Champion
saddle bronc rider, Tom Reeves,
wearing a Star of the West Cowboy Hat.
It'll drive a cowboy crazy
It'll drive the man insane
And he'll sell off everything he owns
Just to pay to play her game
And a broken home and some broken bones
Is all he'll have to show
For all the years that he spent chasin'
this dream they call Rodeo
Masters
of Rodeo Custom Western Hats
In
2007 seven of the fifteen NFR Qualifiers in Bareback wore
Star of the West Cowboy Hats. In addition one bulldogger,
one team roper, and four saddle bronc riders, all wore our
hats. When the dust settled at the 2007 NFR, of those
elite cowboys the Champion bare back rider, Bobby Mote,
was wearing a Star of the West Hat. Good riding Bobby!
At
the biggest rodeo payday of 2007, Canadian Davey Shields
Jr. won the bareback championship at the Calgary Stampede
and a 100,000 canadian dollars. Our hat never looked so
good. . .Our
Hat Experts
Custom
Designs and Expert Service from The Last Best West
Want something different from what you see here? If you
can describe it - or better yet - if you can send us a picture,
we can generally make our version of that hat. We start
with the best fur-felt hat body available - made in the
USA - and fashion as fine a custom western hat as you will
find.
What
you need to know to order with confidence
On our fact page you'll learn about fur felt,
see available colors, and see step by step instructions
for measuring your head, ordering your custom hat, shipping,
and our refund policy. We also have a section on general
hat care, and Cowboy Hat Etiquette. We
can do up to a 7" (inch) crown and a 6" brim.
Click
here for our Cowboy Hat Facts.
Custom
Made For. . . .
All
our custom western hat's are personalized with your
name, initials, or moniker stamped in gold foil on
the sweat band, inside the crown. No additional charge.
Cowboy
Hat Etiquette
All
hats are priced at 5X, 20X and 100X quality. The
Best of the Best - order 100X. . . .
Custom
Hat Customers
Want to order one of our custom made Last Best
Cowboy Hats with a check or money order? Or maybe you have
a friend or relative that would like to but doesn't have a
computer. Now you can order one of our quality custom western
hats by printing out an order form and mailing it in. Please
click on this link for a pdf file you can save to your hard
drive, and follow the instructions. If anything is unclear
please call 1.866.207.1909 or email us at:
This
hat will get lots of attention at the barn dance,
or in the winner's circle.
Top
Hand
Crown:
Cavalry Crease | Brim: Hand Curled and Bound
Hatband: Contrasting chocolate brown 1/2"
Satin Ribbon w/Matching bound edge.
Color as shown: Bone
A
Hybrid Cowboy Hat
- between the traditional and the modern. 19th
Century Cavalry crown working, combined with
a modern rodeo turn to the brim. Setting the
whole look off is a contrasting bound brim,
and satin hat band. We started off with an oversized
hat body {as we have with the rest of the hats
on this page}in pure 100% Beaver fur-felt in
a bone color. This is one of the most popular
looks sported by professional cowboys. Two sets
of 4 eyelets assist airflow on those scorching
hot days of July and August. We will add up
to 8 eyelets on any of our hats at no extra
charge. First come, first to be served.
Please
Note: Our logo is only on the images NOT the hats
:: Have a question? E-mail us at
Chute
Boss
Crown:
Cattleman Crease | Brim: Hand Curled and Bound
Hatband: 1/2" satin with bow. Matching
bound edge
Color as shown: Natural in Pure Beaver Fur
Felt
The
Chute Boss is responsible for telling the competitors
their order, getting the stock set for the right
riders, and ensuring everything's as it should
be before the chute's opened and the cowboy
and critter explode out into the infield. An
important job demands an important hat.
Tall
in the Saddle
Crown:
Modified Cattleman Crease | Brim: Hand Curled
and Open
Hatband: 1/2" satin cavalry tie off.
Color as shown: Silver Belly
One
of the most distinctive of the dozens of variations
of the traditional Cattleman's crease this beauty
will have you sitting tall in the saddle everywhere
you go. The sleek and elegant shape of this
Custom high crown cowboy hat will look good
in the boardroom - or on the range.
