Growing up, our Labor Day tradition consisted of a family time together at the Las Animas County 4-H Fair and Rodeo in Trinidad, Colorado. This is what we did!
Wednesday Before Labor Day
We started back to school before Labor Day but got the Thursday and Friday before Labor Day off to go to the Las County 4-H Fair and Rodeo. So, Wednesday was a half-day of school—what a long morning that was! Anticipation coursed through my veins and all my classmates! In the afternoon, we loaded up our horses and off to Trinidad we went.
The first year my brother showed his horse, when they arrived in Trinidad, his horse looked like someone had beat him up. So, Dad learned, and the next year when I became old enough to join 4-H and show, we loaded both colts and their mothers in the trailer and drove them around a few times before the fair to get them accustomed to the trip.
When we arrived in Trinidad, we stabled our horses at the fairgrounds with all the other horses from across the county. A carnival resided in the parking lot near the horse barn, and our country horses weren’t used to its noise!
My family stayed at a motel for the full five days—this was our annual vacation. To start off the holiday, we went bowling as a family until the year Dad broke his hip in a horse accident and that ended this part of our tradition.
Thursday & Friday
Thursday morning, my brother and I showed our horses. Most years, I showed Prince in the halter class. One year, I rode him in the reining class. We had worked all summer for this moment as witnessed in the poem below. Some years we won; some we lost. I showed my knitting and sewing. My knitting won many awards.
Thursday night, our Livestock Club went to the movie together—yes, this was a special event for us! Friday was the livestock showing which many of our friends and cousins participated in.
3 Days of Dancing: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Each evening we danced—my favorite part—at varies dance halls in Trinidad: Eagles Hall, American Legion, and Sebastiani Gym. Good old country and western dances with friends from the county and cowboys from the rodeos. They always held the Sunday night the dance in a garage at the fairgrounds. I really like that because we could run over to the carnival and go on the rides at night.
Saturday, Sunday & Monday
During the weekend, we enjoyed the Livestock sale, Cowbelle’s barbecues and the main attraction in the afternoon: daily amateur rodeos! Cowboys and cowgirls came from far and wide to this annual event. As teenagers, we liked to go over to the chutes and sit near the chutes to see the animals and cowboys up close!
During the day, Mom and Dad turned us loose to do whatever we wanted. My brother and I joined friends from the county and roamed the fairgrounds, spending as much time as possible at the carnival—and as long as our money lasted!
Monday, Labor Day
This holiday ended on Labor Day with a parade and the final rodeo. Then we loaded up our horses and clothes and headed home, smiling ear-to-ear, remembering all the fun of this year and anticipating next year’s Labor Day adventure.
Here’s a poem I wrote about this adventure!
4-H Projects and the County Fair
A frequent question for me has been
“What did you do to entertain yourself
out in the country,
especially during the summer?”
And the most often used word to describe
my possible plight was
boring.
That word never entered my mind.
Our summer days were filled with 4-H.
Meetings, dances, roller skating parties—
but mostly projects:
knitting, sewing, and horses.
Uncle Tanky and his brother Billy led the Livestock Club;
Margaret Lewis led the Home Economics Club.
I waited and waited,
eager and excited to finally be nine
and old enough to be in 4-H.
For my first-year livestock project
I selected my horse,
a colt at Chet Rose’s.
I chose the white colt
with no other coloring,
but
he grew up a buckskin,
a beautiful golden color
with a dark brown mane
and stockings.
Bub chose the black one.
I named mine Prince,
Bub named his Yogi Berra.
What an adventure to halter break a colt!
First we chased them in from the horse pasture,
using the pickup to herd them.
We brought in all of our horses.
The colts hung close to their mothers
for protection—Chet lent us the colt’s mother
for a while, until they were weaned!
We ran them into the smaller corral,
next to the saddle room,
then the work started.
The horses circled the small corral—
all of us were nervous.
Initially, Dad did the haltering
because it was a war—that colt
wanted no part of this.
He wanted his mama
and
freedom!
Carefully, Dad edged up
and slipped the rope
around Prince’s neck,
gaining some control
over this little spitfire.
After several jumps and twists,
the halter went over his ears
and around his nose.
The buckle was hooked, and I was in business.
Cautiously, Dad turned him over to me.
Now I had to grab the lead rope
and hold on for dear life.
But Bub was still waiting!
After a repeat performance
by Dad,
we were both holding
onto our horses—what an experience.
Once the colts settled down,
we brushed and curry-combed them
get the dirt and stickers o#.
We ran our hands over their bodies,
raised their feet,
and made them feel comfortable
with us.
Each day, this episode repeated itself
until it became routine.
Then it was our turn to halter our horses,
and it became old hat.
Many hours were spent just walking around
and around,
and around,
and around in the corral—
teaching Prince to follow.
My only respite in this—singing to Prince.
The laps were long,
so I sang,
and sang,
and sang.
The finale came in September
over Labor Day weekend,
what we had worked so hard for—
the Las Animas County Fair in Trinidad!
This was our family vacation every year—
Five days of fun.
Friends from all over
the county came together
for this annual event.
We 4-H’d—
showed our horses
had my knitting and sewing judged.
As a family,
we went bowling,
and we danced.
We went to movies,
we attended barbecues and rodeos,
and we danced!
Our Labor Day holiday was my
favorite part of the summer
and marked the end of summer every year.
The five days ended too soon,
but there was always next year!
Larada Horner-Miller, This Tumbleweed Landed (Horner Publishing Company, 2014), 113-117.
Finally,
I cherish my childhood memories of Labor Day! What are your Labor Day traditions? Do you have any? I’d love to hear about them
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Loved this Labor Day memories blog, Larada! I especially enjoyed picturing you as you sang and sang as sang leading Prince around over and over. And this was my favorite set of lines.
“We ran them into the smaller corral,
next to the saddle room,
then the work started.
The horses circled the small corral—
all of us were nervous.”
Most of all, this column brought back such fun memories of horseback riding lessons on a nearby ranch growing up, as well as going to the National Stock Show as a family every January! And, it brought back happy recent memories of the State Fair (all the riding, rodeo, and stock show events are amazing at the New Mexico State Fair, and it is delightful to see all those 4-H kids participating!). Finally, it brought in fresh excitement – the NM State Fair starts this Thursday 9/5! (It runs 9/5 – 9/15.). We also have a “tradition” of going to the State Fair the night before the official start of the fair – all the anticipation in the air, and there is much to see that night, including all the art exhibits in the various buildings, plus some of the rodeo and livestock show animals will have arrived already, plus the State Fair store where we will pick up our State Fair t shirts.
As a kid of suburbia, my Labor Day was spent looking at my new pencils, paper, packing my backpack with the supplies, the smell of the #2 pencils, sharpening them at home. And, it was officially the last day of summer so that was spent out back on the giant wooden sculpted A frame house with a swing set as part of the “A” which my grandparents built. As I got older, that official last day of summer was spent riding my bike or skateboarding, absorbing the last day of summer and the excitement of thinking about school starting as it always did for me – the day after Labor Day.
Thanks for all the fun, Larada!
Thanks for your delightful comments. I love how it triggered your Labor Day memories. So rich! Hope you are well!💋