The culture of the American cowboy was and to a certain extent still is the same within itself. The equipment used certainly had its origin with the Vaquero... from the sombrero to the "10 gallon" hat, from the saddle style to the "chaps" to the pointy toed, high heeled boots, to the spurs...
I (living here in the heart of cowboy country in the western U.S.) see remnants of the vaquero "style" even today in the spurs...
The original cattle drive from Texas north to Kansas was by Oliver Goodnight, but an earlier drive went east and was led by Francisco Garcia...
One has to differentiate between the "stockman"... the working cowboy involved with the management of livestock and the "rodeo" cowboy, who, by and large are professional athletes who may or may not come from ranch country. Often they are students at colleges that have rodeo "teams".