User:Dawnleelynn/Bronc riding sandbox

The bucking horse can be any breed and gender of horse with a propensity to buck.

Introduction

Watching a bronc try to throw a cowboy is an exciting glance into the Wild West. In those days, living and working on the frontier tested the cowboy every day. At the forefront of the cowboy's challenges were those from Mother Nature. He was also tested with long periods of solitude. He might see only cattle or an occasional creature in that time. A cowboy's most important possession was his horse. The horse was his only means of transportation across the plains from one place to another. The horse also provided the cowboy with the means to perform daily chores more efficiently, such as cattle herding, fence mending, or range riding. Out on the range, the cowboy had to break his own mount, and some cowboys accomplished this task more proficiently. When cowboys met up, there were typically contests to see who was the better bronc rider. The winner gained credibility this way.

Breaking horses for riding and labor has been going on for over 5,000 years. Xenophon, an expert on horses who lived several centuries ago B.C., spoke in detail about breaking horses, but he never mentioned bucking or pitching in a detailed treatise named 'Anbasis'.[1] Apparently, bucking horses are an American invention. The theory behind this level of bucking is based on wild mustangs. Mountain lions preyed upon the mustangs in the Americas. The mustangs taught themselves to pitch in order to throw the cats off their backs and survive the attack. Successful horses passed this ability onto their progeny.[2]

As referenced in The Mustangs, J. Frank Dobie stated that "occasional European horses have from time immemorial been vicious or have bucked, jumped, or reared, but the bronc with a 'belly full of bedsprings' pawing for the moon, breaking in two half-way up, sunfishing on the way down, and then hitting the earth hard enough to crack the rider's liver, was a development of the Western Hemisphere."[1] It was when rodeo started that cowboys began riding wild horses for competition.

Before rodeo, cowboys bucked horses for the purpose of taming them to use as cow ponies, who would obey instructions and act in a tame manner. Sometimes, on a ranch, a special wrangler might be higher to do all the breaking; but most often cowboys performed this task themselves. Most often, it was just one of many responsibilities. When rodeo came along, cowboys had a new opportunity. The cowboy that loved to break horses could now do this for as a job, or least more often-he could ride broncs. Through the decades that cowboys have ridden broncs, some of both have become famous. And throughout that history, many developments have been made. Some bronc owners breed their horses as stock horses as diligently as if there were racehorses. The goal is to supply premium buckers to rodeo stock contractors and rodeo companies throughout the country.

The cowboy is an independent spirit who can ride any bronc, no matter how bad-tempered. In fact, the cowboy prefers the bronc who bucks the hardest. Cowboys learn to ignore the pain of injury, which is almost certain, but the pain fades with time. This is the typical stereotype of a cowboy defined throughout the decades in early Western literature, television, and movies. However, the truth is that there are many types of cowboys. The cowboys who ride what is called roughstock (saddle broncs, bareback broncs, and bucking bulls) differ from the timed-event cowboys who compete in roping and steer wrestling events. So there are cowboys who are quieter, ones who are flamboyant, and ones who are everything in between.

Comment: From the bottom of page ix through to page xi I skipped because it's an interview with Casey Tibbs, and we are not writing about bronc riders.

How It All Began

Photograph. Casey Tibbs on Necktie, owned by Elra and Jiggs Beutler. This photograph was used by artist Edd Hayes to sculpt the bigger-than -life bronze standing in front of the ProRodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy in Colorado Spring. --Photo by Ferrell, donated by Buster and June Ivory, courtesy of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

The first cowboys on the range worked on cattle ranches. Their lives revolved around cattle. These cowboys worked hard every day, and many of the tasks they performed were extremely arduous. The addition of the horse was the biggest asset the cowboy received. There were stray cattle to locate, cattle to care for, cattle to move from one location to another, and eventually taking them up the trail to market. A cowboy had to break his own horse, who was often the biggest factor regarding his success in working the cattle.

Cowboys encountered many kinds of varying conditions in their job: weather, nourishment, living quarters, transitory living conditions versus stationary ones, and they spent most of their time working outdoors. Cowboys ranged between adequate at their job to masters of their trade. They also became adept at various skills in the job from breaking horses to roping livestock. It came about that those cowboys who were exceptional at breaking broncs were matched up against those from other ranches. Ranches aspired to be known for having the best bronc buster.

The term "cowboy" was first used after the Civil war to refer to anyone who took care of cattle in the West. The primary equipment used by the cowboy to tend to the cattle was the cow pony. The cowboy usually took his cow pony from some wild mustangs. Typically, there was a group of wild mustangs in a free range. When they turned 4 years old, they would be rounded up for breaking. An expert local cowboy or traveling specialist broke the wild horses. They would be paid as much $5 per head.[5]

Lee Warren was a 'broncbuster' "specialist" in Montana. L.A. Huffman, a photographer from Miles City, Montana, made a visual record of Warren's work. His work was featured in the volume Cowboys of the Time-Life Old West Series. "Warren began by roping each bronco, then snubbing it to a post (or throwing it, if necessary) to put on the bridle. Next came the saddle--and it was no mean feat to swing a heavy saddle shoulder-high with one hand while holding a rearing horse with the other. Finally came Warren himself, and that is when all the gut-jarring hell broke loose for both the horse and the buster. The buster always won, for the rougher the horse behaved, the rougher the treatment he received in retaliation from the rider's quirt, spurs, and rope end."[5]

It was typical for a cowboy to win a bucking horse cowboy contest a couple times a day, starting at dawn and again at midway throughout the day in order to work around his cowboy schedule. Midway was often when a cowboy needed a fresh horse. Ranches counted on a local cowboy's skill in breaking horses anyway, so they routinely tested them in bucking contests onsite. But cowboys also met in town or during special occasions.[6]

From after the Civil War until the turn of the century, between 25,000 and 35,000 cowboys drove about 6 to 10 million head of cattle from Texas to places in between and to as far north as Montana in trail drives.[3] When the last destination was reached and the trail drive was over, it was a huge relief to the young cowboys. These young cowboys, usually aged from 16 to 22 and single, then went looking for bucking contests or bucking matches to compete in. They also found that the money they made from the cattle drive was burning a hole in their pocket. Naturally, the best riders ended up with the most money.[4]

The first bucking contest that took place was never recorded by history. The details surrounding the event are also irrelevant. But what is known is that it occurred in the early days of the cattle industry in the West when cowboys starting breaking wild mustangs for use as cow ponies. The cowboy always required a supply of fresh horses. There were always broncs that could not be ridden and those cowboys who thought they could not be thrown. From this began bronc riding contests, and eventually those contests turned into "rodeos".

A cowboy could not make a living in rodeo until into the mid-Twentieth Century, unless supplemented by other means. Early rodeos were few in the beginning. Contests were limited to local broncbusters. Travel was difficult, and publicity was localized.

One of the earliest rodeos was in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1847, with the only recorded events being roping and horse racing. In 1869, Deer Trail, Colorado, held a bucking contest. In 1872, Cheyenne, Wyoming, held a steer roping. In 1893, in Cheyenne, the first bronc riding was held. On the Fourth of July, 1882, in North Platte, Nebraska, Buffalo Bill held a roping, riding, and bronc riding contest. Also in 1882, Austin, Texas, awarded the winning steer roper with a silver saddle. On 1883, Buffalo Bill moved his event to Omaha, Nebraska.

In 1883, Pecos, Texas held a rodeo on the Fourth of July. Pecos was a big gambling town at the time and it ran all night. There was no admission charged. There was also no arena or chutes. Approximately 1,000 people attended. The payout was $40 by ranchers in the area. The first bronc riding winner was not recorded. A free barbeque and dancing after the rodeo is probably responsible.[40]

In 1884, Payson, Arizona, held a bronc riding event. In 1886, Albuquerque, New Mexico, had a fair, one of the events was a bronc contest with no prize for the winner. In 1887, an expedition in Denver Colorado, included a "Cowboy Tournament." The city's local news coverage printed up some special prose for the winner of the bucking contest, Bill Smith. "Up in the air and down with all four legs bunched stiff as antelopes, and the back arched like a hostile wildcat, went the animal. Bu the rider was there, and deep into the rowels he sank the spurs while he lashed shoulders and neck with keen stinging quirt. It was brute force against human nerve. Nerve won. a few more jumps and the horse submitted and carried the man around the corral on a swinging rope".[29] In 1888, in Prescott, Arizona, the town formed a rodeo committee to organize their rodeo, invite cowboys and charge attendees. They also awarded prizes to contestants. The rodeo has continued annually ever since. In 1897, Cheyenne Frontier Days celebrated its first event on September 23. They decided to name it Frontier Days. Fifteen thousand people attended the first event. The bucking contest was one of the two most featured events of the show. The city was surrounded by wild horses so the livestock used in the first shows had never been roped or herded.[10]

Most of the notable bucking horses and riders of this time period are lost to history. There's Will Goff and Emilnie Gardenshire, an Englishman. Gardenshire won the bronc riding at Deer Trail in 1869, by riding a Hashknife Ranch bronc named Montana Blizzard, Gardenshire won the bronc riding at that event where the Hashknife, Camp Stool, and Milliron ranches challenged each other. Gardenshire, with the Milliron ranch, was proclaimed the winnner, and won a suit of clothes.[52]

For over 25 years, Samuel Thomas Privett (Booger Red) was considered the best bronc rider in the world. Born in 1864, on a ranch in Erath County, Texas, he was a redhead and had all the stereotypical features of one. At age 12, he was referred to as "the redheaded kid bronc rider". At age 13, he was making his own fireworks, which backfired. He was badly burned. One of his friends said, "Red sure is a booger"! He was known as "Booger Red" Privett from then on.[8] Booger had his own style when riding broncs, and others tried to emulate it.

