CHAPS
by D'Ann Lindun
The word chaps is a shortened version of chaparejos or chaparreras, Mexican or Spanish words for this garment, ultimately derived from Spanish chaparro. They are prounounced “Shaps” by western riders and “Chaps” by Eastern riders.
The earliest form of protective leather garment used by mounted riders who herded cattle in Spain and Mexico were called armas which meant shields.
Style variations adapted as vaqueros and later, cowboys, moved up from Mexico into the Pacific coast and northern Rockies of what today is the United States and Canada. Mountain men also copied them from leggings worn by Native Americans.
There are several variations:
Shotgun:
As the name implies, straight legged.
Batwing:
cut wide with a flare at the bottom.
Zamorros
resemble batwing chaps, in that the leggings are closely fitted at the thigh
and flare out below the knee, but unlike batwings, the leggings extend far
below the boot with a distinctive triangular flare.
Chinks:
half-length chaps that stop two to four inches (5 to 10 cm) below the
knee, with very long fringe at the bottom and along the sides.
Armitas:
short legging with completely closed legs that have to be put on in a manner
similar to pants.
Woolies
are a variation on shotgun chaps, made with fleece, angora or with hair-on
cowhide, often lined with canvas on the inside.
Zamorros
resemble batwing chaps, in that the leggings are closely fitted at the thigh
and flare out below the knee, but unlike batwings, the leggings extend far
below the boot with a distinctive triangular flare.
Modern day cowboys still wear chaps to protect their
legs from, livestock, weather and brush. The flashiest chaps will be seen in
horse show rings and rodeo arenas. Farriers use them to protect their legs when
shoeing a horse. Non-equestrian users include motorcycle riders, loggers and
some are popular in BDSM culture.
Figure 1 My pop (L) wearing batwing style and his friend Jim (R) wearing chinks on
a rainy day.
Figure 2 A friend wears chinks
In Cowboy Bred, Cowboy Born Gentry wears
chaps…
Struggling
to his feet wearing heavy chaps wasn’t easy. As he floundered around, he drank
in a nose and mouthful of the churned up water. He gagged, spit out dirty
water. Suddenly, a hand reached out for his.
Alannah.
She
had ridden the gray mare into the pond and was holding out her hand to him.
He
grabbed hold, and she dragged him to shore. Once there, he dropped to his knees
and coughed up mud. Alannah dismounted and pounded him on the back.
He
waved her off. “I’m okay.”
She
leaned close to his face. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry.” He flopped over on his ass. “Damn.
Horse took me by surprise.”
“Me, too.”
He
began unbuckling his chaps. Dry, they weighed a lot; wet, they felt like
boulders on his legs. Once free, he was still soaked from his hat to boots.
Struggling to his feet, he finally noticed Alannah had hold of the horses.
Seven men as tough as the
west…
Seven women who know how to...
Cowboy Up
A
boxed set of seven romantic novellas by seven award-winning authors experienced
with writing about the men of the West.
Always, Cowboy by Allison Merritt
Blurb:
The past is better left behind, unless
it offers a brighter future.
Brody Longtree's first love was bull riding, but he
loved beauty queen Libby Dempsey equally as hard. When she turned down his
marriage proposal, everything from his rodeo career to his love life went to
hell. His love ran too deep for blame, so he made the best of what life threw
at him. Things finally get back on track...and then she almost runs over his
dog.
When her pageant dreams died in an embarrassing
display of nerves, Libby made a new, cowboy-free life for herself. One where
she could train other girls who want to be pageant princesses. One that doesn't
give her any reason to dwell on what might have been with Brody until his dog
bounds into her heart. And she bounds into Brody's bed.
Despite the differences in their lives, they mesh
together, the way Brody always knew they would. No matter what, he's waiting
until he's certain Libby is ready to get married before he asks again, but
their relationship comes under fire when one of her friends reveals a secret
about a little girl Libby is awfully attached to—a girl who's the right age to
be Brody's daughter.
