"There
was a trouble brewing in them
thar hills " .
. .
"the
nemesis Doc Sawbones"
sober
and cleaned up
in
1995
Donny
aka "Big Casino". . .
Jerry
aka "Texas Jack Morales" .
. .
and
Mike aka "Poke" .
. .
Soon
there were over 40 HRP
members and cowboy action
shooters. (The present-day
club membership has gained
a few hundred members
throughout many states.)
.
. . while
a small gang of old cowboys were
hiding out in Central Oregon, minding
their own business, when they
were suddenly approached by a wily
and unusual old cuss that
went by the name of Dr. Holm Neumann
aka "Doc
Sawbones" SASS
# 181 (now
that's a low number!) Doc
had taken a liking to a sport called
Cowboy Action Shootin in it's pioneer
days, but now he was after some
"local" shootin companions.
Doc did his damndest for weeks
to wrangle them in. Finally, he
roped in Jerry and then
Don Emerson, Mike Walsh and Rick
Burton soon followed. God only
knows what possessed these men
to go over the mountain to that
Albany club that weekend and see
what all the ruckus was about .
. . in something called
"Cowboy Action Shootin"?
Never did they realize they would
be cast under a spell they
would never escape from, cause
when these ole cowpokes returned,
they were a done deal! They had
been caught, hook, line and sinker,
as they had "become" -
Cowboy Action Shooters - for
life!
.
. . . and so goes the story told
around the campfires of the earliest
days of a shooting club in Central
Oregon, better known today as
the HorseRidge Pistoleros. Everyone
has their own reason
why they are so drawn to this
sport. For some, it's the love
of the Old West, for others, it's
the reminiscing of childhood fantasies
as they watched their favorite
cowboy action star in early television
or movies. Who, from time to time,
does not wish for a simpler time?
Still, for many of our younger
members, it's the thrill of competition!
Whatever the draw is, as those
cowpokes soon realized, once your
hooked, it's nearly impossible
to break its spell.
But
wait, that's only the beginning.
Here
goes the rest of the tale .
. . . . .
Next
came guns, costumes, and SASS aliases.
Guns came easy, as Koch quickly
inventoried them at his local gun
store, through finds at gun shows,
dealers and shoots.
Costumes:
Dressing
the part of the 1860's period
is a SASS requirement and very
important to these shooters,
but back then, rather difficult
to assemble. Once you did your
homework in researching your
alias and "look",
you didn't just go shopping,
as we do now. One had to be imaginative
with what they had
in their closet or became more
than excited with a great find
at a local thrift shop. (Will
we ever forget the "red
sash"
days or Big Mama's feathers?)
But through their creativity,
many of our members have since
won several costume contests
at shooting and gun show
events. (later, family members
that were not shooters found
a niche in one of the several
venues by either "dressing
the era" at club events,
becoming a member and obtaining
an alias, or simply helping out
with club functions.)
Aliases:
Jerry
Koch became Texas
Jack Morales, Don Emerson became Big
Casino, Mike Walsh became Poke and
Rick Burton became Stoney Lonesome,
although Rick has changed his
alias a few times since.
These
cowboy shooters attracted a few
more local shooters wanting to "live
the old west", and continued
to attend matches throughout
the State of Oregon, Washington,
Idaho and California, and at major
SASS matches throughout the country.
For the first couple of years these
cowboys and soon, cowgirls, were
simply having fun, honing their
skills, and making a name for themselves
throughout SASS. They were winning
categories, coming home with ribbons
and awards, and letting other SASS
Cowboys know that they were a band
of pistoleros not to be reckoned
with. Still, they were a club without
a name or a home of their own.
Then,
through the support of another
member of their gang, Tumbleweed
Thom, they
laid
out plans for the formation
of a local club. Tumbleweed
Thom has been very instrumental
in "starting" cowboy
action shooting in
the Northwest and founded the
Tri- County Gun Club in Sherwood,
Oregon.
It's
OFFICIAL! . . .
March
1, 1995, this gang
of cowboy action shooters
Officially formed the "HorseRidge
Pistoleros".
Membership rules and numbered
badges were designed and
assigned, and monthly club
meetings and matches had
begun!
