style or persuasion.

     Pride

     The essence of the men who chose to live horseback in the sun and the grass of the West was captured so eloquently by Rojas in the story about the little vaquero from the Tehachapi country who lived frugally and yet proudly among his peers.  By the time the old gentleman was known to “Chief”, his family was scattered and he and his wife were elderly.  What caught Chief’s fancy was the little ‘Viejo’ was always straight, neat, and polished even though it appeared he had only two shirts . . . and they were both white. 

     Each day he would be in one of those shirts . . . all pressed with a little short tie.  Looking closely, the shirts were patched and repaired by his wife, but she would always have one clean and ready.

     His tack and his gear were similar.  A Visalia slick fork saddle, a Santa Barbara spade, two Navajo blankets, a set of armitas, a pair of hand made spurs, a short brimmed hat, and a museum quality reata all tended and repaired were his tools in trade.  He was the essence of what Rojas visualized as a vaquero.  He demonstrated thrift and loyalty and all that he sought to be was on display in his person.  It was pride, and it was all that mattered.

     Capturing the Essence

     Change the geography and the same men emerge.  Their tools had some of the same roots, but the conditions of their craft dictated differences.  They may be riding swelled forked saddles, wearing eight ounce batwings, and using undecorated grazer bits, but they respect and admire the same qualities.

     Boots were always part of the package.  In fact, as time went on, boots became a link to the diminishing relationship of the industry and the ever expanding urban influence on society.  People could still be connected with their heritage by what they wore on their feet regardless of where life took them. 

     The Boots

     When Ropers were dominant, the fad was not new to a number of horsemen.  The use of the boot had started back when the boots were still referred to as “Wellingtons”.  They were practical.  There was a need to have a boot that was comfortable to wear on the ground, but still had features needed in the saddle.    

     Many folks were wearing laced boots because higher heeled riding boots were just impractical.  Try standing on a hillside digging a post hole in a pair of Paul Bond’s with 18” tops and  2½’ heeled boots with spur counters and bull hide filigreed ostrich underlays. The aura of wearing those boots just didn’t overcome the need for function.  The Justin Classic Ropers were the ticket and they caught fire.

     The Urban Cowboy craze accelerated the demand for the boots and they also became a fashion statement.  White, red, blue, and distressed brown colors were added to the London tan and black standards.  Everybody joined the act and even urban gals who may have contemplated indignation when Arnold Rojas mentioned what a comfortable slick fork he had been in that morning were stockpiling and color coding their boot inventory.

     Evolution, but remember the basics

     Style change is a good thing.  It energizes and stimulates the economy and it captures the attention of a number of people who would otherwise pay little attention to our way of life. 

     The incorporation of exotic leathers, the expansion of industry participants, and even the recent trends that appear to us kids of the ‘50s and ‘60s as being bizarre are all healthy adaptations to the world of horsemanship.  Let it continue!

     Years ago when I first saw a pair of Lucchesse boots with their original style of French toe, I was infatuated.  What a boot that was and what a practical alternative to the more pointed toe preference of that era.  With today’s emphasis of square toed boots, isn’t it time to recapture something old and reinvigorate it with something new?

     It is time for Justin to reintroduce its Classic Roper, but with a modern toe.  If the toe was more streamlined than the large square toe dominating the market today it would be better yet.  If there is a name change required, well, why not just call it “Justin French toed Classic Roper”.  Call it what it is and get them to the people who make their living in the heat of summer and the cold of winter in boots.

     Those very people are finding they need a return to the basics that made the original roper so popular.  For example, the new sport shoe features being incorporated into boots are great when you first wear the boots, but get in a pickup with a cowboy who has been wearing a pair for two months and he has been building fence in the heat.  You can’t stay in the cab with him.  Those boots stink like an old pair of black Converse tennis shoes left in the gym locker all winter!

     When that cowboy is yourself and you can smell your own boots and you are thinking awfully hard about taking them off and throwing them in the back with the mineral block, it is time to return to the classic style of leather inners just like the old style ropers.  Form, over time, cannot cast aside function!

     Details, simplicity, and neatness

     Arnold Rojas set the modern standard as the curator of western detail in print artistry.  His stories of old California are not just important historically.  They are important for the detail perfected by those who lived in the world of winter rains, finished horses, spring grasses and golden empires.

     The little vaquero who sat straight in the saddle in his clean white shirt and tie would understand the importance of quality that comes from simplicity.  His impact on Rojas was probably not lost on the many others who learned the trade by emulating his actions. 

    Starched jeans and white shirt, Classic French toed Justin Classics, my treasured antique hand made belt buckle set, and a neat little tie set in place with that cross triangle clasp fulfills the expectation of simplicity and neatness.  They would look appropriate in any setting.  I would feel just as comfortable in a branding pen with them as I would at a San Francisco ballet.  So would Arnold, and so would a whole bunch of other native sons of the American West . . . and, as for hats . . . we had them on before we started dressing!

Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico.  “In all seriousness, Justin needs to consider the demand for an updated Roper . . . simple, tasteful, and functional.  Start with three original colors . . . London tan, black, and distressed natural . . . sell them as a set . . . and watch the reaction.”