Excerpt:
Under that snap front western shirt, did he still sport
six-pack abs? She couldn't count the number of times she'd helped him out of a
similar shirt and put ice on his bruises after a ride. Or how often they'd
parked at the lake and explored one another under the stars.
“Hot?” Brody asked.
“What?”
“You're flushed. We could go sit in the stands, maybe
catch a breeze.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Can I ask you something, Lib?” Brody rose. His dark eyes
were serious and a few lines bracketed his mouth. “Why'd you come tonight?”
Libby swallowed hard. “You asked me.”
“Really?”
“I only live an hour away and I didn't have anything else
to do tonight.” Tell him you miss him.
“You used to be more honest.” He slipped his hand around
her wrist. “You missed me.”
“I—” Electricity buzzed through her from his touch.
“Maybe a little.”
“Maybe a lot.” He pulled her into his arms. “You wouldn't
be here otherwise.”
Seven men as tough as the
west…
Seven women who know how to...
Cowboy Up
A
boxed set of seven romantic novellas by seven award-winning authors experienced
with writing about the men of the West.
Always, Cowboy by Allison Merritt
Blurb:
The past is better left behind, unless
it offers a brighter future.
Brody Longtree's first love was bull riding, but he
loved beauty queen Libby Dempsey equally as hard. When she turned down his
marriage proposal, everything from his rodeo career to his love life went to
hell. His love ran too deep for blame, so he made the best of what life threw
at him. Things finally get back on track...and then she almost runs over his
dog.
When her pageant dreams died in an embarrassing
display of nerves, Libby made a new, cowboy-free life for herself. One where
she could train other girls who want to be pageant princesses. One that doesn't
give her any reason to dwell on what might have been with Brody until his dog
bounds into her heart. And she bounds into Brody's bed.
Despite the differences in their lives, they mesh
together, the way Brody always knew they would. No matter what, he's waiting
until he's certain Libby is ready to get married before he asks again, but
their relationship comes under fire when one of her friends reveals a secret
about a little girl Libby is awfully attached to—a girl who's the right age to
be Brody's daughter.
Excerpt:
Under that snap front western shirt, did he still sport
six-pack abs? She couldn't count the number of times she'd helped him out of a
similar shirt and put ice on his bruises after a ride. Or how often they'd
parked at the lake and explored one another under the stars.
“Hot?” Brody asked.
“What?”
“You're flushed. We could go sit in the stands, maybe
catch a breeze.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Can I ask you something, Lib?” Brody rose. His dark eyes
were serious and a few lines bracketed his mouth. “Why'd you come tonight?”
Libby swallowed hard. “You asked me.”
“Really?”
“I only live an hour away and I didn't have anything else
to do tonight.” Tell him you miss him.
“You used to be more honest.” He slipped his hand around
her wrist. “You missed me.”
“I—” Electricity buzzed through her from his touch.
“Maybe a little.”
“Maybe a lot.” He pulled her into his arms. “You wouldn't
be here otherwise.”
About Allison Merritt:
A love of reading inspired Allison Merritt to pursue
her dream of becoming an author who writes historical, paranormal and fantasy
romances, often combining the sub-genres. She lives in a small town in the Ozark Mountains with her husband and
dogs. When she's not writing or reading, she hikes in national parks and conservation areas.
Allison graduated from College of the Ozarks in
Point Lookout, Missouri with a B.A. in mass communications that's gathering
dust after it was determined that she's better at writing fluff than hard news.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cowboys Don’t Cry by Vickie Taylor
Blurb:
A
broken cowboy with nothing left to lose…except his heart.
Dash Connaway is
hell-bent down a highway to nowhere. But he can’t outrun fate. Just a few
months ago, he’d had a new album shooting up the country music charts, a luxury
tour bus prepped for gigs in 39 cities, and a live-in girl friend he’d been
thinking of asking to marry him. Now he’s just another drifter with an old
guitar, a beat-up pickup, and a dog named Bill for a bed mate…until he meets
Maggie McCain.
Maggie isn’t your
ordinary Oregon rancher. She’s more into organic gardening and hand-spinning
yarn from the fleece of her prized alpacas than breeding stinky old cattle.