In 1888, in Prescott, Arizona, broncbuster Juan Levias tied for first place in the bronc riding. He also won the steer roping. One of his awards was a wooden-mounted sterling silver-engraved shield which had his steer roping time engraved on it. Years later and purely by luck, the trophy was recovered in a scrap metal drive. This is presumably the first trophy that was awarded for a rodeo event.[8]

In Prescott, in the early days, other winners were Ben Blackburn in 1891, Doc Goodwin in 1893, and Eger Jones in 1895. In 1884, E.H. Phillips rode broncs in Ellsworth, Kansas. Later Ellsworth rode broncs in Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows.[7]. In 1886, Marion McGinty began riding broncs. In 1897, she won the "Champion Bronc Rider of Texas" honor in Seymour, Texas.[7]

In 1897, at the first Cheyenne Frontier Days, Bill Jones won the World Champion Bucking and Pitching Contest on a horse named Warrior. Jones was a bronc rider who came to the arca on a Texas trail drive. He was a cowboy hired by the Milton Green ranch in LaGrange, Wyoming. Jones won $25, and the horse owners won $100. They were all from LaGrange. Wyoming cowboys won this event the next three years: Fred Bath, William Cramer, and Thad Sowder.

In the early days of bronc riding, bucking horses who made names for themselves had their reputations seldom spread beyond their local area. For instance, there was a stallion named Burgett, owned by William Brooks of Blackland, Texas, and ridden by Jim Woods in September 1893. As witnessed by Foghorn Clancy, he later said, "I cannot shut out the picture of the ride Jim Woods had on this great man-killing stallion, in September of 1893, as being one of the greatest rides I have ever seen."[7] A reporter named Phil Meadows commentating on the 1900 rodeo in Douglas, Arizona, said, "Broncs were gathered from surrounding ranches, many coming from far away as Wilcox. On a bet, Methodist Jim was ridden by a traveling horse trader name Charlie Hollingshead, a short Dutchman. He rode a slick-fork, centerfire saddle with stirrups he could just tiptoe. He rode the horse and won the bet."[11]]

At the end of the 19th century, rodeo was still in its beginning stages, but was starting to emerge in different places about the West. Rodeo provided competition and entertainment from the ranches. These rodeos always attracted a good attendance.

We Rode 'em Till They Stopped

At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, rodeo was becoming more established in parts of the West. Bronc riding cowboys had more opportunities than in the 19th Century. However, traveling any distance was still rare for them due to lack of any but local publicity and lack of transportation. Wild West shows were getting the attention from promoters so they could travel more, and good bronc riders were taking the trip and performing exhibition riding. The better the company running the show, the better the salary. The really big outfits had competitive bronc riding, offering extra money for bronc riders.

Buffalo Bill Cody dreamed for years about showing the world peeks into the American West, everything about it. On May 17, 1883, he finally held his first show in Omaha, Nebraska, one of the earliest. The first was one rough, but he worked on it until it was one of the best.[12] In 1882, in Winfield, Kansas, during an agricultural fair, its people convinced Colonel George W. Miller of the famous 101 Ranch in Guthrie, Oklahoma to provide different entertainment. Miller happened to have his cowboys still with him from a cattle drive he just completed. The cowboys exhibited roping and riding that the crowd enjoyed tremendously. Major Gordon Little, known as "Pawnee Bill", who had traveled with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show awhile, began his own Wild West Show, called Pawnee Bill's Historical Wild West, Indian Museum, and Encampment. In a time when few white men were friends to the Indians, Pawnee Bill was not only friend, but included them in his show. In 1889, the show toured the eastern part of the country. In 1894 the show expanded and sailed to Europe.[14] In 1899, Zack Mulhall, a self-made business man from Guthrie, Oklahoma, started roping and riding contests. In St. Louis, Missouri, he held his first show at a county fair. He named it "The Congress of Rough Riders and Ropers". Mulhall took his show on the road to county fairs in the Midwest. In 1900, he heard Theodore Roosevelt planned a reunion in Oklahoma City, so he returned there. Roosevelt hired Zack and his cowboys to provide entertainment for the Fourth of July. Mulhall had several offspring, including his daughter Lucy perform.[15]

In 1904 the 101 Ranch Miller cowboys made a second attempt. Colonel Miller and others from Guthrie pinned their hopes on the 1905 National Editorial Association holding their annual convention there. Miller assured editors that he would hold a big Wild West show there if they chose Guthrie. They held a trial run in the fall of 1904. All involved were satisfied with the results. Thus, during the June convention in 1905, the Miller ranch held a huge roundup. Geronimo, the old Apache warrior performed, a U.S. Calvary band, a pioneer wagon train, and a great number of cowboys and Indians. The ranch put on an authentic Buffalo depiction and some broncbusting. Thereafter, the Millers held their annual roundup at their ranch where it could seat up to 10,000 people. For the Southwest, their arena was one of the best.

Some smaller shows also sprung up which focused on bucking horses. Bob and Pate Boone spent their youth in labor and breaking horses. Then were then told to take as many wild horses as they could collect, which added up to 28 horses. They drove the horses from New Mexico to Trent, Texas. Their initial intent was to sell the horses. When the cowboys ascertained that buyers were rare, they started breaking them. On the weekends, a decent crowd from all around showed up to watch. Bob joked to Pate about starting their own Wild West show. In 1906, their first show was held at Merkle, Texas. It was very successful, and they went on to Abilene and the West Texas Fair. They held a competition bucking event at the West Texas Fair. Bill Kennedy won first, Willis Barbee was second, and Rapp Green was third.[16] Other cowboys started their own shows. There were shows with large casts and a variety of events. There were also small shows with a handful of cowboys and cowgirls who traveled to small towns. "Booger Red" Privett was one who had a small show for some years. The show traveled by wagon route, played small towns and villages. His show was mainly constrained to Texas. Privett was over 50 when he started his show, but he was not afraid to challenge a rider nor top one of his own broncs. His string contained some serious bucking horses who frequently dumped the locals.

In 1900, Charlie Aldridge worked for the Johnson and Emerson Wild West show, his first. This wild west show toured many Western states. After that, he worked for the Buckskin Bill Wild West show. In 1906, he moved to Pawnee Bill's show. He followed Will Rogers's show. He had a career with the Ziegfeld Follies. He ended up in the moving picture business.[7]

In 1902, Sam Brownell was performed with the Sherwin Brothers and Baker Wild West Show. Two months later, in Lincoln, Nebraska, the show went broke.[18] The cause was a horrible rainstorm. The Sherwin brothers contacted their father back in Sterling, Colorado of their situation. He paid their debt. Then he sent notice saying, "Now get home and do something worthwhile". Later, in 1917, the brothers and partner Charlie Perkins, started holding rodeos on July 4th both at Sterling and at their local county fair in Logan. They included bronc riding and bareback (loose rope) riding. One of the brothers and Perkins left the event at some point, but the other brother, Claude, continued to run the event for 15 more years.

In the western half of the country, rodeo was establishing itself as a serious sport. In 1901, Denver held the Festival of the Mountains and Plains. There were equal prizes for the cowboys as well as the bucking horses. In that rodeo, prize money started at $150 for first place, $125 for second, $100 for third, $75, $50, and $25 for sixth place. Thad Sowder won first place. A large bay mare called Peggy won first-place. Peggy went back work in a harness to pull buggies. The mare bucked to prove she wouldn't take to a saddle. The 1902 event had 64 riders and 89 horses. Sowder won first again.

On July 1, 1902, Canadian Hall of famer Ray Knight instituted the first rodeo in Raymond, Alberta. Every local ranch was invited to send their best bronc riders. The object was to resolve the discussion of which ranch had the best riders. Knight took his wild horses to town by trail for the event, called "The Stampede". The Raymond Stampede provided two events, calf roping and bronc riding. Prizes were provided. Some cowboys who competed were Delos Lund, Ray Knight, Dick Kinsey, Frank Faulkner, and Jim and Dave Austin plus others.[71] Knight won the roping, and Ed Corless rode his bronc to a standstill so as to win.[73]

In 1902, Oklahoma City held a cattle convention. The convention also included a riding and roping contest. In 1903, McAlester and Muskogee, Oklahoma, held rodeos. In 1904, Fort Smith, Arkansas, held a contest. In 1905, Dublin, Texas, held a contest. In 1907, San Antonio, Texas, held a rodeo. In 1908, Dewey, Oklahoma, held a rodeo. There was a handbill advertising "Big Broncho Riding Contest" announced "Oklahoma Kid from the 101 Ranch will ride against Mr. Jesse Beemer for a prize of Fifty Dollars at Chattanooga, OK Saturday, December 25, 1909. 'Miss Pastime' a noted outlaw from off the Pastime Ranch in Arizona, will be rode by Oklahoma Kid without bridle, without stirrups and without pulling leather, Admission 10 cents and 15 cents."[24]

In 1909, in Pendleton, Oregon, where the Eastern Oregon District Fair was held, a two-day bronc riding competition was included. On the first day, Lee "Babe" Caldwell won first place and his prize was a $45 Hamley-McFarridge saddle. On the second day, C.S. Tipton won the first place. His prize was a $50 hand-carved saddle from the E.L. Powers harness store. Local business found the bronc riding successful enough to pool their resources, sell some of their stock for investment money, and the next year they founded the Pendleton Round-Up. It was described as "a frontier exhibition of picturesque pastimes, Indian, and military spectacles, cowboy racing, and bronco busting for the championship of the Northwest."[25]

Publicity for the RoundUp was foremost, and news of the event spread rapidly. The event planned to feature an small-sized pony named Lightfoot, "that will make somebody know he has been in a bucking contest". The Spain Brothers of Telocaset were bringing their bucking herd. The rodeo organizers asked Clayton Danks from Wyoming to bring his broncs Steamboat, Teddy Roosevelt, and other top buckers. "Good riders and bad horses was promised and a $250 Hamley saddle was held up as the top prize." The top prize money came close to $2,500. The first day almost 7,000 people attended. Bert Kelly, of Pine Creek, became the first champion.[25]