The
first 12 Charter Life members
of HRP are:
Jerry "Texas
Jack Morales" Koch
Don "Big
Casino" Emerson
Pat "Big
Mama" Popplewell
Gary "Popps" Popplewell
Mike "Poke" Walsh
Holm "Doc
Sawbones" Neumann
Todd "Cheatin'
Irish Will" Butler
Allen "Slim" Baldwin
Pete "Palaver
Pete" Pedone
Perry "Empty
Chambers" Adlrich
Barbara "Shotgun
Annie" Aldrich
Brent "Columbus
D. Shannon" Maddox
They
sent the word out that they
had a club and were putting
on a match. At their very first
HorseRidge Pistoleros match,
April of 1995, there were 22
shooters! I remember helping
Texas Jack design the "challenge" to
other NW clubs and then made
Lasagna for the feed afterwards
- and it was cold! This match
was a private shoot in the
snow covered hills of Sisters
on private land owned by Doc
Sawbones. Doc and his lovely
wife Susan, generously hosted
several events for the shooters
in those early days including
feeds and Holiday parties.
Sisters
Parade - June 1995 . .
.
HRP's
New Home at C.O.S.S.A.
1995
Tumbleweed
Thom, Big Mama,
J.
C.
Let 'er Buck Hale & Prairie
Rose
Soon
following was our "SASS" club
membership. As stated by Palaver Pete SASS
# 4375, "A
bunch of mean cusses, known as
the HorseRidge
Pistoleros, are
forming a SASS Chapter in Central
Oregon . . .". and
the addition of our SASS
Club affiliation was
formally
announced
in the June 1995 SASS Cowboy
Chronicle.
This
announcement helped support awareness
of our club to other SASS clubs
and members, but
that wasn't nearly enough. Their
work had only just begun. We
needed more local people to become
aware of HRP and join our club.
And so they began promoting HRP
locally.
The
Pistoleros made an awesome impression
at the Sister's Rodeo Parade
in June of 95, and won a 1st
Place Plaque saying so. Everyone
was gussied up in their Old West
costumes, on a wagon train provided
by Texas Jack's business "Guntraders",
and played the part of Old West
Pioneers and Cowboys. Later,
the gang headed for a steak feed
and spirits at Doc's ranch in
Sisters.
Reenactments
of an Old West Shoot-out
was a favorite method to promote
the club and included gun safety
tips by Poke and Big Casino.
These were always fun events
that drew a big crowd of spectators
and media. We also joined in
local Parades and for years had
an HRP booth at the Deschutes
County fair. Members were eager
to volunteer in promoting HRP.
HRP Shooting Demonstration 2001
Not
long after they became the HorseRidge
Pistoleros, they met up with
the men forming the new C.O.S.S.A.
Range. Members got busy
with HRP club construction at
their new "home" of
the HorseRidge Pistoleros, located
in Millican, Oregon. The
Pistoleros hosted their first
HRP match at C.O.S.S.A.
in November of 1995. The HorseRidge
Pistoleros have remained a part
of the C.O.S.S.A. family ever
since, and our annual events
have been the highest single
revenue source for C.O.S.S.A.
But
let's not forget those
early days when ole Blue Duck
died a thousand deaths. Or when
Shorty was rescued from a hangin
before you ran down the hangman's
gallows to gun down his lynch
squad. Maybe a shave and cut
was rudely interrupted by a band
of loathsome outlaws shooting
up yer town. And who could ever
forget Lori Darling, lovingly
remembered from the Lonesome
Dove mini-series, and rescued
in several HRP stage scenarios?
The antics of throwing tomahawks,
stabbing villains, riding horses,
crawling in and out of props,
etc., etc., were written into
dozens of stages, and remained
in the fond memories of those
shooting participants.
Among
the club duties, Big Casino and
Texas Jack Morales could
be depended upon to design and
set-up stages, conduct meetings,
teach new shooters safety and SASS
rules, and attract new members.
Scoring was done by hand by Big
Mama, while Big Mama also kept
us well stocked with prizes by
her scouting efforts around Central
Oregon. Whatever the club needed,
she was always there to lend a
big helping hand. Columbus D Shannon
rode the wave of being labeled
a "gamer" before gamers
was the goal of all competitive
shooters, simply by figuring out
a better way to shave a few seconds
off his time. When Columbus D spoke,
everyone listened! Palaver Pete
edited articles to the SASS Chronicle
and COSSA, and everyone joined
in to help and enjoy playing in
the spirit of the Old West for
a day. Ribbons were passed out
to the category and overall winners,
and prizes were won for various
feats, including a Booby prize.
