Vernon – In the middle of May, Vernon, Texas anxiously awaits the start of the Santa Rosa Roundup. It kicks off with a parade that pretty much pulls in the whole town. Like a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting, you’ll see your typical small town Texas floats, kids on horseback, and of course one or two tractors. But the biggest draw to the parade is the hometown riding club, the Santa Rosa Palomino Club. “The club was organized in October of 1949, so we’re celebrating this year as the 75th anniversary of the club,” said Jeff Bearden.
Jeff is the President of the Santa Rosa Palamino Club. Jeff grew up here, his dad was also a member of the Club. After attending Texas A&M and being a part of Parsons Mounted Cavalry, Jeff came right back to Vernon, and he’s been a part of this group of riders for most of their historic trail. “I started riding as a substitute as a senior in high school and then rode as a substitute rider until I moved back home and was voted into the club,” said Bearden. “So I’ve been a member for 42 years and a rider for 52 years, and our drill captain’s been riding about 54 years. We travel together and try to keep each other out of trouble on trips. Sometimes lead the singing after the rodeo and everything.”
It’s all fun and games after the rodeo because keeping the tradition and essence of this tried-and-true crew is something the current members take seriously. “We all enjoy riding horses,” said Bearden. “You’ve got to enjoy it to work this hard, to have a good time.”
The reason these 20 riders of all ages are committed to keeping this tradition alive are the 238 men who rode before them. Making sure the Santa Rosa Riding Club continues to ride means keeping this Texas tradition alive as well. “This is a part of Western heritage that is kind of disappearing,” said Bearden. “Just like a lot of things in rural Texas, it’s harder to have enough people to do what you want to do. We have 20 good riders that show up, and then we’ll invite people to substitute for someone that can’t make a trip, and that’s the way we recruit new members, and they try us out. When it started, naturally, it was a lot of farmers and ranchers and businessmen, but as our drill script says, it’s all walks of life. We’ve had doctors, lawyers. I worked at the state hospital as a mental health program director for a number of years before retiring. We’ve got teachers. We’ve had an undertaker. We’ve had a few members that their professions defied description, but everybody puts all of that aside and gets on the horses and just try to perform.”
The horses play a big role in the riding club because they all must be palomino horses of course and they might be more scrutinized than the actual riders. “We search high and low for good horses that match a certain color description and confirmation to match the club,” said Bearden. “We have a horse committee that approves horses that are brought into the club. Sometimes it takes time to break some of them in. Of course, the opposite is true, too. The horses actually learn the drill, and sometimes we have to fight to get them from anticipating the maneuvers. The horses are probably better behaved, sometimes, than the riders are, but we have a good time wherever we go, but try not to get in any trouble. Never had anybody arrested, that I know of.”
The Santa Rosa Riding Club has performed all over Texas including the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, they’ve ridden in two inaugural parades for Texas governors, they’ve even been a part of the Tournament of Roses Parade and are the official “Ambassadors on Horseback” for the State of Texas. “They won’t see this kind of a riding group outside of somebody like maybe the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” said Bearden. “We’ve been compared to them. There are some other pretty fine drill teams around, but they won’t see one that has this amount of color, this amount of uniformity, the speed, and the flash that we bring to it.”
With riders of all ages, it’s a commitment to keep to their schedule. There’s practice, there’s parades, and then there’s quite a bit of travel. All while looking good in their iconic riding outfits. “It’s been pretty much the same look, as far as the uniform, since about the mid-1950s,” said Bearden. “They’re hot in the summer. They’re cold in the winter. One of the coldest I’ve ever been in my life was a rodeo parade in Cody, Wyoming on July 3rd, and we had to ride from the rodeo grounds to town wearing those satin shirts, and on the way down there, it started sleeting on us. It got cold, but it’s just a part of the show.”
That’s why riding in their hometown of Vernon means so much to them. It’s where it started all those years ago and it’s where it will continue for as long as the cowboy way of life continues to ride on here in Texas. “The community’s really been good about supporting us, so we want to do a good job for them and represent them well,” said Bearden. “We’re proud to represent Vernon. We’ve got a legacy we have to carry on, and we’re bringing on some younger members and trying to help them know the history of the men that started this, the men that carried it on, and make it something that lasts for a long time.”