Ready to shop? At Cowboy Christmas ‘it’s gonna be here’

If the Western and country lifestyle is your thing, then The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas is your place.

If a product has even an ancillary tie to cowboys and cowgirls, or ranchers or the West, then you’ll find it somewhere across two floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s South Halls, among more than 400 exhibitors.

From saddles to clothing to fashion to hats, and even $200,000 luxury trailers that house people and horses alike, it’s there. Oh, and food, too.

Tens of thousands of people stream through Cowboy Christmas each day during the 10-day Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. A few customers and a few exhibitors took time Tuesday to provide their thoughts on the massive and ever-expanding shopping experience.

Saddle Up

Seventeen-year-old Brenna Williams is getting ready to graduate from high school in Spanish Fork, Utah. Williams is an aspiring rodeo cowgirl, with a father and grandfather eager to support that aspiration, this year with a graduation gift or two.

“It’s fun to come down here and spend time with my family,” Williams said, before getting to the point. “My favorite part is when my dad and grandpa spend money on me.”

So Williams was looking over some nice new saddles at the Circle Y Saddles booth.

Dad Colton Williams and grandpa Tony Ericksen are Cowboy Christmas regulars.

“We come down here every year. It’s a family tradition,” Colton said.

Added Ericksen: “Over the years, we’ve covered just about everything at Cowboy Christmas. Now, we’re into horses and roping. Brenna is getting into that. So we’re looking for saddles and horses.

“Last year, we bought two head of horses.”

Circle Y’s Jill Hollomon was more than happy to help find saddles for those horses. Circle Y, based in Yoakum, Texas, is in its 25th year as an exhibitor at Cowboy Christmas. It’s a great annual business opportunity.

“I love the shoppers and how excited they are to spend money. They save all year to do this,” Hollomon said. “The people we meet are great, especially the repeat customers. I saw a guy Monday who I sold saddles to 20 years ago.”

Like all the shoppers, Hollomon also enjoys making her way around to as many booths as possible.

“It’s just a fun experience. Vegas does a great job of putting it on,” she said.

Flavorful food

One booth doing very brisk business Tuesday: Kenlee Jerky. Owner Kenneth Tamura is in his fifth year exhibiting at Cowboy Christmas, which he sees as a natural fit.

“Because cowboys love jerky. So we’ve been very busy,” Tamura said. “I need to be here because I’ve got a lot of clientele seeking us out each year.”

More so this year than ever.

“Our sales have gone up 50 percent from last year. We recouped our booth fee within the first day,” Tamura said, while noting in-person sales at Cowboy Christmas often lead to online transactions later. “Someone came in and bought some jerky on Saturday. They liked the product and the experience, so then they bought $500 in product online.”

Steve Richardson, visiting from Toronto, isn’t a cowboy, but he likes to eat. Which led him to the Kenlee booth.

“I’m starving,” he said while sampling the pepperoni pepper jack jerky. “Maybe I’m gonna get some of that.”

Side note: I tried the pepperoni pepper jack, too. It’s solid.

Cattilac style

Cindy Hendley is co-owner of Cattilac Style, based in Abilene, Texas. The business provides custom monogramming/embroidery and screen printing on clothing, focusing on the cowboy/Western lifestyle.

Hendley has been an exhibitor at every Cowboy Christmas since the Wrangler NFR moved here in 1985.

“It’s critical for us. It’s our favorite show of the year,” Hendley said. “It’s a fun time with Christmas shopping, because we can provide personalized gifts. We have a lot of repeat customers here, people who come here year after year.”

Hendley’s business has come a long way since that first exhibition in 1985.

“We had a 10 x 15 booth. Now, it’s 20 x 70. We’ve grown with the show,” she said, alluding to the massive number of exhibitors now part of Cowboy Christmas. “If there’s anything you want, you can get it here. It’s gonna be here.”

Big rig

Rodeo Rigs out of Hammond, Montana, has put its luxury trailers on display at Cowboy Christmas for 18 years now. The trailers are quite a sight: The back end has stalls for horses, while the front end is basically an apartment for the traveling cowboy/cowgirl/rancher.

Living quarters include a bathroom with shower, a mini-kitchen/living area and ostensibly a bedroom at the very front. Some are equipped with flat-screen TVs and other goodies.

“The NFR is such a powerful networking tool for us. It connects us with people in the Western lifestyle. This show is the pinnacle right here,” Rodeo Rigs owner Courtney Higgins said.

Higgins said he makes some deals during Cowboy Christmas, but his presence here is also — and perhaps more so — about establishing relationships for a purchase down the road. Not too many people show up at Cowboy Christmas ready to buy a $100,000 or $200,000 trailer.

“It’s planting the seeds. Buying something like this is a big deal for most people. It’s a life-changing purchase,” Higgins said, adding he just enjoys watching people’s reactions as they walk through the trailers. “You watch them go through, and it’s just, ‘Wow. Wow. Wow.’ It’s pretty amazing.”

Like the other exhibitors and customers, Higgins likes taking in the whole Cowboy Christmas experience, too. It’s not just about his business.

“I bring my family down here. We buy our boots and hats here,” he said. “Everything’s here, all under one roof.”

Even Wrangler NFR contestants — the rodeo cowboys and cowgirls — get out to the expo to soak it in and spend a few dollars. On Tuesday, that included barrel racer LaTricia Duke, who stopped by the Rodeo Rigs exhibit for a few minutes.

“Yes, of course I’ve done some shopping. I’m a girl,” Duke said with a laugh. “You can’t go to Vegas and Cowboy Christmas and not buy something.”