As
you can see, we've gone
from raw land and sagebrush to
berms and town props. We've watched
our members bless us with their
participation and friendship. Some
are still actively involved while
others have moved on. The babies
that were crawling in the dirt
at the range are now shooting
with us (as seen here with Last
Chance Morales, at age 3). The
teens that were shooting along
side us then, are now serving our
country and raising families of
their own. (Cactus Bud right, now
in the Air Force, returned from Korea,
and recently married.) We have
seen stage scenarios and the tools
of the trade change over the years
with action jobs, short strokes,
even loading ammo has become a
precise science, the list goes
on and on.
Our
club has grown in membership and
SASS participation. Each year we
have hosted an annual "Shootout
at HorseRidge" of some sort
or another. For many years it was
considered the unofficial Northwest
Championship shoot and gained spectator
and participant popularity each
year. Then, for a few years, we
hosted the SASS Oregon State Championships,
and following that for 3 years,
we hosted the Great SASS NorthWest
Regional. Throughout the years and
efforts, our club members have
worked hard to create and maintain
a successfull club. This ensures
our members continued years of
cowboy action shooting fun, for
all.
Many
of the founding members have placed
high or won their category at the
SASS World Championships -EOT,
and for some, many times. New members
have gone on to do the same.
And
you can bet your last dollar
that every year a group of Pistoleros
will get together and hit the
trail for Winter Range and EOT.
SASS
World Championship "End
of Trail" - 1996
Big
Casino, Slaughter John,
Judge Roy Bean, Texas Jack,
Hickory and Tumbleweed
Thom (kneeling)
2007 "SHOOTOUT
at HORSERIDGE" Helltown
Stage
2007 Top
"Master Gunfighter" Shooters
. . .
2007 Oregon State SASS Champions
from HRP!
Mojave Mick, Texas Jack
Morales, Last Chance Morales,
Big Casino and Palaver Pete
We are changing
again as now our annual shoot,
starting in 2008, includes a SASS
Governor's Cup match. But throughout
the years and the growing pains
of HRP, the original concept has
never been forgotten or destroyed
. . . .
We are SASS
shooters, we Love the Old West,
and thoroughly enjoy our efforts
in maintaining all aspects of
it's 1860's heritage - while
we are having too much fun playing
at "Cowboy Action
Shooting"!
Many Thanks
to Palaver
Pete, for maintaining the
first decade of HorseRidge Pistoleros
Scrapbooks, which most
of these pictures were copied from.
His years of writing articles provided
me the timeline to trace back
to our humble beginnings. Palaver
Pete also contributed monthly articles
to the SASS Chronicle and C.O.S.S.A.
newsletters for many years. Palaver
Pete has been one of the most
positive contributing members
of HRP since it's inception. Pete
shoots in the Elder
Statesman category and continues
to place high or win his category.
You can visit
Pete's
HRP members page to view some
of his favorite pictures. Pete
Pedone, aka Palaver Pete - HRP
#9 Founding Member and SASS Life/Regulator
#4375.
I hope you have
enjoyed this visit back in time
with the HorseRidge Pistoleros. I
sure enjoyed creating it and reminising
back to days gone by . . . Blessings
to y'all
"red
sash"
days or Big Mama's feathers?)
But through their creativity,
many of our members have since
won several costume contests
at shooting and gun show
events. (later, family members
that were not shooters found
a niche in one of the several
venues by either "dressing
the era" at club events,
becoming a member and obtaining
an alias, or simply helping out
with club functions.) 
babies
that were crawling in the dirt
at the range are now 
shooting
with us (as seen here with Last
Chance Morales, at age 3). The
teens that were shooting along
side us then, are now serving our
country and raising families of
their own. (Cactus Bud right, now
in the Air Force, returned from Korea,
and recently married.) We have
seen stage scenarios and the tools
of the trade change over the years
with action jobs, short strokes,
even loading ammo has become a
precise science, the list goes
on and on. 
which most
of these pictures were copied from.
His years of writing articles provided
me the timeline to trace back
to our humble beginnings. Palaver
Pete also contributed monthly articles
to the SASS Chronicle and C.O.S.S.A.
newsletters for many years. Palaver
Pete has been one of the most
positive contributing members
of HRP since it's inception. Pete
shoots in the Elder
Statesman category and continues
to place high or win his category.
You can visit