While over in Prescott, Arizona, the annual rodeo started in 1888 was growing. In 1910, seven bronc riders competed for $300 in prize money. John Fredericks competed and won on Marion Weston's horse. But the best ride was by the third place winner Logan Morris, a repeat winner. "After saddling and mounting his bronc in front of the grandstand, then the bronc crossed the park in a series of whirlwind pitches, and went out the gate into the street. The bronc overturned a buggy before the rider brought him under control. While all this was happening, a delivery team wagon absconded, and the contents spilled all over the street.[27]

In 1912, Los Angeles and Calgary held rodeos. On March 9-25, Los Angeles held its competition and more than 10,000 attended. In Calvary, Hall of Fame organizer Guy Weadick persuaded four cattlemen to finance the first event at Calgary by each investing $25,000 each. Weadick made Ad P. Day the first arena director whom he then sent to Cheyenne to sign up 50 top contestants. Three days prior to the event, two railway coaches filled with American cowboys showed up to the event. Three worldwide famous bucking horses also came: Gaviota, Tornado, and Cyclone. Cyclone was notorious for bucking off 127 cowboys in the last seven years. Cyclone would stand almost vertical so that the cowboy would just fall off due to gravity. In Calvary, first Gardner tried him but was disqualified when he grabbed the saddle horn. Hall of Fame rider Tom Three Persons actually rode the bronc in the finals. He kicked the horse all over the lot. When Cyclone started up, Tom bellowed like a bull and startled the horse. Three Persons won $1,000, a saddle, and a gold belt buckle, coming in first place.

The opening of the Calgary Stampede on September 2 was widely advertised through Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Even contestants living far away from the location were drawn in due to the $20,000 gold prize. The six-day event drew an attendance of 120,000.

In 1914, a newspaper in Prescott, Arizona was titled "Broncho Busting Feature of the Day". After some day contests, they had a finals event. First place won the title in the finals. However, it took the judges three hours to choose the first winner of the event, Harry Henderson. Henderson made $600 cash and a diamond-studded gold medal. It was his last ride, on an outlaw named Zebo, that notched the win. By 1915, the Prescott show had gained interest around the country. Bronc riders had heard about the cash payouts and world championship titles.

On July 1-3, 1915, a Cowboys Reunion was held in Las Vegas, New Mexico, that became an annual event. They wrote up a list of many rules for the bronc riding event. Rules were: "Riders will draw for mounts the night before. Marshal will appoint snub men and helpers, plus pick up men. Riders to ride slick saddle, no fork over 15" allowed. Saddle to be inspected by judges. Horse will be ridden with halter and two split reins. No knots or wraps around the hand and no locked rowel spurs. Any rider to ride any horse as many times as judge requires. Judges to decide when horse is ridden. Best average ride for three days wins. If sufficient broncs can not be procured, there will be only one day of riding."[24]

By 1916, rodeos began to appear in the eastern half of the country. Buffalo Bill Cody produced a rodeo called "The Shankdive" in Chicago, Illinois. However, the purses were small and the publicity was sparse.[26] Charles L. Harris produced Passing of the West. It was held in Washington, D.C.. It presented scenes of early days in the West. Jack Miller won the bucking horse contest. Charley Williams and Bud V. Byrd shared honors in amateur bucking.[11]

On August 5-16, in Brooklyn, New York, a stampede was held at Sheepshead Bay Speedway. Five hundred thousand total in prize money was offered. Due to some tragic circumstances, the event was a failure and winners received a fraction of what was advertised. Emery LeGrande won the saddle bronc event. Rufus Rollens won the bareback event. Tillie Baldwin won the cowgirl bucking event.[7]

On March 12-17, 1917, the first indoor rodeo was held. The Fort Worth RoundUp was produced by Lucille Mulhall and Homer Wilson. It took place in the Stockyard Stadium. Here, $2,500 in prize money was available. Rufus Rollens rode a bronc named Bluejay.[11] Mulhall and Wilson then produced another show that year. It used chutes for bucking events, which was cutting-edge at the time. A publicity gimmick used was having stores sell souvenir steer-head pins that entitled the wearer to free admission to the RoundUp. On January, 23-26, 1918, Tex Austin held a MidWinter Championship Contest in Wichita, Kansas. Five hundred in prizes was offered. Bryan Roach won the bronc riding event, Montana Earl was second, and Tommy Douglas was third.[7]

In 1919, Dick Ringling of Ringling Brothers Circus held a contest in Bozeman, Montana. They keep the motto "She's Wild" until Bozeman discontinued the RoundUp in 1926. In 1941, they came back with the motto "Let's Keep Her Wild!"[7]

In 1917, Leo Cremer started providing stock for the small neighborhood roundup next to his ranch in Melville, Montana. Cremer was interested in the possibilities of rodeo and its large box-office opportunities, but saw little appeal to the general public. Audiences of those rodeos seemed limited to family, friends, neighbors, and relatives. "Few spectators were acquainted with the contest rules of the game but the most avid fans sat through five or six hours of casually run events, often enlivened, however, by a good variety of fistic encounters when some contestants well braced with 'red-eye' would undertake to whip a judge or fellow cowboy."[7]

Broncbusters of the Era (1900s-1910s)

• Bert Windsor
• Everett M. Jarman
• Johnny Mullens
• Harry Brennan
• Thad Sowder
• Manuel "Manny" Airola
• Sam Brownell
• Charlie Aldridge
• Clayton Danks

Early Broncs (1900s-1910s)

(There is an excerpt about the "true spirit" of a bronc as described in a 1913 issue of Miller Brothers & Arlington Ranch Real Wild West Magazine and Daily Review.

• Steamboat
• Coyote
• Bluejay
• No Name a.k.a. Fox a.k.a. I Don't Know a.k.a Reservation
• Prison Bars
• Bellingham Black
• Flaxie

Origins of Chutes, Saddles, and Bareback

In rodeo, the saddle bronc event is representative of what working cowboys did in the beginning to break their mounts. It was part of their everyday work on the ranch. The earliest saddle bronc riders many times brought their own "outlaw" to ride at a rodeo or they gathered broncs from neighboring ranches. Sometimes riders traded "outlaws". Sometimes they rode each other's broncs. And different types of these scenarios occurred at rodeos.

"The cayuse was snubbed in the middle of the area used as the arena." Some men held the bronc while they were preparing him for the ride. The men blindfolded the bronc, perhaps bit or twisted his ear to divert his attention away from others who were placing a saddle on his back. Then the rider would cinch the saddle and climb on his back. The blindfold was removed, the men let go of the horse, and he exploded. The odds appeared to be in the horse's favor if it was the first time. The rider had stay mounted until the horse came to a standstill. Then, the rider must be judged to have the best ride and bucker to win.

Appointments were the way judges were selected in this period of time. Judges generally chose the winner based on the horse's ability attempting to throw a rider and the rider's ability to stay on the horse, despite his twists, turns, and temper. Occasionally, judges did not agree on the winner. Typically, the best rider was awarded a prize. The owner (stock contractor) of the best bucker was usually awarded a prize as well. Some contests were operated such that bucking off was conducted until all but the best few were eliminated. Then a finals event would be conducted. The winner of the finals event was the overall winner. Later on, winners started to be chosen based on an average of all his rides during a rodeo. Rodeo was evolving so rules were fluid from one to another rodeo, and consistency was lacking.

In 1898, at Cheyenne Frontier Days, the hobbling of stirrups was against the rules. By 1901, the ruling was changed and required that the horse be spurred. If a thrown rider cared to, he could remount and ride again. Year by year, rules were being more defined. In 1905, at Frontier Days, the winner came from the average of all his rides.

In 1909, at Cheyenne, riders drew horses' names out of a hat for their rides. In 1915, slick saddles with a maximum of 15 inch swells were required. Spurs and chaps were also required.[30] Also in 1909, C.B. Irwin and Harry Brennan got together to represent the cowboys and create some rules. They had a meeting with the Humane Society and the Frontier committee, which resulted in "The Cheyenne Rule".[50]

Regarding a 1912 event in the Pendleton Round-Up, participant Hoot Gibson commented years later, "There was no time limit on the ride. When we got on a bronc we just stayed there until he quit bucking or we ran out of wind. Those horses kept it up for 40 seconds some times". Gibson seemed to think that the rules gave all the advantages to the broncs. "You must spur the horse with both feet; one hand must hold the reins, the other must be held in the air. A change in this position, or what is called 'pulling leather' instantly disqualified the rider."[25]

Riders brought their own mounts to the first rodeos in Prescott. By 1913, the rules stated that three judges had to be selected. Riders had to use a slick saddle with a maximum of 15 inches form. They must ride with spurs and reins. Riders could ride with one or two reins. However, if two reins were used, the reins could not be fastened at the loose ends. There could be no changing of hands or reins. Pulling leather, changing hands or reins, wrapping reins around the hand, or getting bucked off were grounds for disqualification. A rider could ride without stirrups but only if he had made his intentions known before riding. A rider was not allowed to fight his horse.[27]

Circa 1920, in Prescott, Arizona, saddle bronc rides began to be timed to 15 seconds for a qualified ride.[27] Verne Elliot said, "People at Fort Worth had an indoor rodeo in 1917. Ed McCarty and I thought the Texans were crazy when they announced their intentions. They wanted Ed and I to come down and help them and I strung along as a judge. The engineers' idea was to have an indoor show, put bucking horses in chutes. The buckers up to that time had always been blindedfolded and snubbed up to other horses out in the open. But the engineer built his chutes, and when the cowboys saw what they were they called them 'chambers of horror'."[42]

Yakima Canutt recalled changes in rodeo: "At first we rode with two reins and there was no timing in bronc riding. In 1914 we began riding with one rein. My first ride with timing was in 1920 or 1921 at El Paso in the Tex Austin show, which I won. As I remember the timing was 10 seconds, starting when the horse cleared the chutes."[48]

