Cowboy: Ranch hand that was skilled in various ranch duties such as bronc busting, roundup, roping, and riding and possessed a great knowledge of horses. Many Canadian cowboys came to the prairies from the United States while others were from the British upper-middle classes. Most were employed on the southern ranches and took part in the annual round-up. The image of the cowboy has been wildly romanticized by Hollywood in the twentieth century as an independent, rough and tough figure wearing chaps, with a six-shooter at his side, cowboy boots and, of course, his cowboy hat. Their myth, as much as their reality, has come to symbolize the western life and spirit. YeeeHaaa!