She’s a nurturer, a giver, so when Dash steps into her life from nowhere, she’s
ready to trade in her solitary existence on the farm in favor of a husband to
grow old with and a passel of children to care for.
But when she learns the
real reason for Dash’s commitment to life on the road, she’s faced with a
difficult choice and a lesson in the fallacy behind the old saying “Cowboys
don’t cry.” Only time will tell just how potent the healing power of love can
really be.
Excerpt:
“It’s a girl,” he
pronounced cradling the newborn alpaca in his arms.
The woman wiped her
grimy chin with the back of her grimier hand. Tears tracked through the dirt on
her cheeks. “You did it.” She pushed to her feet, but her legs looked none too
steady. She picked up the rifle and leaned on it like a crutch.
Dash went to her, ready
to catch her if she fell. “We did it,” he corrected.
“Yes, we did.”
He smiled and reached
out to her free arm. It was meant to be a celebratory brush, a comfort…but it
lingered a moment too long. The air changed.
Without warning, she
swung her rifle up and rested the barrel against his chest. “Now who the hell
are you, and what are you doing on my land?”
About Vickie Taylor:
Vickie Taylor published her first book in 1999 and
quickly rose to the ranks of national best-selling and award-winning author.
She enjoys all types of books, but especially paranormal, suspense, and western
contemporary with the unifying theme being romance. Vickie always enjoys a good
love story. She is the author of sixteen published novels and is a four-time
nominee for the Oscar of the romance world, the Romance Writers of America Rita
award. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s usually out riding horses,
training search and rescue dogs, or volunteering with her local humane society.
She is an avid supporter of the campaign to preserve America’s wild horses, and
her latest release, Cowboys Don’t Cry
is the first book in a new series featuring her beloved mustangs. Sign up for
her newsletter to be notified when
the next book in the series, The
Horseman’s Widow, coming October, 2014, is available. Vickie loves to hear
from readers and can be contacted via the methods below:
Website (where you can also sign up for her
newsletter announcing new releases.) | Facebook | Twitter
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A Cowboy’s Heart by Leslie Garcia
Blurb:
Teenage lovers torn
apart by betrayal. Have seventeen years changed everything—or nothing?
Star-crossed lovers in their south Texas hill
country high school, torn apart by a best friend’s lie, a mother’s cold hatred,
and a father’s lack of trust…
High school junior Illy Kingston turns to varsity
football star and cowboy in training Gil Salas when her father, a Border Patrol
agent, is killed under suspicious circumstances.
Their hormone-fueled, all or nothing affair ends
when betrayal tears them apart.
Years, later, Illy returns home, at loose ends after
her disastrous marriage to a reality show rock star ends with an embarrassing
photo gone viral and a divorce.
When Gil and his mounted Border Patrol make an
unannounced civic call at a local elementary school, Gil is shocked to see Illy
lurking in the shadows, threatening to upend his existence once again.
The old passion still burns—but neither can go back
to the innocence of their high school affair. Illy swore never to love a man
wearing a uniform that didn’t involve jeans, a western hat, and boots. Gil has
a price on his head.
And star-crossed love doesn’t usually work for cowboys,
either.
Excerpt:
He stopped abruptly. Illy had told him to stop, and
he hadn’t thought she meant it. The memory of her reacting to him, caressing
him, wanting him, stormed back. And then, when Emma called, she’d turned off
and fled in a fury.
Did she think he’d seen the picture? He’d seen it
online, like the entire world had, according to all the social media. What if
she thought he was just acting out what he’d seen? No matter how much the photo
enraged and sickened him, he could only imagine her horror that her marriage
was over, but that episode never would be.
Did she feel strange at all, being in his arms after
that very public display with her ex-husband? His heart thudded dully. She must
know he’d seen the picture, but what would it do to her if she knew the truth?
He closed his eyes. She was out of his life, and
that was best for him. Because truth be told, he didn’t know if he could take
her again and not remember the second most painful night of his life. The night
he’d happened on Illy making love to her rock-star husband in public.