Yakima Canutt recalled changes in rodeo: "At first we rode with two reins and there was no timing in bronc riding. In 1914 we began riding with one rein. My first ride with timing was in 1920 or 1921 at El Paso in the Tex Austin show, which I won. As I remember the timing was 10 seconds, starting when the horse cleared the chutes."[48]

In 1927, in Calgary, Alberta, they cut the length of a qualified ride to 10 seconds. They developed a new method of rating the performance of the horse and rider. This new method reduced the length of the show and the number of broncs who were required. Top buckers now rarely had their spirits broken in ten seconds. The Stampede started buying the best buckers to create their own herd. In 1928, they constructed permanent chutes, catching pens, and corrals in the infields.[39]

Rodeo personnel uniformly agreed that their rodeos improved as rules and facilities developed. Contests ran more methodically. The rodeo ran shorter. Saddling horses in the chutes rather than in the open saved the horses' strength. Ten seconds on a fresh bronc from a chute equals a finish ride from a bronc saddled in the open.[31]

Through the first decade of the 20th century, the bucking bronc carried his rider around the arena the rider around the arena until he got bucked off or the bronc stopped bucking. After the development of the bucking chute and a time limit on the amount of time the rider spent on the bronc to get a qualified ride, the event became more enjoyable to the fans.[29]

In 1916, the first side-delivery rodeo chute is thought to have been designed and constructed at Welling, Alberta, Canada. In 1917, another chute was built at New Dayton, Alberta. In 1919, another was built at Lethbridge, Alberta. Then the side delivery chute was redesigned by reversing the chute gate so that it hinged at the horse's head, forcing the horse to turn as the gate opened. The new design needed only one person to open the gate. It also eliminated the issue of rider's knees getting hung. This design is still the primary one in use.

Circa 1918, at the Cattleman's Carnival in Garden City, Kansas, there were two fadeaway chutes constructed. The gates were made out of two gates long enough to hold a horse, one on each side with about a 3 1/2 foot gate across the front and a drop gate behind the horse. The side gates had drag pipes which were fastened into the ground to hold them in line. It took three men to operate them.[51] In 1919, Cheyenne Frontier Days, front delivery "head on" chutes were designed. In 1928, they changed to side delivery chutes. They built eight chutes parallel to the arena. They allowed the loading of up to eight broncs at one time, which was more efficient. In 1927, Fort Worth switched to side delivery chutes, they built four of them, and the event ran faster. Verne Elliot is credited with this chute type.43

Prior to the existence of bronc riding, all saddles were "A" forks. In the beginning of bronc riding, cowboys folded their slickers and tied them across the front of their saddle seats behind the horns with the leather strings (latigos) typically found on all saddles in those days. That extra padding supplied the rider extra support and material to grip with his knees. Then some saddle makers created "saddle rolls". The saddle roll had padded bulges which could be buckled on the front end of the saddletree to support the knee. All of these developments led to the creation of swelled fork saddle trees which the riders used.[51] In 1951, Fay Ward invented the Fay Ward Bronc Riding Tree, which had a concave cantleboard, the idea was the make bronc riding easier. It took some time, but a saddle manufacturer adapted it. For a time, it was used extensively.[7]

Saddle bronc riders basically had ridden any type of saddle in an event that was at hand. Many riders had been riding the old, high-forked, high-cantled freak trees. "The old freak trees were something to see," explained George Pruett in a 1968 Hoofs and Horns issue. "They were set about 4 inches higher in front than the saddle that eventually became the chosen saddle for saddle bronc riding. They were cut away under the swells, and you could spur clear over a horse's neck. They a 6 inch cantle, and were almost a centerfire rig. Some were only 12 inches long and it looked like once a rider got set down in one a horse would have to turn a complete flip to get a rider out of it."[7]

After the 1919 Pendleton Round-Up, members of that organization, along with leaders of Cheyenne Frontier Days, The Boise, Idaho, rodeo; and the Walla Walla, Washington, rodeo visited saddlemaker Hamley and Company in Pendleton. They discussed saddles and then unanimously adopted a "committee" saddle. The object of standardizing saddles was to ensure more equality between riders. The committee ordered the new saddles and then provided them for competitors in the saddle bronc events at some rodeos.

The saddle was made with round skirts, three-quarter single "R-Z" rigging (a 1915 Hamley patent), and had a flank rigging set farther back than the rear dee ring of a regular double-rigged saddle. It was later designated the "association saddle". The original committee saddle had a straight-up 5 inch cantle, and a 14 inch swell fork, but this 5 inch cantle had been made "laid back" to about 4 1/4 inches. The fork remained, in almost every respect, identical to the 1919 committee saddle. Then the committee adopted the modified "Ellensburg" tree as the official saddle.[44] Later, Boise and Walla Walla stopped their shared ownership of the saddles. Cheyenne ordered their own saddle. Pendleton kept the original six saddles, and they were the sole users. However, hundreds of copies were sold across the United States.

Before the introduction of uniform saddles, riders were required to "spur high in the shoulders" on the first jump, then "high behind the cinch" the rest of the way. Riders attempted to ride the new committee saddle in the same manner. Many riders tried to ride the committee saddle the old style. Some quit. Others struggled until they managed the new style. Then it became clear the best way to ride was to sit straight up and use a longer rein. Riders started spurring broncs in the neck or shoulders all the way rather than from the cinch. Riders used around a foot longer rein than more seasoned riders. The old style of riding did continue until about the mid-1930s before the "hump over the front and spur back style" started to fade away.[7]

In 1928, at Madison Square Garden, Bob Askin, Howard Tegland, Perry Ivory, and Earl Thode, who won the bronc riding event that year, rejected the Shipley saddles provided by organization management. Rather, the group insisted on using Hamley association saddles. They made their point.[11]

Per Charley Beals, who had over fifty years experience making saddles, and competed in roughstock in his early years, a variety of saddlemakers produced copies of the original Hamley association saddle. The Denver Dry Goods made a Powder River saddle which was looked upon as the Turtles association saddle and which bore the Cowboy Turtle stamp. Their model sported a lower front and set lower on the horse. Burel Mulkey and Ed Curtis might have assisted in designing it. Champion saddle riders Casey Tibbs and Gerald Roberts both used the Turtle association saddle. After apprenticing for ten years at the Hamley Saddle Shop for nine years, Duff Severe opened his own shop. In the 1970s, Beals' grandson, Derek Clark, used a Hamley saddle when he started competing. In 1922, Earl Bascom made a hornless saddle. They called it the "Mulee". The Mulee was used at Cardston, Alberta Stampede the first time.[45]

Some of the more adventurous cowboys enjoyed bareback bronc riding on the range. It was a form of entertainment for the cowboys during branding of young range horses. The cowboy would straddle the horse while the horse was on the ground for branding and grasp his mane in each hand. As the horse arose, the cowboy would push with his front hand and pull with his back hand, which let him keep his balance.[45]

The event bareback riding occurred as a rodeo event much later than saddle bronc riding. However, there was one exception. In 1912, in Calgary, Alberta, the first stampede held a bareback riding event. In 1914, Prescott, Arizona, added the event. In 1927, Fort Worth, Texas added the event. In 1929, Sidney, Iowa, added the event. In 1931, Burwell, Nebraska, added the event. In 1920 and 1921, Cheyenne Frontier Days held an exhibition of bareback riding. It wasn't until 1936 that Frontier Days established bareback riding as an event with prizes. In 1938, the rules at Frontier Days stated: "Surcingles will be selected and furnished by the management. No contestant will be allowed to use any other surcingles." Modern day cowboys own their own surcingles. It wasn't until 1948 that bareback riding was an event at the Pendleton Round-Up.

From 1946 through 1973, Charley Beals made the surcingles that most bareback riders used. Actually, about 90 percent of champion bareback riders used his rigging. The Rodeo Sports News published an advertisement about his work: "The Rigging the Champions Use, Get the Best by Charley Beals: Double Rawhide Handhold, Rigging Body has Three Thicknesses of Leather. Can make Left, Straight, Right-Handed, or Make Handhold to Your Specifications"[52]

About 1920 some rodeos added a bareback riding event. But the event only paid around one-half the amount that the saddle bronc event paid. There were some riders who participated in both events. But for the most part, the bareback rider only competed in bareback riding. Eventually, the "manehold" was phased out and riding with loose ropes took over. Typically, a manila rope, with a honda in one end, cinched around the horse's girth, laid across both hands, one on each side of the horse's withers. The rope was tightened by the chute man and laid back across the rider's hand again. No wrap was allowed, and the rider had to grip hard, to keep it from slipping. As bareback riding developed, the leather surcingle which was a two handhold rigging, became standard. Different rodeo committees used various types as there was no standard size, make, or style.[45]

A bronc without a saddle has all the advantages. Riding with only a surcingle adds difficulty for the rider and provides added thrill to the bareback event. The rider must depend on his own manpower to overcome the movements of the crafty horse. He has no reins or stirrups to assist him. Also, horses are rarely used in both events at the same time.

In 1934, Johnnie Schneider wrote this account of bareback riding for Popular Science Monthly magazine: "Although no points toward the national championship are awarded for riding the wild broncs bareback, this is always a thriller. We straddle a bony back in the chute, grab a half-inch rope passed lasso-like around the bronco's body and hang on with one hand. Since the wild horses are ridden without halters they have a free head to toss around as they like. As soon as they stop bucking, which usually comes at the of ten seconds, when we quit spurring, they break into a run".[49]

The bareback event requires exceptional balance. In bareback riding, the horses are usually smaller and faster. Because they are not restricted by a saddle, they have more freedom to jump, spin, and kick. Often the winner is decided by who keeps the best balance and spurs the hardest. This event requires a rider to get his spurs over the break of the horse's shoulders and spur the horse when his feet are on the ground on the first jump out of the chute. This event was finally recognized as one of five major events in 1932.

