The American Cowboy Show

It’s the day after Orzo Ait (the end of Ramadan) and I’ve finally been able to get some rest after the rodeo. It was the most intense and involved thing I had ever done in my life.

I feel privileged to have been given this opportunity to give back to the community of Kochkor Valley for all it has given me. First of all, I’d like to thank all those K12’s, 13’s & 14’s who were involved. Your presence and combined efforts helped the rodeo run smoothly.
Thanks to:
Megan Stout & Rebecca Terjal for providing their services as pinch-hittin’ waitresses.
Mike & Brenda Parker and James Connors for keeping the reigns tight on the animals.
Rhonda Ferns & Farhat Niyazov and Kay Starr for cookin’ up the chili.
Rick Gothwald, Leslie Reed, Roselle Agner, Cat Marshall, Charlie Moyer, and Kathleen Petersen for visiting the schools.
Justin Streen, Carol Bontekoe, Brandon Ester, Zack Haugen, Karina Janicka, and Nick Martin for setting up the stadium.
Special Thanks to Carol Bontekoe, Brandon Ester and Justin Streen for assisting the cowboys with the handing out of prizes to literaly hundreds of children. You are very brave! The cowboys appreciated your efforts.

And most of all, thanks to my wife Rejoyce for helping me get through the times when I felt like none of this was going to work out.

So, how did this work out? As many of you know, my NGO (Altyn Kol) makes shyrdaks and sells them to tourists and overseas buyers. One of our frequent customers is a woman named Candra Day from an NGO called Vista 360º in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that specializes in cross-cultural exchange between America and other countries that have mountains and cowboys.

They also provide internships to people who live in the countries they work with (contact information below). On a visit to the Altyn Kol shop this summer, she asked me to help her bring a rodeo to Kochkor. I agreed and began a journey that took me through the ins and outs of the Kochkor political and civil structure.

Since the beginning of September, I’ve met Kochkor’s Ail-ukmutu (thanks to Risbai Saribaiev the director of Kochkor’s Information Center), the head of the Militsia (with the help of my friend Omar Suyunaliev), the directors of the stadium and the sports complex, and even the Mulah when there was a sudden confusion on exactly which day Ramadan ended.

With the help of my NGO’s director (Mairam Umurzakova) and the regional director of the NGO LARC (Akjol Bazarov), I was also able to get two advertisements in the local newspaper. Thanks also to my counterpart Burul Jakipova, my friend Dinara Nurmanbekova for always being on hand to help me with translation and information.


The cowboys arrived in Kyrgyzstan Saturday the 21st at 5 am and rested until Sunday morning. They then arrived in Kochkor around 5 pm, along with the 18 visiting PCV’s and 2 tons of coal that my family ordered to heat our house this winter. Once everyone was settled in the PCV’s moseyed on over to meet the cowboys to head out for dinner and then dancing at the famous Мен Диско.

So, who were the cowboys? They hailed from the Triangle C Ranch in Dubois, Wyoming, run by Cameron W. Garnick and his family.

The actual rodeo included his daughters Savannah, Jessica and Vanessa singing original songs and while their husbands (Rocky & Damon) performed rope tricks and herded a hundred head of rambunctious Kyrgyz schoolboys for games while Tristan their photographer documented everything.

The next day begun at 6 am for the animal handling crew, Mike & Brenda Parker and James Connors and me went to the stadium hoping to find all the animals that had been requested and a very elusive sound system, so that the cowboys could practice. By 10 am, we had 5 of the 9 horses and 2 amps (but no microphones or sound board) and I had to get the cowboys to their assigned schools and get the chili crew to the house we were to all eat at later. So I left the situation in the most capable hands of James and the Parkers.
The cowboys and I piled into a minivan and we discovered that someone was missing! One of the interpreters was in the village center and we had to go and find her.

Along the way, we were going to pass by the regional government building, but the driver pointed out a large crowd of about 100 people standing in front of the Lenin statue. The last time this happened Kyrgyzstan had a new government so after. I told the driver to head down another street and prayed that I wouldn’t have to consolidation 18 PCV’s in our tiny two room summer house (Later I found out from my friend Akjol that they were having a send off for the local boys joining the Army). We found the stray interpreter and the cowboys made it to their schools and the chili crew went on their way.

The students at the schools were quite prepared for us. The cowboys were split into two schools and each had questions and entertainment on-hand. Much later, the cowboys would tell me their visits to the schools really made their day.

Once the school visits were through, I headed over to my director’s house (where the chili was being prepared) to relieve the chili crew so they could eat. As I sat over the 30 litre kazan, I had to struggle to keep awake and not fall into the chili. Thankfully, my director fed me lunch with what they jokingly called Kyrgyz chili (fried macaroni and mutton sweet-meats), it was tasty and revived me. I was ready for round 2 and went back outside to stir the chili again.


I found Kay Starr had returned from lunch before the other crew and was ‘taste-testing’ the chili. I will never forget her sitting there with a big-ol’ cooking spoon and tomato sauce all around her mouth.

Finally, 2 o’clock came around and we went to the stadium. I had no idea what to expect. Would people even show up? Will we have animals? What about a sound system? As we approached the stadium gates, I saw around 700 people milling about the stands, a Russian flatbed truck with a full sound system set up on it and next to the soccer goals; 9 or so horses and 6 calves (no sheep however, oh well).

The rodeo began. It was chaotic, windy, the animals didn’t want to cooperate, but the people of Kochkor loved it. Afterwards, people still are asking where are the cowboys and can they get some music?

The kids were able to participate in several games, the most memorable of them for me was the Ribboned Calf Chase. One calf had a ribbon tied around its tail. It was released and about 25 schoolboys set off after it. The ones who caught it and got the ribbon off received a prize later. The calf was not very happy about being chased and was not willing to get caught. Eventually, three boys managed to stop it before it ran out the front gate of the stadium.


The cowboys also arranged several competitions for adults as well. Nine guides from the local tourism organizations CBT and Shepherd’s Life came out to see who could best pass an apple from neck to neck while remaining horseback

The cowgirls closed out the show with a few songs and prizes were handed out… near the front gate and far, far away from the sound system and props. If one thing could have been changed, I would pick that moment. I won’t go into detail, but at least it got the crowd near the exit.

The day finally wound down and the PCV’s and Kochkor folks who helped out went to eat some very tasty chili with cheese. Candra Day thanked all who helped, especially Azamat Kubanov, a local student and horseback guide who offered his services as interpreter for the rodeo.

So, from Kochkor Village, Naryn Oblast (Salute!), Yee Haw and Thanks Ya’ll!

Contact Info
Vista 360°
PO Box 4772
Jackson Hole, Wyoming USA 83001
(307) 733-3082
canday@wyoming.com

Triangle C Ranch
3737 Highway 26
Dubois, Wyoming USA 82513
(307) 455-2225
(800) 661-4928
http://www.trianglec.com
info@trianglec.com

PHOTOS TO COME ONCE I GET TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET IN BISHKEK