About Leslie Garcia:
Leslie P. García grew up lost among a crowd of six
siblings and a menagerie that included more than twenty horses and ponies,
uncounted dogs and cats, possums, raccoons—even a lion and monkeys. Then she
moved to Texas, fell in love, was disowned—and embarked on her real adventures,
raising 4 children, teaching hundreds, and loving 9 grandkids through forty
years of marriage. The fabric of that colorful life has always been writing. In
A Cowboy Heart, Leslie celebrates two
of her passions—cowboys and the ever present chance at redemption in spite of
past mistakes. Leslie loves hearing from readers and can be found all over
cyber space, including these places:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The
Heartsong Cowboy
by
Melissa Keir
Blurb:
Can
two people, one horse and the power of love cure a little girl?
Angela French blames herself for her daughter’s lack
of voice. Determined to do anything to correct the situation, she seeks out
Jake Kyncade, the owner of The Heartsong Ranch.
Jake Kyncade hides his own sorrows behind his
no-nonsense demeanor. Helping children becomes one way to correct his past.
Using equine therapy, he sets out to make a difference.
Can Jake help Angela’s dreams come true or will
Jake’s past bring more heartache? Will love save them all?
Excerpt:
With Taylor asleep on the couch, Angela snuck the
magazine out of her daughter’s sleeping hands before carrying her to her bed.
After making sure her baby was tucked in, she turned out the lights and went to
the kitchen. She sat down at the table to study the article about the horse
whisperer. The photos gave off a peaceful feeling—so much so, she longed to
jump into the images. Along with the horses, there were shots of children
laughing and petting the animals. The article mentioned a little boy with
Down’s Syndrome whose language increased after a week of animal therapy. The
Heartsong Ranch. Even the name sounds encouraging. Dare I get my hopes up?
One photo in particular captured her attention. The
owner, Jake Kyncade, wore jeans and a cowboy hat as he stood next to the ranch
sign. She took a deep breath as butterflies circled in her abdomen. He’s
sexy. Very different from Mike. Mr. Kyncade has this wounded look in his eyes.
I wonder what his trauma was. I’ve gotten better at noticing it in others.
Still, he’s good looking. Probably married with his own children.
About
Melissa Keir:
Melissa Keir has always wanted to be an author when
she wasn’t hoping for a career as a race car driver. Her love of books was
instilled by her mother and grandparents who were avid readers. She’d often
sneak books away from them so that she could fantasize about those strong alpha
males and plucky heroines. In middle school and high school, Melissa used to
write sappy love poems and shared them with her friends and still has those
poems today! In college her writing changed to sarcastic musings on life as
well as poems with a modern twist on fairy tales and won awards for her
writing. You can find many of these musings along with her latest releases on
her website and blog.
As a writer, Melissa likes to keep current on topics
of interest in the world of writing. She’s a member of the Romance Writers of
America, Mid-Michigan RWA Chapter, and EPIC. She is always interested in
improving her writing through classes and seminars.
Melissa doesn’t believe in down time. She’s always
keeping busy. Melissa is a wife and mother, an elementary school teacher, a
movie reviewer, an owner of a publishing company as well as an author. Her home
blends two families and is a lot like the Brady Bunch, without Alice- a large
grocery bill, tons of dirty dishes and a mound of laundry. She loves to write
stories that feature happy endings and is often seen plotting her next story.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cowboy Trouble by Autumn Piper
Blurb:
She’s
decided to make some bad choices this weekend.
Susie Howell has always done what her family expects
of her, but they don’t know about the divorce papers she’s just signed, or the
secret torch she carries for sexy ranch hand Cash. When keeping the secret gets
to her, she flees her brother’s wedding reception. Determined to live a little,
she swipes the nearest truck from the ranch and heads to Sin City.
Cash Acosta has worked hard for everything he has,
and nobody is taking off with his truck. When he sees it driving away, he jumps
in—and becomes the unwilling passenger of a ready and willing woman he’s
forbidden to touch. Hell-bent for trouble, the boss’s sister has already
earmarked him as one of her “bad choices”.