Since almost the very beginning of rodeo, women have been competitors. In facts, since the 1880s, there is documentation of them, although their numbers were rare. In her book, Cowgirls of the Rodeo, Mary Lou LeCompte wrote that in the 1880s sixteen women were documented participating in rodeo or Wild West shows. Included were Annie Shaffer and Lulu Bele Parr. Of course, not all participants were bronc riders. In 1900, Lucille Mulhall and her other family members participated in her father's Wild West show. Will Rogers, her peer, who was a young trick roper is often considered responsible for creating the title "Cowgirl" through his references to Mulhall. However, she performed more roping and bull dogging than bronc riding.[15]

In 1904, Bertha Kaepernik rode a horse from Sterling, Colorado to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Once there, she put on a bronc riding display. Because of her agility to perform and her ability, she as known as the woman who set the example at Cheyenne Frontier Days in saddle bronc riding. In 1906, at Frontier Days, Mrs. A.C. Clayton won. In 1907, Esther Pawson won. In 1914, ladies bronc riding had a $300 first place prize and a $250 second place prize. Saddle bronc rules were the same for ladies and men, with a couple exceptions. There was a 16 inch fork and an option to ride with hobbled stirrups.[30]

In 1913, at the Pendleton Round-Up, the World Championship Cowgirls Bucking Contest began. For first place the winner received $200 and a sterling silver Loving Cup appraised at $75. For second place the winner received $100. The riders drew for their mounts. The judges determined how many times the riders had to ride for them to choose the winners. Riders used a plain halter, split reins, all riding slick, and no saddle forks over 15 inches. In the first year, Nettie Hawn won. In 1914, Bertha Kaepernik Blancett won.

At the Calgary Stampede's inaugural rodeo, they held events for women. In 1916, several rodeos and comparable events occurred in New York and other eastern locations. Fans held women bronc riders in great esteem, such riders as Prairie Rose Henderson, Tillie Baldwin, and Fannie Sperry Steele. By the 1920s, some cowboys and cowgirls had earned an income well beyond the average salary of their time period.

In 1917, Mrs. Ed Wright won the Championship Lady Bronc Riding at Cheyenne Frontier Days. A few weeks later, she was killed during a bronc ride in Denver. In 1929, Bonnie McCarroll, age 32, died while riding a bronc during the Pendleton Round-Up. She was thrown from her horse and then dragged around the arena. Pendleton discontinued the cowgirl events that year. Cheyenne had discontinued their cowgirl events the year prior. Gradually more rodeos also discontinued their cowgirl events. The more rodeo developed, the more it seemed that the cowboy and cowgirl sports grew apart.

Rodeos into the 1920s

The 1920s was full of additional rodeos starting up in the West. Some examples of ones that continue today are: Burwell, Nebraska; Grover, Colorado; Red Bluff, California and Hayward, California.

"In 1921, in Hayward, California, Harry Rowell held a rodeo on the athletic field of Burbank School. In 1925, he moved the rodeo to his ranch in Dublin Canyon." The rodeo is still held in modern time and recognized as one of the best in that region. Rowell kept good stock. He also helped promote rodeos for nearby communities.[38]

In the northern plains of Colorado is the community of Grover. It lies 60 miles from both Cheyenne and Fort Collins. In the present day it still requires traveling a dirt road to reach it. In 1922, they added a rodeo to the Grover Community Fair. Since then it has been known as the "Biggest Little Rodeo in the West". In its inaugural year and again in 1923, Glen Snyder won the bronc riding. The first year he won $20 and $25 the next year. The bucking horses using in the rodeo belonged to the local residents. The owner of the best bucking horse was paid $15.

In 1929, Earl Anderson started the Grover Rodeo. His bucking stock was well known: Tar Baby, Andy Gump, Cheyenne, and Two-Row. Two-Row's name came from the fact that he was used to pull a two-row cultivator in a field when not being bucked. In years that the rodeo generated negative balance sheets, Anderson might use some of his own funds to keep it going. He also ran the Greeley Rodeo from 1930 to 1960. Later, the Grover Rodeo was renamed to the Earl Anderson Memorial Rodeo.[64]

In 1918, east of Los Molinos, California, some cattlemen held a get-together on the A.H. Clough ranch. In 1921, 30 businessmen and ranchers from Vina, Chico, and Red Bluff, California, formed the North California RoundUp Association. Then they held a rodeo the last of April. In October of 1921, the same men held a rodeo during the County Fair. The Millerick Brothers shipped in three railroad cars. The contents of the cars were livestock: 40 bulls, 35 wild steers, and 10 wild mules. They scheduled 17 events. The events were held on the last day, and more 7,000 spectators watched.

Norman Cowan won first place in saddle bronc riding, and the prize was a $400 saddle. Shorty Davis won second. The entrance fee was $10. In 1992, they held the rodeo again but separately from the fair. Little Jeff, owned by Jack Hawn, was the best bucking horse, who bucked off 7 contestants. Perry Ivory won the $400, and a belt.[67]

In 1921, Homer C. Stokes created the first rodeo for Burwell, Nebraska. It was a local affair where community business firms donated $25. They held the rodeo in a stubblefield on the John Shultz farm east of Burwell. They used steel posts and poultry netting to enclose the racetrack. Then they took two wagonloads of bridge timbers and piled them against a straw pile to create a grandstand to accommodate about 200 spectators. It was referred to as the Garfield County Frontier Fair and Rodeo until 1925. The livestock came from area ranchers and farmers. In 1921, Buck Kraus won a $25 cash prize and a pair of spurs when he won the bronc riding event. Tracy Shafer won second.[68]

Broncbusters of the Era (1910s-1920s)

• Hugh Strickland
• Jack Sundown
• Yakima Canutt
• Rufus Rollins
• Thurkel James "Turk" Greenough
• Leonard Stroud
• Paddy Ryan

Early Broncs (1910s-1920s)

• Tipperary
• Tygh Valley
• Talcum Powder
• Hell Bent
• Red Hoy
• Made In Germany

The Depression Era

Wild West shows had been going to London earlier than rodeo. In 1924, the first international rodeo occurred in London, England. Printed in the Official Programme and Souvenir were the following: "Because the contests embody the everyday activities in the life of a cowboy, and because the activities demand skill, strength, courage and all the other qualities that go into the making of a real man, the Rodeo is regarded by the people of the cattle-raising countries, Canada, Australia, and the United States, as insurance against any possible development of a race of molly-coddles."

The article went further: "The contestants at a Rodeo are not paid performers. They do not work on a salary. They pay their own living expenses, travel expenses, and entry fees. Their only hope of financial reward lies in their ability to win first, second, or third place in the events they enter."[24] The rodeo held in Wembley Stadium offered a total purse of $20,000 sterling.

Many rodeos traveled to foreign countries thereafter to promote and perform. These rodeos may have been promotionally successful, but none of them were financially successful. In fact, some were stranded and had to find their own way home. The difference is that rodeos were dependent on winnings unlike Wild West shows. For the rodeos, some sources for prizes reneged or paid less than first offered. However, cowboys and cowgirls always try to get the most of out their experiences. They came home with some stories to tell.

Since its beginning, the rodeo has been fighting the image of being a "show" rather than a sport. This is due at least in part to the Wild West shows that covered the land prior to the introduction of rodeo in some areas.

William J. Clemans, once attempted to form an all rodeo team and wrote the following to that effort in the Tucson Daily Citizen in February 1931: "Although Rodeos have become popularly considered as sports events there is no question in my mind, or in anyone's mind who is rodeo-educated, that rodeos should be ranked among the major sports. Though misuse and the ballyhooed circuit rodeo and fly-by-night shows, a misconception has arisen that the rodeo is a spectacle and not a sport. This is truly a slander to a great game, because where properly sponsored, the rodeo offers greater courage, daring, and thrills for the spectator and requires greater courage, daring, and technique from the contestant than any of the major sports now so popular"[7] Mr. Clemens choose three examples to showcase the best in rodeo that year: Earl Thode in bronc riding, Dick Shelton in bulldogging, and Jake McClure in roping.

This attempt to have the public see rodeo as a sport was ongoing. In July 1939, Cy Taillon, a well-known rodeo announcer, said "In our work today we try to emphasize the contest element to 'build up' the cowboys as the fine athletes they are, playing at one of our original and most spectacular sports. We need a lot of work in this respect to erase the stigma left by the so-called "Wild West Shows" invariably billed as 'rodeos'."[7]

Rodeos continued to make improvements every year. Some of the bigger rodeos that made improvements include Prescott, Pendleton, Calgary, Cheyenne, and Sidney, Iowa. As events grew, rodeos continued to get better stock, judges, and help. This was also a decade in which cowboys started to travel to bit farther distances only to find that those rodeos were not what they expected.

In 1929, the Rodeo Association of America (RAA) was formed by some rodeo committees. The headquarters were in Salinas, California. This new rodeo organization was formed to correct rodeo shortcomings and produce more uniformity. Cowboys often complained that purses for winners were advertised for a large amount. But when they arrived at the rodeo, they found it was smaller than advertised. This caused some unhappy cowboys. Other goals for the association were various rules to ensure fair play, animal welfare, advertising, and keep the proper perspective to the public. They also kept and collected member fees and dues.

Not all rodeos joined the RAA, but eventually a large number did join. The RAA tracked event records. They also maintained a point system for competitors, which was used to determine the world champion. From 1929 onward, there was only one rodeo world champion for each event recognized through the RAA.

The Great Depression took over the nation it came into the 1930s. Rodeo had to deal with the effects of the depression too. It was not uncommon for a rodeo to want to be more conservative. Contestants were finding that winning a rodeo often didn't give them enough prize money to pay their expenses. The cowboys grew more frustrated. The RAA was concerned about the cowboys of course, but they all had to look after the stock, the contractors, and the rodeo committees. However, this was not a new complaint for the sport of rodeo. In 1910, at the Jefferson County Fair, held at the Stockyards Stadium in Denver, the cowboys and cowgirls formed the Broncho Busters Union. Their demand was for $5 per day for contestant wild-horse riders. The Denver Republican, a local newspaper, reported that imposters attempting to enter threatened the respectability of real cowboy.