RODEO
HISTORY
The Calgary Stampede Rodeo, like the NFR, is by
invitation only. The top 15 Cowboys in each discipline
are invited to compete over the rodeo's ten days,
in early July every year. Since 1912 the Calgary
Stampede has been "The Greatest Outdoor Show
on Earth", and is the single largest payday
in Rodeo today. From Ladies Barrel Racing to Bull
Riding, the winner's all go home with a cool 100,000
in Canadian cash.
Bull
Rider
Crown:
Modified Cattleman, Bullrider dent
Brim: Hand Curled and Bound
Hatband: 1" satin ribbon w/bow. Matching
bound edge.
Color as shown: Charcoal in Pure Beaver
"The
most dangerous eight seconds in sport."
Is the way Bull Riding is often described, and
it's not an exaggeration. Jim Shoulders is a
sixteen time World Champion cowboy and he offered
his view on what makes people flock to the bull-riding
event at every rodeo, "It's the same
reason people glance off the road to get a better
look at a car wreck. It's why the Romans went
to the Coliseum to see the lions eat the Christians.
People don't want to see somebody die, but they
darn sure want to be there when he does."
Bronc
Buster
Crown:
Modified Cattleman Crease | Brim: Hand Curled
and Bound
Hatband: 3/4" satin with bow. Matching
bound edge.
Color as shown: Custom Color Navy.
In
the Old West the Bronc Buster on any ranch
or outfit was one of the most difficult and
respected jobs on the ranch. In many respects
it still is. Young horses need to be broke,
and that means riding them to a standstill
- until they start accepting a man on their
back and respond to the reins. It takes a
lot longer than 8 seconds to saddle break
a young mount, and the cowboy that can do
that commands top wages on any spread he wants
to work on.
What every cowboy needs - the perfect Cowboy
Hat Stand. The angle of the top of the coffin
wonderfully fits the crown of any hat to display
your pride and joy in a unique way, with no
stress to the brim or crown. Works with the
coffin lid open or closed. Box is also large
enough to hold most Wine/Liquor bottles, and
is excellent storage for your cowboy knickknack's
by adding small screw hooks (2 included). Designed
to scale as a miniature coffin; the wood box
is made of 3/8" pine and is available in
a number of finishes: Black, Mahogany, Weathered,
and Plain. Shown to the right in Mahogany. These
boxes are well-made by hand in Canada, and can
even be used to hold candy at Halloween! Contact
us for all your wooden packaging needs.
APPROXIMATE
SIZE: 14" X 7"
PRICE:
$87.00 :: SHIPPING: $15.00 :: TOTAL: $102.00 :::
BUY
NOW :: CHECK
OUT
The
Life of a Rodeo Cowboy
Every
year hundreds of Rodeo Cowboy's pay their own
way from rodeo to rodeo, all across the west,
in the hopes of qualifying for the Calgary Stampede
Rodeo, and the National Finals Rodeo in Las
Vegas. Held in the first week of July and December
respectively; this is where the top fifteen
cowboys of every event, compete head to head
for the Champion's Championship, the fancy belt
buckle, and the big money pay-out.
Getting
in to the top fifteen is impressive enough,
but winning takes more than guts, and determination.
The overall winner generally displays superior
skill and talent, and quite often superior luck
as well. Because if the cowboy doesn't get the
right draw of a horse, bull, or steer that'll
perform for him - he ain't gonna win. Real simple.
These
current professional cowboys wear our
hats
Jesse
Bail
Tom Reeves
Andy Martinez
Kelly Timberman
Scott Montague
Chad Ferley
Jeff Willert
J.J. Elshere
And Canadians
Davey Shields Jr.
Kyle Daines
Todd Herzog
A
Note about Color These
are the most common colors readily available.
There are some original hats on these pages that
have been made with different colors. We have
several more colors (in small quantities) available.
