Day of the Cowboy Celebrates the Heritage of Old Agoura

In 2005, the late Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas set aside a day for the nation to celebrate the western culture and heritage of United States: the cowboy. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives later passed the resolution honoring cowboys and cowgirls.

The City of Agoura Hills has done the same.

At the July 13, City Council meeting, Councilmember Denis Weber, on behalf of the city, proclaimed this Saturday, July 23, to be the Day of the Cowboy.

This is the third year the city has celebrated its—and the country’s—western heritage, according to Weber.

“Old Agoura, that’s the heart of Agoura Hills. Everything else came after,” said Weber. “There were always ranchers, horses, cattle men and women, boys and girls, who rode all over these hills. Old Agoura. I always felt that was the beginning of Agoura Hills.”

At the council meeting, Weber presented a proclamation—which mentions the Cowboy Code, a list of golden rules, as well as the importance of the cowboy way of life in the country’s history (see below)–to three cow-folks from Old Agoura.

Susie Ferguson, an Old Agoura ‘cowgirl,’ was not expecting the honor. “I was pleasantly surprised; it’s pretty cool,” she said. “I’m really happy to be here. I don’t think there’s a better place to live. How many places are semi-rural, one block from the freeway, two blocks from shopping center? Hopefully we can keep it this way for a long time.”

Weber said Ferguson is not just a marvelous rider; he calls her a “horse whisperer” for her ability to calm down stressed horses.

Ferguson, ever the modest cowgirl, played it down. “That’s kind of a huge compliment,” she said. “I would shy away with that. I do work with horses. You just have to listen to them, basically.

Their body language tells you what’s going on with them. You learn to read it over the years, she said.

Dave Thornbury, one of the cowboys honored at the meeting, was gratified to receive a proclamation “for doing nothing other than being a cowboy, which I am anyway.”

Thornbury grew up in a rodeo family. He said they traveled the Midwest, showcasing their talent at trick riding, trick roping and roman riding (standing on two horses). Thornbury had always been interested in leather-work, and in high school, he started making saddles.

He hasn’t stopped since. Still a cowboy, he might not have changed, but he said that Old Agoura has. “A cowboy is where your heart is,” he said. “I could live anywhere, [but] Agoura has been really good to me.”

He first came to Agoura in 1970 and eight years later bought a home in the area. Thornbury said he used to brand cattle where the Bank of America now stands. And where Yum Yum Donuts is now located, used to be hayfields where he “used to shoot ground squirrels with his bow and arrow.”

Weber is proud to have given the proclamation to the cowboys and cowgirls of Old Agoura for Saturday’s Day of the Cowboy.

“It’s an opportunity for the city to recognize some people in Old Agoura who have never left the cowboy way of life,” said Weber. “They are true heroes in my book.”

From the National Day of the Cowboy web site, below is the official cowboy code:

1. Live each day with courage.
2. Take pride in your work.
3. Always finish what you start.
4. Do what has to be done.
5. Be tough, but fair.
6. When you make a promise, keep it.
7. Ride for the brand.
8. Talk less and say more.
9. Remember that some things aren't for sale.
10. Know where to draw the line.