In 1916, Fay Ward used the magazine The Wild Bunch to attempt to organize cowboys, and provide for injured and retired ones. He proposed an organization that could arrange its own contests, support management of the organization and contests, financially support cowboys "under doctor's orders" and families of deceased contestants. It was not acted on at the time, but seeds were sown.

In 1932, at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, in Denver, Colorado, M.D. Fanning, talked with cowboys regarding organizing to raise the standards of the sport and provide a pool of funds for the injured while competing. Also discussed was inducing some rodeos to increase prize money. The group grew to 95 members. They collected $300 by passing a hat. They retained Abe Lefton as the chairman. They organized eight committees, one for each rodeo event. Even though it seemed like right time for this type of organization, it collapsed. By mid-30s, many organizations in the United States had formed unions or organizations to improve their negotiation positions.

Despite attempts to correct it, cowboys' frustration over low prize money continued unabated. Rodeo committees seemed to ignore this issue. In 1936 A group of cowboys had been working on plans to strike during the Boston Garden Rodeo. This rodeo was held just after the Madison Square Garden Rodeo. Colonel W.T. Johnson, an elite rodeo producer of that decade, produced both rodeos. His rodeos were the greatest of that time. The cowboys knew if they could force him to accept their recommendations, other producers would follow. Hugh Bennett and others attempted to persuade Colonel Johnson while at the MSG Rodeo, but he ignored their suggestions. He moved his stock to Boston and started setting up there. He believed the cowboys were bluffing.

On November 3, in Boston, on opening night, 61 cowboys who had signed the Cowboys' Turtle Association (CTA) document, therein refusing to compete until their demands were met, sat in the grandstand. They were watching to see what would happen when the events had no competitors. Colonel Johnson persuaded stable boys and hands to ride instead. When they would buck off, the cowboys would jeer and laugh. It was a disaster. Johnson ended up that night agreeing to the terms, including larger purses. The cowboys immediately went back to work. It didn't solve all of the cowboys' problems, but it was a good start. CTA president Everett Bowman said: "Protection of the cowboys was the reason for forming the Association: to keep shows from holding our entrance and to make them pay purses according to the attendance. Also, experienced and capable judges were required. Before the Turtle Association was formed, lots of boys won bronc riding on their reputation, but now it has to be on their ability."[7]

In 1939, the Southwest Rodeo Association was formed in Fort Worth, Texas. Similar to the RAA it was created to fill the same needs in a different part of the country. Few Southwestern rodeos were members of the RAA.

In 1945, only nine years after its formation, the Cowboys Turtle Association was renamed to the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA). It grew larger, gained more credentials, and more amenities. In 1975, the name was changed again to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The PRCA is still in use today and is the highest professional level rodeo cowboys can join.

There were some issues that cowboys had to deal with that were out of a rodeo organization's hands. Such was the case with rodeo travel. In 1916, Guy Weadick needed to arrange transportation for cowboys to get back to his Sheepshead Bay Speedway rodeo. He sorted the cowboys into three groups of 25 or more each. The railroad provided a free baggage car for their horses. One group left from Cheyenne after Frontier Days was over, another from Fort Worth, Texas, and the last from Iowa with C.B. Irwin and the usual shipment of rodeo stock.[7]

By the late 20s, automobiles were still undependable and underpowered. Most cowboys did not have automobiles. They usually tried to hitch ride with others headed his direction. Occasionally, he and others might catch a train going their way. Roughstock riders were especially capable of catching rides because their baggage was light and required little space. Sometimes when the winner bought a train ticket the others would "hop aboard" when the coast was clear.

Occasionally a group of cowboys would pool their money and rent an Armor Palace car. The cars resembled baggage cars but were pulled by passenger trains. They ran 70 or 80 feet long with compartments at each end and a 12 x 12 foot space in the doorway. The cowboys transfer control of about six head of horses over to a groom. The groom would safeguard the horses, tack, saddles, trunks, and other gear.[51]

In 1928, Gib Potter, a trick roper, and Hughie Long, a saddle bronc rider, hitched a ride with calf roper Irby Mundy from Miami, Texas. to Calgary. Potter told this story in a Western Horseman article in which his experience displays the trials of traveling between rodeos in that time period. Mundy had a new Ford light delivery truck and a horse trailer. The horse trailer was a two-wheeler, no springs, and no brakes. The trailer had 4 foot sides which were constructed of 1 x 4 inch hardwood. The tailgate doubled as a ramp. The axle ran over the floorboards. The horse's head and neck stuck over the front of the trailer. The horse wasa not tied down in the event of a rollover.

Mundy's horse, Happy, was a good roping horse. Any roper that borrowed Happy had to pay 1/4 of the prize money he won while mounted on him. A few steer wrestlers also used Happy. Mundy's future prospects were excellent. He even won the calf roping title a few years later..

Mundy and his passengers left Miami the first night and made it to Guymon, Oklahoma and then bedrolled. They rose at 4:30 a.m. and got on their way the next day. When they got near Springfield, Colorado, they stopped at Mundy's ranch. They all pitched to get some of Mundy's chores done. The next morning they left early. They could only manage a 30 mile average on the highways which were mostly dirt and gravel; pavement generally existed on main streets for two blocks in larger towns. They drove through Sterling, Colorado, Sidney, Nebraska, and then Alliance, Nebraska. They spent two days at the Alliance Rodeo. Hughie placed in the saddle bronc riding and won some money.

Open to saddle bronc riders only, the pay was $3 a head to mount a horse. The arena was the infield of a racetrack. The pickup men never stood a chance. After the first long ride, contestants were few. Hughie got five mounts before being cut off. He would spur the pony very hard such that it would chill and slow him down. Hughie would then step off and head back for another. In a weak moment, Hughie had loaned his saddle to a couple riders back in Texas. He was irritated when he learned they had used it to cover their entry fees at Alliance. However, they had won enough money to bail it out before Hughie got angry.

It just poured rain at that rodeo. Breezy Cox sent word ahead by wire to hold his horse for him. He drew Made In Germany. That big black horse laid Breezy out like a carpet. Cox hit the ground so hard he didn't talk for two hours. Oklahoma Curley remarked that must be dead.

Once the rodeo had ended, Gib, Hughie, and Mundy traveled through Hot Springs, Custer, Sundance, Gillette, Sheridan, and Billings. They found a stall in the fairgrounds for Happy. The next day they headed for another rodeo in Great Falls. The Great Falls rodeo was a big rodeo with excellent stock, big crowds, and lots of known name contestants. Floyd Stillings won the saddle bronc riding. Mundy picked up cash through day money, the average, and mounting. After Great Falls, they headed to Calgary. They picked up an additional passenger in Great Falls, Cheyenne Kizer. Late in the day, a connecting rod gave out. They unloaded Happy. Then they unhooked the trailer. Eventually someone stopped and offered to haul Mundy and his truck to a garage. Hughie and Gib waited it out until Munday returned.

After the repairs, they headed North until they crossed into Canada at Carway. That is where they ran into miles of mud. They ended up unloading Happy, and Hughie rode the horse while the truck and trailer negotiated the mud. They ended up with quite a following that had caught up to them which was behind Mundy's rig. Billy Kingham's car and trailer, then Lloyd Saunders and wife with his Arabian roping horse; then "Black Hat" Bob Crosby and his bay horse; Earl Thode; Breezy Cox; and Floyd Stillings; and last was a VIP and his wife who were on a tour in a Pierce Arrow limousine, complete with chauffeur. The caravan did run out of mud so they reached their destination.[32]

There is another story about early travel regarding Herman Linder. The first trip that his wife came with him was in 1933. At the end of July they left Cardston, Alberta, in a 1929 Model-A Ford. They had their luggage in the back and it was piled high with winter clothing because they knew they would not return until November or December.

When they reached Chicago, Illinois, the car was in poor shape after traveling a few thousand miles of gravel roads. As Linder turned into The Loop, the engine died. Also, the starter wouldn't work. Linder got out of the car and cranked the engine to life. After they left Chicago, they managed to make it to St. Louis, Missouri. By that time, it did sound like the engine would fall apart. The vibrations sounded like they were shaking everything loose. Their answer was a used 1931 Model-A with 2,000 miles which ran like new and was priced low at $200 plus a trade-in.

Linder was grossing anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000 per year in his rodeo career. During the middle of the Great Depression, that was considered prosperous. The Linders covered about 100 miles in three hours. They traveled the continent on those dusty roads. When they arrived at the larger rodeos, where they could stay for a longer period of time, anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month, that was a real luxury. The real issue were the small towns, as back then there were no motels. There were the occasional tourist cabins, roughly hewn, representative of farm granaries. At Sidney, Iowa, they stayed in private homes due to there being only one hotel which was always full during the rodeo.

Linder's wife cooked meals for them. Most rodeo people cooked their own meals. The cowboys whose wives were not along with them or ones who weren't married ate with the others. The Linders usually had 2-3 others with them to dinner. Keeping clothes clean on the road was also an issue. When wives were on the road, they usually had to wash out socks and shirts. Linder's wife also washed out items for the other cowboys too. "I had to wash Herman's things and one or two extra things didn't matter", she said.[33] Hugh Bennett recalled, about the early days, "We slept on an old mattress in the back of the car or slept on the ground or in a tent. My wife, Josie, would have to roll up the tent in record time to make it to the next rodeo."[37]

Train travel was another method of traveling to rodeos for a cowboy. It was especially useful for the cowboy with horses or other stock. Often they would get on the car and ride with their stock if there were no passenger cars. There was a special train named the Rodeo Train. This train's only purpose was to carry contestants, stock, and anything else necessary to produce a rodeo from Texas to Madison Square Garden. In 1932, Colonel W.T. Johnson, rodeo producer, needed to transport his World Champion Rodeo stock and menage to New York. So, he hired a special through train of closed cars. He loaded 500 head of livestock aboard and took the train right through to New York. On the way through, he halted rail traffic, cleared tracks, altered schedules, backed passenger trains off on sidings, and generally did whatever he needed to get his train through straightaway, as reported by the San Antonio Light.[57] The one-way cost to the Colonel was $23,804.

