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city councilmen, county commissioners, bankers, doctors,
veterinarians, lawyers and even a former Speaker of The
US House of Representatives, Jim Wright, as members.
Tom B. Saunders, IV, is a second-generation Posse
member who joined in 1974. “Guys join the Posse for
different motives, but most of it is people who like the
western way and like to ride horses. The Posse promotes
the western way of life. For some of the boys that live in
town that don’t get to ride that much, it’s the camaraderie
and it’s a lot of fun.”
The Posse has long been recognized as Goodwill
Ambassadors of Parker County. The group performed
in Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1949.
Acting as ambassadors again, the Posse was on hand
to welcome General Douglas McArthur to Texas in
1951 upon his return from Korea. In 1965, the Posse
sponsored a Weatherford night in Dallas at the Texas
State Fair Music Hall opening of “Hello Dolly” starring
Weatherford native Mary Martin and had a special recog-
nition ceremony for her at the rodeo that year. The Posse
was privileged to serve as honor guard for governors Ann
Richards and Dolph Briscoe and rode in a parade honor-
ing Governor Mark White. Through the years, the Parker
County Sheriff’s Posse has been recognized in magazines,
books and on television.
Saunders recalled a time when some “pilgrims”
from New Jersey were reported as lost and some of the
Posse guys rounded them up, but they weren’t really
lost, they were simply sightseeing. He also mentioned
a time that they assisted the Sheriff in recapturing an
escaped convict. “We’re supposed to be the backup to
the Sheriff’s Department, if someone got lost we’d join in
and help, especially if it was on horseback. We try to do
things to help the community,” he said.
The posse has always been made up of “people from
all walks of life,” Borden said. “We had a bunch of the
fellows already in the cutting horse business even before
we started the Sheriff’s Posse in 1947,” he continued. The
Posse was one of the first affiliates of the National Cutting
Horse Association in 1949, and supplied the organization
with its first three presidents: Ray Smyth, Tom B. Saunders
and H. Calhoun. Ray Smyth was one of the first inductees
into the NCHA Members Hall of Fame in 1977. All three
men also served as Captain of the Parker County Sheriff’s
Posse. Not surprisingly, the Posse rodeo has had a cutting
competition almost since its inception.
Tom Riddle served as Posse Captain in 1979 and he
also granted PCT an interview in 2006. He counted more
than a dozen family members and in-laws who were also
Posse members. Both he and Borden were proud of the
support the Posse has given to Parker County’s youth.
“The Posse has been there over the years especially for
the 4-H, FFA and also the FFA rodeo,” said Riddle. The
Continued on page 77
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