Raats Family Ranch

Charles Holbrook—Remembered in Europe as the Man Who Discovered and Mentored Europe's Cowboy-Entrepreneur William Dougan

In January, Sir William Dougan and his spouse, Mrs. Caroline Dougan, traveled to Seminole, Oklahoma, to pay their respects and bid farewell to Charles Holbrook, Sir William's early-day mentor. Charles Holbrook passed away last year. Recently, a tribute news story was published in honor of Charles Holbrook. Please click the following link to read the article. https://thewesternhorse.com/news-stories-%26-articles/f/tribute-to-sir-william-dougans-early-day-mentor%E2%80%94charles-holbrook

The American Cowboy — the World's First Brand Ambassador

Branding season is taking off. We all embrace the tradition and make it a yearly high for the whole family, the neighboring ranches, and friends near and far. But it's actually much more than an iconical part of ranch tradition; it has left a crucial mark and impact on the world as we know it. —The tradition of cattle branding laid the very basis of today's branded economy. It's the early father of the world of brands on our planet. Indeed, the landscape of brands that's ubiquitously part of our daily modern-day life traces back to its birth in the earliest cowboy days. It lead to the 20th-century American brand marketing model which got exposed to the world after World War Two and evolved into the global brand marketing of today and tomorrow.

Here's the story in a nutshell. And—there's no better moment to reflect on this than now at the start of branding season. Because in the earliest days of this tradition on the American continent, just like today, branding was taken care of during the roundup of roaming cattle. An activity called the 'rodear' — indeed, where rodeo is derived from.

Read this article https://thewesternhorse.com/news-%26-topics/f/the-american-cowboy-%E2%80%94-the-worlds-first-brand-ambassador