The Cowboy Roundup USA Scholarship Endowment was established by Cowboy Roundup USA, Inc. in 2006. The scholarship is awarded to students majoring in Range Management or Range Science in the Department of Natural Resources Management who have interest in ranching and ranch management. Preferences will be given to students who may have future plans to work in ranching after graduation.

Cowboy Roundup USA, Inc. hosts an annual chuck wagon roundup and cooking competition in Amarillo, Texas in June. Cooks and cowboys from all over converge in Amarillo to compete on a grand stage. The event features some 40 chuck wagons from ranches across the country. Judges examine each wagon and camp for authenticity and assign scores in several categories. Cowboy singers and pickers entertain on stage at the new open air pavilion on the Amarillo fairgrounds.

Cowboy Roundup USA is one of the largest western events in the nation, with activities that include more than just the Chuck Wagon Roundup. Some of them are: Texas' Premier Western Vendor Show and Sale, a junior cook cobbler competition, a horsemanship competition, a variety of cowboy entertainers, a chuck wagon breakfast and Cowboy Church, and all kinds of other "happenings".

The chuck wagon was invented in the 1870's by Col. Charles Goodnight, an Amarillo area rancher and former Texas Ranger. Goodnight is a western legend who established the JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon, first cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle, and helped blaze one of the major cattle trails, the Goodnight-Loving Trail, from Texas into eastern New Mexico and Colorado. Goodnight saw a need for a rolling kitchen on the long cattle drives that were the norm in the 1870's and 1880's. He converted an old army wagon into a chuck wagon and the idea quickly caught on throughout the cattle industry. Every major cattle ranch used a chuck wagon on its spread and cattle drives. Soon, a good chuck wagon cook became a valuable part of the ranch operation as ranchers used good food as a way to recruit and retain the best cowboys.

To support this scholarship, “Give Now” online.

Contact

Alex Yack
Alex.Yack@ttu.edu
Senior Director of Development
806.742.2802

Matt Williams
matt.williams@ttu.edu
Director of Development
806.742.2802

Shelbey Havens
shelbey.havens@ttu.edu
Assistant Director of Development
806.834.1108