The cowboy hat is the ultimate symbol of the cowboy spirit: the determination to be independent, the resolve to be self-sustainable and the courage to defend your beliefs, no matter the cost. At the 2023 Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans, cowboy hats stretched as far as the eye could see.

Forrie J. Smith, who plays Lloyd Pierce on Taylor Sheridan’s TV series “Yellowstone,” made a special guest appearance for the opening general session.

“We’re excited to be here,” he said. “This is our culture and our heritage. We’re with our people.”

Smith sported a gray cowboy hat from American Hat Co. in Bowie, Texas.

“They’re made in America, and that’s the best there is,” he explained. “I’m wearing a gray hat because in my day, that was the cattleman’s hat.”

Under each hat lies an individual distinctly different from the rest. Ranchers, professors, advocates, businesspeople and even celebrities made up the CattleCon23 crowd. And each hat tells a story. Some are custom, others have been handed down through the generations — but all weave together to create the thread that makes up the cattle industry.