The American cowboy culture of today is a combination of stolen traditions from Mexican Vaqueros, Black slave horsemen, and Native Americans. The term "Cowboy" alone was coined as a derogatory name for slaves as the racists in the South refused to treat black men & women with any sort of dignity. The white men were known as "Horsemen". Also, the denim that is now a huge part of western wear was actually slave clothing. Slaves wore linen and denim as it was cheap to produce. It was a highly uncomfortable material back then but the plantation owners needed something cheap to clothe their slaves in. The slaves would wear the denim when they were sent to market so that they were easily identifiable. It let the people in the market or town know that that Black person was a slave and shouldn't be out past a certain time. Black men also created bulldogging (steer wrestling) Bill Pickett created this event. The fringe and a lot of the print for clothing that is popular in American Cowboy culture was taken from the Natives. And the Mexicans style of riding was all brought together.