The Florida Cowboy
By Bill Whidden
Who came first- the Texas cowboy or the Florida
cowboy? Are the western Cowboys better than their
“Cracker counterparts” in their horsemanship or cow
handling? We could probably wear one another out
debating that issue. The word “cowboy” first appeared in
the English language around 1715-1725. It appears to be
a direct English translation of Vaquero- the Spanish word
for an individual who manages cattle while mounted on
horseback. There are other roots to Latin and Arabic as
well and it’s obvious that the cowboy way of life required
certain amount of learned skills and physical abilities.
Folklore also suggests the word developed from the
manner of teaching these skills to young adolescent boyssuch as “catch that cow, Boy”, or “hang on, Boy!”
In the 16th century, conquistadors and other Spanish settlers brought their cattle raising traditions to what is now
Florida and Mexico. From these early beginnings, the merging of commerce, culture and traditions became a
way of life as the influence of Spain transformed Mexico and the great southwest of the United States. But what
happened in Florida? Mexico and the great Southwest is separated from Florida by thousands of miles both with
an arid climate and sparseness of grass for large cattle herds; Florida had a lush tropical climate. Florida was
all but forgotten in the great migration west by the writers that publicized the color, romance, and excitement
of the “Wild West” and for the most part they (the writers) never made it to Florida. Most of what was written
about Florida involved swamps, alligators and mosquitoes. However, one well known writer and artist of his
time was Frederick Remington. On assignment by Harpers New Monthly magazine in 1895 to write an article
on Florida’s development, he was sent to Arcadia, Florida. What fascinated him more than his assignment was
2 “Cracker Cowboys” that came wandering in on horses, proceeded to tie up at a hitching rail, and go into
the local saloon and get quite inebriated. The cowboys, being so totally different than the western cowboy he
was closely associated with, piqued his interest to the extent that he actually painted about 10 scenes of the
cracker cowboy (one is installed in a relief sculpture on the sides of the Gateway Arch leading to downtown
Kissimmee).
Now where are we going with this story? Not necessarily as to who came first- but the contrast of the Florida
cracker cowboy measuring up to his counter part- the western cowboy- hero or villain of many well read books,
his exploits in the taming of the wild wild west, the western boots, hat, and the colt 45 hanging on his waist.
While the west was heralded as the last frontier by the newspapers and magazines, Florida was building a
massive cattle industry from the hearty stock left in the wilds and woods of the swamps and plains by the
Spanish explorers and settlers. The “cracker Cowboy” was just as adept as his western counterpart and due to
the great distance between the 2 regions, knew very little about the subtle differences- such as the use of whips
to drive the cattle out of the swamps instead of the lasso to rope in the open plains. The Cracker had the old left
over civil war McClellan saddles without large saddle horns to cinch his lasso when roping calves and steers,
wore “brogans” instead of the western pointed toe boots, hats were floppy brims and no shape crowns- but he
was never the less an astute, knowledgeable cattleman with the same skills in horse riding and breaking, roping,
hog- tying and branding, steer dogging, and bull riding.
In the early 40’s, Florida had become one of the leading cow/ calf production states in the nation. Central
Florida, at the hub of the industry, had already proclaimed itself as the “Cow capitol of Florida” with the home
of the FCA, Kissimmee, as the proclaimed center of the capitol. With the already established “Silver spurs
Rodeo” and many of the pioneer families ranches growing to large expanses, both in land and herd sizes,
Kissimmee , wanting something to really hang their hat on, decided they would take on the more recognized
west, vying for more attention in what might be considered a Geographic oddity ( the Cattle Industry in a
Tourist destined state).Wanting to prove it belonged to the same country club as the wild west, the Kissimmee
Jaycee’s financed a trip for 2 of it’s local Cracker cowboys- to head out west to one of the biggest Rodeos in
the west, The Jaycee’s national Rodeo in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Those 2 cowboys were none other than
newly graduated from the Auburn University School of veterinary medicine, Larry Riedel, and his life long
friend, Pete Clemons. They were accompanied by the artist and cowboy, Buster Kenton, and H.M. Solana, a
close friend of Pete’s, and of course “Gracie Allen”, Pete’s quarter horse. Driving straight through, they stopped
on the long trip out west only to eat, gas up, water and exercise Gracie.
It’s hard to imagine what the two 21 and 22 year old cowboys were thinking, let alone their expectations of how
this would turn out. Along way from their home and familiar surroundings, in a different landscape, with other
cowboys they had never met, not knowing the opposition’s skill level, having no idea what kind of rodeo stock
to expect, they were optimistically confident but nervous and unsettled in this venture. One of Pete’s greatest
aide- de- comfort was probably Gracie, his quarter horse.
Buster Kenton had already designed the “Kowboy Jake” logo for the Kissimmee Jaycees and of course was
proudly displayed on the Conestoga wagon- like decorations on their truck. All they needed to do now was
show those western cowboys that “pioneer Cracker Cowboys” could go toe to toe- shoulder to shoulder with
any of the other rodeo cowboys.
Well here’s the rest of the story- having entered 6 events, Larry Riedel came home with 4 1st place wins, and
Pete placed 2nd in 2 events and 3rd and 4th in 2 other events. Larry’s big trophies came from 1st place wins in
Saddle Bronc and Bareback Bronc and Pete excelled in the calf roping and Bareback Bronc. After the long ride
home, they were elated as most all of Kissimmee, 2000 strong, turned out to greet them along with the mayor
and the Jaycee club contingency. The Kissimmee gazette proclaimed “Kissimmeeans win Rodeo’s top places!”
Larry married his good friend’s sister, Billie Jean, became a well respected Veterinarian in Okeechobee and Ft.
Pierce and also was the President of the St. Lucie County Cattlemen’s Assoc. Larry passed away in 1967. Pete
is still active in the cattle business in Okeechobee running the Livestock Auction with his boys. Buster passed
away in 1991, leaving a legacy of paintings depicting the Cracker Cowboys and pioneer way of life in Florida
as well as his iconic “Kowboy Jake”. He painted this oil of Larry Reidel in 1956 on an unknown Bull. The 3
of them will always be remembered as the Florida Crackers that showed the west “how it is done” in the Cow
capitol of Florida.