Please contact us via e-mail at
if you don't see the color you want - it may be
available. Wearability:
Light
colors will reflect heat the best - while dark
colors will retain the heat the most - with black
being the worst for staying hot (black absorbs
sunlight). However black is the most formal color
so bowlers and top hats were generally black or
dark gray. For the first 15-20 years cowboy hats
were marketed - your choice of color was about
3 shades of brown. See
the rest of our Cowboy Hat Facts
Junior
Buckaroo
Crown:
Cattleman Crease | Brim: Hand Curled and
Bound
Hatband: 3/4" satin pink polka dot
with bow. Matching bound edge.
Color as shown: Custom Color - Navy.
In
Cowboy Slang a Buckaroo is a working cowboy.
If you'd like a quality western hat for
your little buckaroo, you've come to the
right place. The pink polka dot hat band
and bound brim was made for our Master
Hatter's four year old daughter. We can
do any of our hat's in child's sizing,
and we'll even tell you a trick to get
an extra year or two of wear out of the
hat before it's out grown.
Money
Round
Crown:
Cattleman Crease | Brim: Hand Curled and Open
Hatband: 1/2" cloth with buckle.
Color as shown: Sand
The
Money Round at a Rodeo is the last day, when
all the hard rides and bruises are forgotten
as the cowboys vie for the Champion's buckle
and the fat pay envelope. This hat will do you
proud as you spur hard, or just watch the rides
unfold.
The
Stockman
Crown:
Modified Gus Crease | Brim: Hand Curled and
Bound
Hatband: 1" satin w/bow.
Color as shown: Charcoal
The
Stockman at any rodeo is the person responsible
for finding, acquiring, or renting all the stock
necessary to run the rodeo. Always on the lookout
for the superstars of the 4 legged set, these
men do a lot of travelling in their search for
that special bucking horse or bull.
Line
Rider
Crown:Fat
Dent Cattleman | Brim: Hand Curled and Open
Hatband: 1/2" satin with bow. Matching
bound edge
Color as shown: Dyed Natural in 50% Beaver Fur
Felt
On
a large spread Line Shacks are positioned at
the boundaries, in high country or rough terrain.
Cowboys spend weeks sometimes months, in a line
shack, riding the periphery during the day,
looking for strays and checking fence.
Dakota
Fancy
Crown:
Cattleman Crease | Brim: Hand Shaped and Bound
Hatband: 1" Cloth with Indian Motif: Matching
cloth on bound edge.
Color as shown: Black
This
Custom Rodeo Hat is dressed up with a distinctive
Indian motif on the cloth hat band and bound
brim edge. A great looking hat for that fancy
dress occasion - it'll also get lot's of comments
and attention in the bunkhouse.
Trail
Dust
Another quality hat service from
The Last Best West.
Many
customers have been requesting that we dirty
up their new hats to make them look trail worn.
Pictured at right is a Dusty Augustus - our
Augustus
with about 2 years worth of trail dust - as
if a working cowboy had been wearing it.
We've
got three different degrees of trail dust. Light
(add $55.00) - medium (add $75.00), and antiquing
(add $95.00). Light would be what you see at
the right on the Dusty Augustus; medium would
be heavy sweat stains, like Tom Selleck sports
on the Quigley;
and antiquing looks like our Captain
York Cavalry Hat.
This
is a similar process that costume designers
apply to hats in the movies and t. v. Looks
authentic and yer friends will swear yer just
got off a trail drive, or a hitch in the Horse
Cavalry!
You
can add trail dust during the check out process
- or request it when you call your order in.
Orders call toll free: 1-866-207-1909.
Indian
Style - This
soft rifle scabbard is made from garment quality
Buffalo hide. Can also be done in standard buckskin
color. Has a long "waterfall" fringe,
and a fold over weather flap with a bone button
for closure against the elements. Decorated
with beads and studs. We will e-mail you within
24 hours for sizing and customizing instructions.
Price is subject to change - depending on size
and add ons requested. This Indian style rifle
sheath is in black and was made for a 1901 Winchester
Model 1894 32-40 - take down.
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