Horse Illustrated Magazine

The other day I heard “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” by Paula Cole on the radio. I hadn’t heard that song since sometime in the 90s, and to be honest, I hadn’t missed it. If this song didn’t immediately spring into your head when you read the title, it’s the one where she is lamenting her one-sided relationship with an inattentive boyfriend/husband who doesn’t pull his weight around the house. In the chorus, she asks, “Where is my John Wayne?”

Uh, Paula? No offense to the cowboys out there, but I don’t think John Wayne would be your best candidate for a sensitive, caring husband and father. What kind of cowboy was she thinking of when she wrote that song?

Oh! This one.

This tender moment was caught by the videographers at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championship last weekend. Now, public proposals always make me cringe a little. I mean, what if she wants to say no but doesn’t want to be booed by a few hundred (or in some cases, thousand) strangers? Nevertheless, even a stone-hearted curmudgeon like me can recognize a romantic gesture when she sees one, and this most certainly was.

Mazel tov, you crazy kids!

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