Just about every city-raised kid who ever dreamed of bein’ a cowboy started out the same way: not on a real horse, but on a trusty ol’ stick horse—usually homemade, slightly crooked, and worn from a hundred pretend rodeos. That stick horse may not have had legs of its own, but it sure carried big dreams. With every gallop through the hallway and every wild turn around the coffee table, a little cowboy spirit came alive.

You could always tell when the adventure kicked off—usually by the loud, dramatic neighs that echoed through the house and had mama hollerin’ that middle name like it was a full-on warning siren. But that didn’t stop the show. Cacti were dodged (even if they were just couch cushions), table legs got roped in like runaway steers, and heroic cowboy yells filled the living room air well past bedtime.

Those nightly living room stampedes may have scuffed up some floors and tested a parent’s patience, but they also kept the wild west dream burnin’ bright in the heart of every little cowpoke. Without those epic stick horse adventures, reckon a whole lotta city slickers might’ve never discovered their inner cowboy—or learned the first rule of the rodeo: imagination is half the ride.