And Susie intends to get what she wants.
Excerpt:
“So that’s why you’re runnin’.” Under the parking
lot lights, his eyes were pitch black. He thumbed a tear from her cheek.
She tried for a more ladylike sniffle, blinked away
her tears. Nodded, for lack of a better reply.
“When I hear a beautiful woman wants to make some
mistakes, my gut instinct is to help her out with that.” His thumb brushed her
lower lip. “Hearin’ she’s single…that’s another checkmark in the pros column.”
Hypnotized, she barely breathed as he cupped her jaw in his fingers and that
gaze riveted on hers. “Seein’ her cry? What choice do I have?” He bent to her,
his lips hot and strong, skilled as they teased hers apart, his tongue waking
feelings she’d forgotten. And Lord, it may be too soon, it may be wrong, but
she wanted. Wanted Cash, his hands, his mouth, his… She grabbed onto his
hard shoulders, slipped her hands up his neck, buried her fingers in that
thatch of hair. And kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Of course there was.
Sexy, brooding, womanizing Cash wanted her, and he’d be hers, at least for this
trip.
About Autumn Piper:
Born and raised in itty-bitty Rifle, Colorado,
Autumn Piper studiously avoided trouble…but is now inclined toward it,
particularly in her novels. She thinks the best things in life are funny, and
the runners-up, romantic.
An admitted carb addict, Autumn writes, edits,
manages two teenagers, two cats, a box turtle with a huge personality, one
husband and many supersize houseplants, and does the cooking and cleaning when
forced to.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chasing a Cowboy by Sara Walter Ellwood
Blurb:
He’s
running from heartbreak. She’s chasing after love… Their hearts will never be
the same.
Paige Morgan has lived her
entire life in the glare of her fraternal twin sister’s star. Although the
sisters are as different as sun is from the moon, Paige fell in love
with the same man as her famous swimsuit model sister. When country
superstar Chase Jordan is dumped at the altar by her twin, Paige sees an
opportunity to go after the one thing of her sister’s she’s always wanted. She
finds Chase in Cabo San Lucas nursing his broken heart in the true country
song fashion—with a bottle of Jose Cuervo—and reminds him of the
desire he once felt for her. Will this singing cowboy change his tune as they
set the tropical nights on fire? Or will Paige be the one singing the blues
when her sister shows up wanting her man back?
Excerpt:
All of his hopes and dreams shattered on what should have
been the happiest day of his life. Today, instead of settling in for their
two-week vacation and only getting out of bed to eat, he was nursing a bottle
of Jose Cuervo. Why had he come here? His brother was right; he could have
easily eaten the cost of the trip. Chase had insisted that he had to escape for
a little while, lick his wounds and come up with a plan before he had to go
back on tour in a few weeks. Jack accused him of wanting to punish himself. Why
else would he go to the place he and Kayla were to have their honeymoon? Had he
come here to remind himself of what should have been? He shook his head, hoping
to dislodge the thoughts, and turned to gaze out the other side of the bar.
A woman stood on the walkway staring at him through a
pair of Aviators. Her long blonde ponytail shimmered in the sun like spun gold.
He narrowed his eyes. Was he now hallucinating?
She entered the bar and headed toward him. Sitting on the
stool beside him, she removed her sunglasses to reveal a pair of expressive
hazel eyes. “Surprise.”
“Paige? What the hell are you doing here?”
About Sara Walter Ellwood:
Although
Sara Walter Ellwood has long ago left the farm for the glamour of the big town,
she draws on her experiences growing up on a small hobby farm in West Central
Pennsylvania to write her contemporary westerns. She’s been married to her
college sweetheart for over 20 years, and they have two teenagers and one very
spoiled rescue cat named Penny. She longs to visit the places she writes about
and jokes she’s a cowgirl at heart stuck in Pennsylvania suburbia. Sara Walter
Ellwood is a multi-published author and publishes paranormal romantic
suspense under the pen name Cera duBois.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cowboy Bred, Cowboy Born by D’Ann Lindun
Blurb:
Freedom or family?
