The National Western Stock Show has selected its white (cowboy) hat for the 2026 season.

George Eidsness has been picked by the National Western Stock Show as the 2026 Citizen of the West Award winner for January — an honor the group bestows on an individual who embodies the “spirit and determination of the Western pioneer.”

“George Eidsness is a true embodiment of the Citizen of the West – resilient, visionary and deeply rooted in the land and traditions that define the region,” NWSS officials said in a press release on Thursday.

Each year, the National Western Stock Show picks an individual whose life personifies that “true representative of Western lifestyle, ideals, agricultural heritage and traditions.”

Eidsness and his wife, Barbara, were born in North Dakota. Eidsness was raised

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