The Cowboy Gathering has been a staple of fall in Durango for over 35 years. This year, the four-day Western heritage festival is adding a Horseback Social.
On Saturday, Oct. 5, from 8 to 10 a.m., event planners expect several hundred participants on horseback to gather along the Cowboy Parade route on Main Avenue between College Drive and 12th Street. The parade begins at 10:30 a.m.
The Horseback Social is primarily meant to build bridges over the divide between urban and rural, as well as bridges over political chasms and bridges from the old to the new.
“If you have a baby, a dog or a horse, nobody walks up and asks you how you voted,” said Jack Turner, a volunteer board member and the Horseback Social director.
He said La Plata County was looking for an event that truly fostered friendship, and for that reason, no political paraphernalia of any kind is allowed in the social or the parade.
Turner said many La Plata County residents who live outside Durango feel forgotten by the city. His involvement with the Cowboy Gathering has convinced him otherwise. The social is meant to help turn that idea around, especially for people who recently moved to the area, and are just beginning to navigate the dynamic between the city and the county.
The social was Turner’s idea. Just before the 2023 Cowboy Parade, Turner and almost 30 other cowboys gathered on horseback to take a photograph. Afterward, they meandered down Main Avenue, which was closed for the parade. Naturally, several dozen mounted cowboys wandering down Main Avenue caused a stir from those assembling for the parade. The idea for the horseback social was born.
The event prioritizes safety. It prohibits stud horses and requires riders to maintain a walk. All the requirements and procedures were reviewed and approved by a panel of qualified horseman, including Ben Hufnagel, the Cowboy Gathering’s on-site veterinarian.
The gathering has coordinated with local law enforcement and emergency services to make the event as safe as possible. In order to avoid spooking the horses, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train will pass through town without blowing the whistle for what Turner believes to be the first time in history.
Readers interested in participating in the social can sign up via the Cowboy Gathering website.