Only love can make the choice.
Photographer Alannah Murphy
refuses to be tied down. She watched her parents struggle to hold onto their
dairy farm until it killed them. The mere thought of the same fate makes her
shudder. When she meets rancher Sterling Gentry she has to face her fears, or
lose him.
Sterling Gentry longs for
someone to hand his ranch down to. Like his father before him, he has
sacrificed everything to hold onto the land his ancestors settled. But
finding Ms. Right proves harder than he imagined. Then he meets Alannah Murphy
with her big city ways. How he can ever take a chance with a woman exactly like
his mother, who abandoned him when he was a child?
Despite their determination to
stay the course they’ve each chosen, attraction pulls them together as steadily
as a nail to a magnet. Can these two find a way to mesh Alannah’s need for
freedom and Gentry’s desire to hold onto his land?
Excerpt:
Still snapping photos, the woman approached him.
When she came within speaking distance, she waved. “Hello.”
“Who the hell are you? And what are you doing in the
middle of the road? Don’t you know better than to stand in the way when
somebody’s herding stock?”
Her mouth opened and closed a couple times. “I
didn’t think—”
“Hell no, you didn’t think,” Gentry shouted. “Damn
it anyway.”
“I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice. “The shot
was just so good…”
The shot?
She’d ruined hours upon hours of exhausting work because she’d wanted a
picture? Who the hell would do something so stupid?
Only a damn greenhorn.
For the first time he noticed her get-up. A straw
hat only a city girl would wear, floaty pink top with tiny straps that left her
bare shoulders exposed to the unforgiving Arizona sun, cut-off jean shorts and
red cowboy boots. Daisy Duke personified. He shook his head in disgust.
Reality crashed over him.
The New York photographer his mother had enticed out
here, hoping an article in The Cowboy magazine would bring attention to
the Santa Gertrudis cattle they raised.
Damn.
About
D’Ann Lindun:
Falling in love with romance novels the summer
before sixth grade, D’Ann Lindun never thought about writing one until many
years later when she took a how-to class at her local college. She was hooked!
She began writing and never looked back. Romance appeals to her because there's
just something so satisfying about writing a book guaranteed to have a happy
ending. D’Ann’s particular favorites usually feature cowboys and the women who
love them. This is probably because she draws inspiration from the area where
she lives, Western Colorado, her husband of twenty-nine years and their
daughter. Composites of their small farm, herd of horses, five Australian
shepherds, a Queensland heeler, two ducks and cats of every shape and color
often show up in her stories!
D’Ann loves to hear from readers! Please contact her
at:
Buy:
Find us here:
Thank you for having me here today!
ReplyDeleteFun post! I learned so much! Have my copy of the box set-so many fabulous authors! And I'll read anything D'Ann publishes-love her!
ReplyDeleteLove your posts, D'Ann. and I had no clue there are so many different types of chaps.
ReplyDeleteI liked getting an education on chaps. You do such creative posts!
ReplyDeleteLoved the post, D'Ann. Knew some basics about chaps, but had no idea on the variety available. Kind of like Cowboy Up--a lot of variety, one kind of rock solid man at the heart of each.
ReplyDeleteI love chaps they are so sexy! I also think they outline the best part of a guy.... or if he isn't wearing the jeans... they how it off!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting read on the various styles of Chaps (I'm eastern). They look so fine flying about on the back of a huge bull.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought chaps were chaps! Thanks for the lesson. But now I have questions! I thought the "style" they wore was based on where they rode and what they were doing to try to protect their legs. And that the wooly/furry ones were for winter giving them more protection from the cold. And why would they extend beyond the boot?
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your boxed set!
Thank you for the nice comments!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, D'Ann.... I always learn so much from your blogs!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBought my box set today! We have different chaps too. I prefer the softer fringe set on my hubs over the thicker working set. One thing I could contribute to your awesome post is how much the chaps cost. *cough!*
ReplyDeleteThanks again, and Sheri, yes, they cost a mint!
ReplyDelete