Johnson also sent used the special train to send the bulk of his staff and nine carloads of livestock to Chicago. The train departed from San Antonio, Texas, made a stop in Fort Worth, Texas, and a stop in Oklahoma, to pick up some contestants and other equipment. A Boston Garden program from 1936 had printed: "It costs about $25,000 to move the stock from Johnson's ranch Texas. All steel baggage cars are equipped with electric lights for horses. It takes about 50 hours to make the trip, traveling at a rate of about 50 mph, with no stops, except to water the engine."[72]

In 1937, When Johnson quit producing rodeos, his arena director Everett Colborn took over for the new owners. The Rodeo Train continued to operate. It carried contestants thousands of miles. There was a small change, it now originated from the small Edna Hill community near Dublin, Texas. The train loaded up in Dublin, picked up contestants in Fort Worth, rested the stock in Iowa, and then finished in New York City. The entire route was greeted by well wishers and fans cheering them on.

The Rodeo Train consisted of 19 stock cars, 2 baggage cars containing equipment, one chair car, one to two sleeping cars, and one dining car. The train was totally private, and its sole purpose was the rodeo.

The arena secretary at Madison Square Garden, Frank Alvord, owned a cafe on the northside of Fort Worth. Colborn contracted with him to supply food to feed the people on the train. This is because the Santa Fe Railroad did not supply a decent dining car in its early years. The dining car was just an empty galley car. It had a table down the middle with benches on the sides. Alvord would have a steer butchered in Dublin with a basic menu. Flaxie Fletcher kept track of the diners. It was a impossible task because it was too chaotic. "Fred fixed these steaks, and they covered the whole plate." said Flaxie. "They turned out to be tough and no one could cut them with their knives. The lights went out briefly and when they came back on everyone was holding their steaks in their hands and trying to eat them with their fingers."[34]

The train was always shipping stock, but it did not have cattle cars. It had express cars. These express cars, palace cars, were fully enclosed. They each had stalls built for saddle horses. They would load 16 saddle horses in each car. Then they would load about 30 bucking horses in the others. All together they would take about 200 horses to New York. As well, there were steers, calves, and bulls. To them, the animal safety was their priority. Fort Madison, Iowa, became the regular stop to let off all the stock for water and rest.

After they arrived in New York, they unloaded the stock at 49th Street, near the Hudson River. They trucked the bulls to the Garden. They drove the other stock right down the street.

The Madison Square Garden Rodeo in 1937 was Colborn's first production of the rodeo since taking charge. Paul Carney, of Galeton, Colorado, won the saddle bronc riding and bull riding; Kid Fletcher of Hugo, Colorado, won the bareback bronc riding; and Brida Gafford, of Casper, Wyoming, won the cowgirl's bronc riding.

The rodeo ended on Sunday night in the area of 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. By 1:00 a.m., the stock was loaded on the train. The crew worked all night, and usually was done about 10:00 a.m. After that, they hooked up the cars and the Rodeo Train departed for Boston. The trip to Boston was just an overnight trip. On Tuesday, they unloaded the train at the Boston Garden. Wednesday and Thursday gave everybody a rest time. By Friday, there was another parade. Then another two-week rodeo began. By the time the train returned to Texas, two months passed.

The women bronc riders in the early days were viewed favorably by rodeo spectators and fans. The way that the women dressed was appealing and many of the women were beautiful. Women such as Vaughn Krieg and her sister Gene Creed, Lucyle Richard, and Alice and Marge Greenough for example. However, after the late 1920s competition changed. Some rodeos continued to host exhibitions and pay women bronc riders. Madison Square Garden actually went on into the 1930s with lady bronc riders. The women who choose this profession in these decades were outstanding athletes and made waves wherever they went. Colonel W. T. Johnson took advantage of their abilities to attract publicity and used attractive cowgirls anytime possible to promote his rodeo.

Alice and Marge Greenough taught themselves bronc riding at home in Montana. Their father, Packsaddle Ben, raised all his children to be self-sufficient. One of those things was breaking and riding horses. Both girls recall once staying at a line shack at the ages of approximately ten or eleven, tending cattle, breaking horses, and taking care of themselves, with a adult rarely coming by to check on them. Marge's son, Chuck Henson, said he remembers hearing his mother laugh loudly when she rode broncs across the arena, because she enjoyed it so much. Alice was World Champion Lady Bronc Rider four times. She also owned her own stock contracting business later on and produced rodeos in the Montana region.

Women competitors had no intention of leaving rodeo. In 1948, in San Angelo, Texas, a group of women who met together formed the Girls Rodeo Association, which later became the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). The association held all-girl rodeos across the entire country.[26] The WPRA now sponsors barrel racing events at 700 to 800 PRCA-sanctioned rodeos annually. It runs between 1,500 and 2,000 members. It has a sister organization with whom it shares offices in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Professional Women's Rodeo Association (PWRA). The PWRA holds approximately 20 to 25 all-girl rodeos per year and runs to about 200 members. Events that are sanctioned by the PWRA are bareback riding, bull riding, breakaway calf roping, tie down calf roping, steer roping, and barrel racing.

There was an exception when the women began their own organization in the late 1940s. Corinne Williams stayed with the RCA due to her predilection for bulldogging steers, an event not sanctioned by the girls organization. After having stints with several Wild West outfits, Williams gave exhibitions of bulldogging and bronc riding. Don Bell, an historian from Wyoming, told the author, "She was a good hand, and always took the advice given her by the experienced cowboys of her day."

Broncbusters of the Era (1930s)

• Pete Knight (rodeo)
• Earl Thode
• Leo "Pick" Murray
• Jerry Ambler
• Fritz Truan
• Alvin "Alvie Gordon
• Herman Linder

Broncs of the Era (1930s)

• Crying Jew
• Will James
• Midnight (horse)
• Five Minutes to Midnight
• Ham What Am a.k.a. Jimmy Simpson a.k.a. Salty Dog
• Hell's Angel
• Hell-To-Set

Growing Pains - The War Years

In the 1940s, rodeo continued to become more popular, especially all around the country. The Cowboys Turtle Association (CTA) and the Rodeo Association of America (RAA) were improving their structures and representation of the sport. By 1940, the CTA had 1,100 members. This figure included the women bronc riders, trick riders, trick ropers, clowns, and announcers. The organizations raised their dues from $5 to $10 per year. The CTA accepted the RAA's rules for contests. Though the CTA did ask that stock contractors or contract acts who were CTA members or were providing stock for a CTA event not to work "open" shows. In 1940, the historic Prescott, Arizona, rodeo was just an amateur show then. At the time, the CTA President, Everett Bowman, wrote in an open letter in the Hoofs and Horns magazine that appearing in this rodeo would "put them [cowboys] in bad with the CTA." Bowman also mentioned that the Livington, Montana, and Reno, Nevada, rodeos had not been approved by the CTA, due to their purses being too uneven.[7]. CTA cowboys should only enter rodeos sanctioned by the association or they would jeopardize their standings.

In 1940, when the CTA held their annual meeting at the Belverdere Hotel in New York during the Madison Square Garden rodeo, the members picked representatives for the saddle bronc and the bareback riders. The Denver Rodeo was approaching fast. The CTA wanted Denver to add calf roping to their list of contested events. Denver did not outright refuse, but made it clear they did not want to add it. CTA's board of directors voted on the issue of whether to compete at the Denver Rodeo. The results were 5 to 2 not to compete there. Once the Denver officials were informed of the results, calf roping was added. For 1941 the Denver Rodeo was reported as an acredited rodeo for CTA members. The CTA released the stock contractors from a prior requirement not to supply stock to an amateur show.[7]

The RAA had growing pains during this period. While the RAA encouraged all members (rodeo committees) to have major events "open to the world," they also agreed they would not accept, for contesting, any person who was not satisfactory both the CTA and RAA. They publicized these rules changes when necessary. For example, the RAA in the saddle bronc riding rules, following the phrase, "horse must be spurred first jump out of the starting place," it added, "and rider must continue to spur throughout ride to the satisfaction of the judges."[7] So many new ideas were offered; some became rule changes and some did not.

Only some rodeos became members of the RAA. In 1940 one animal rights group carried placards during the rodeo. The placards stated "Rodeo is unfair to animals." The group harassed one California rodeo. Then the group filed lawsuits the next day against the rodeo and the RAA. The rodeo in question was not sanctioned by the RAA so the lawsuit against them was dismissed quickly. Despite this, the rodeo committee asked the RAA for help paying the legal fees anyway. The RAA had other issues to contend to at this time, with over 100 rodeo members. Enforcing the requirement of getting purse money to rodeos in time to disburse it was difficult.

On the other hand in 1940, purse amounts were growing. In Cheyenne and Calgary, total purse amounts for saddle bronc $1,600. In Houston, there was a purse of $1,4325. Pendleton and Ogden had a purse amounts of $1,000. Colorado Springs offered $900. Belle Fourche, South Dakota, Wolf Point, Montana, Filer, Idaho, Sheridan, Wyoming, Burwell, Nebraska, and Silver City, New Mexico all had a $600 purse. The bareback riding purses were not quite as high, yet. Calgary's total purse was $300, Cheyenne's was $650, and Houston's was $735.

The industry felt the time was needed for more organization. Some in the rodeo world took action in this direction. On February, 25, 1941, at Hanford, California, some formed the Cowboys' Amateur Association of America. They charged $10 per year for membership. The fee was to be used to run the organization with $5, and the other $5 to be held in a fund for cowboy injury or death. The group copied many of the CTA rules. The rule regarding amateurs was strictly enforced. Any member who won more $500 in a year was no longer an amateur or a member; he automatically become a professional and could no longer compete in the organization.

Another organization that formed in the 1940s was proposed by Dr. Leo Brady, of Endicott, New York. Brady was a 25 year fan of rodeo. The organization was the Rodeo Fans of America proposed in 1941. The organization grew very quickly. They accomplished a great deal of promotion of rodeo, especially in the areas of the country that did not see rodeos held.

Fred S. McCargar, secretary of the RAA, published an open letter in the Chicago Tribune. It was in 1942 and was a question and answer format about rodeo. It was similar to today's format of the FAQ. It's on page 85; I'm not summarizing it.

The next month, some rule changes were made. For bronc riding, "add to first paragraph the following: 'Where three judges are used, one judge to mark horse and two judges to mark the ride, the three figures only to be added to determine the total points.'" For bareback riding, the following was added to reasons for granting re-rides: "If horse fails to buck, re-ride to be granted at the discretion of the judges. Horse must be spurred in shoulder first jump out of the chute."

By 1942, World War II was in full swing. So many rodeo cowboys enlisted and went to war without waiting to be drafted. The magazine Hoofs and Horns became a vital source of information on defense and also regarding the cowboys' status overseas. In April 1942 headlines read: "Real Job Lies Ahead for Rodeo Profession." The article stated: "A colonel in the army told me only yesterday that he felt that the rodeo was one of the finest morale builders for the army of any other community event. He urged that every rodeo be held that possibly could be, and that admissions to soldiers be made just as low as possible." This was not possible in all cases. There were rodeos where all the manpower remaining at home was working in defense plants, causing the rodeo to shut down. But there were also many rodeos still running. There were even some cowboys in the military who came to the rodeos in uniform and competed. It was a real patriotic time in the United States history.

Hoofs and Horns continued its coverage on the cowboys. It was filled with vital information on them. The rationing of gas and tires in the country made traveling long distances difficult. Most cowboys found a way, including hitchhiking. Camp Roberts, California, hosted a successful rodeo on its base. Other camps in the country were encouraged to do the same. Some cowboys stationed across seas put on rodeos in various countries. It required skillful improvising when certain types of stock were not available.[7]

Foghorn Clancy, a rodeo announcer and reporter to various rodeo periodicals, wrote an article in the October 1943 issue of Hoofs and Horns. See page 87.

There was one cowboy who sacrificed his life for his country in World War II. Fritz Truan was killed on Iwo Jima on February 28, 1945.

In 1945, lots of changes took place to rodeo. The Cowboys' Turtle Association was renamed to the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA). The RCA moved their headquarters from Phoenix, Arizona to Fort Worth, Texas. The RCA offered medical and life insurance to its members for the circumstances of injury or death in an approved rodeo. They charged $12 a year for the insurance. Everett Bowman, who had been the president of the organization since its founding in 1936, resigned. He stated in an article of Hoofs and Horns, "I told everyone when it was suggested that we hire a business representative that they could count me out. I was never in favor of such an extravagant idea, and I did not think it would work. I always felt that any time the boys could not run their own business it was time to quit...I still think our cowboys are plenty capable of running their own business." He also said that the business manager, Earl Lindsay, the Turtles hired, would make a salary of $7,500 per year plus all expenses. Bowman added that when he resigned there was $7,497 in the checking account and $20,000 invested in a bond.

The National Rodeo Association, formerly known as the Southwest Rodeo Association, and the RAA were merging. They had decided that one organization could now function to handle all the affairs of their professional rodeos. On April 28, 1946, the members voted unanimously to merge. They created the role of a rodeo commissioner to carry out the policies of the association and work with the contestants. The new association was named the International Rodeo Association (IRA). On March 16, 1947, the IRA and the RCA met and agreed upon one set of rules for rodeo competition for the country.

Vignette of a Cowboy's Start: Pat Thompson, who had almost ridden the horse Wind River at Cheyenne Frontier Days Amateur Bucking Finals, a horse that had bucked off the Lindermans and all those "top broncbusters" in 1947. Thompson went on to become a top quarter horse trainer and rancher. This is a made-up story that could be about many of the cowboys that competed at small town rodeos.

In 1938, Buster Ivory started rodeoing in MacArthur, California. After winning a couple contests, he became a full-time contestant. He competed in bull riding and steer stopping. Soon he was a full-time competitor. Ivory is in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

There's a list of winners from different rodeos for the year 1944 on page 93. Then there's a list of winners of different rodeos for the RAA for 1945 on page 93. Then there's a listing of the RCA Point Award System for 1945 on Pages 93-94.

Broncbusters of the Era (1940s)

• Gene Rambo
• Buster Ivory
• Bill Linderman
• Bud Linderman
• Louis Brooks
• Doff Aber

Broncs of the Era (1940s)

• Badger Mountain
• Come Apart
• Joker
• War Paint
• Chief Tyhee
• Wigwam
• Starlight
• Scene Shifter
• Hootchie Kootchie
• Deer Lodge Special

Born and Bred to Buck

There would never have been any broncbusters or roughstock events in rodeo if not for certain horses. If not for the bucking horses, the bronc, or the outlaw, that is. In the early days of the West, the bucking horse and outlaws came from the wild mustangs. However, the herds of wild mustangs became depleted. Some men who bred horses recognized the need for horses who would buck in rodeos. These men helped develop the sorely needed bronc.

Into the void stepped hall of famer Reg Kesler, a competitor turned stock contractor, with more than 50 years experience, from Alberta, Canada. "A good bronc is like any top athlete; he has to have the desire, of course, but he always has to have a lot of HEART." Kesler went on to say, "Watch a good bronc, he'll buck even when he's just in a pasture, with no human beings in sight. He just loves to buck."

When World War I started, it caused a serious demand for horses in Europe. Many countries there sent their representatives to the state of Montana and also to the grasslands of Canada to purchase them. The local cowboys attempted to ride and sometimes rode each horse. The representatives mostly made their decisions on those results. Many broncbusters of that time gained experience that way.

In the eastern part of Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Alberta, Canada, the Great Plains were peppered with wild horses throughout the first part of the Twentieth Century. By the 1930s, the Plains were overflowing with these outlaws. Considering that there was both a drought and a depression in progress, the multitude of wild horses needed to be addressed. Those bands of untamed horses were a combination of mustangs, draft horses, remount horses, and wanderers from Indian reservations. They would likely have perished from starvation if nothing was done about the shortage of water and grass.

The United States government made a deal with Russia to provide them with horse meat. a delicacy in Asia at the time. The current company providing horse meat to them was the the Chapple Brothers Cannery (CBC), which was located in Illinois and east. In the late 1920s, they moved operations closer to the plains. The horse gatherers were paid well. But the hours were long, and they worked seven days a week. This was not a job for all cowboys. It was a job which required a lot of skill. If a cowboy got hurt, he'd need to get better fast. Dick Glenn, historian and former horse hunter, said more than 60,000 horses were running between the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers at the maximium period. The company stayed in the area until 1937.

In 1913, the Miles City RoundUp started. By the mid-1930s, virtually all small communities in the West held rodeos. Stock contractors came from miles around to the RoundUp's northern plain area for the purpose of obtaining potential bucking stock.[56] Then, in 1947, in Billings, Montana, Bill Linderman and Don Wright put together a bucking horse sale. Over 400 range and spoiled horses were ridden. It was $10 mount money for saddle broncs, and $5 for barebacks.[35] From all across the country, stock contractors came. Everett Colborn of Dublin, Texas, bought two carloads of bucking horses along with a pinto saddle bronc for $500. It was a complete success. The next year 664 horses were bucked and sold. Colburn was again the biggest buyer.

In 1950, Les Boe, who owned the Miles City Auction Company, and his son-in-law, Bob Pauley, some yearling steers. They also received 35 bucking horses as well. They didn't need the horses though, so they, knowing how successful the sale in Billings had been, decided to hold a sale in Miles City to sell the horses. Additionally, they bought 200 pinto studs. They alerted others in the area to bring their horses too.

They borrowed 10 bronc saddles from Leo Cremer, a stock contractor from Montana. They contacted all the stock contractors in the area. Initially, the event was to be a one-day sale. It ended up taking several days to buck and sell the horses. The total of horses sold was reported to be between 900 and 1,800. The cowboys made good pay for that time, $10 and $5 mount money. Despite some fights over who got to ride which bronc out of which chute, the sale went on successfully, and Boe and Pauley determined to hold the sale annually.[56]

Even though being paid mount money to bronc riders ceased after several years, they continued to ride. It was especially ideal for inexperienced and younger riders to practice. That institution known as rodeo schools did not yet exist. There was the occasional local rodeo, but mostly opportunities to practice were limited. The Miles City Bucking Sale became famous. It was even featured in many magazines and newspapers. Prominent stock contractors had come to rely on the bucking sale to keep them supplied with bucking horses.

In 1952, the 66 Ranch owned by Alice Greenough made the largest purchase of bucking horses from the sale that year at 68 head. Leo Cremer purchased 58 head. In 1954, Everett Colburn seemed to have paid high for a horse at $250, which was consigned by Ed Vaughn. By 1955, the RCA started sponsoring the sale. That year, Charley Mantle won the saddle bronc contest, and Dick Johnston won the bareback riding. In 1957, Alvin Nelson won $981.20 by coming in first in both the saddle bronc and the bareback events.

In 1960, this now well-known sale bucked a horse out of the chutes every 1 and 1/2 minutes. There were a total of 276 horses bucked out of the chutes. In 1961, the Tooke Rodeo Company paid $350 for a horse, which was consigned by Frank Woods. At the 1966 event, famous bronc riders Jim Tescher and Alvin Nelson rode against each other in a matched ride. Nelson was injured on his second ride. Then Tom Tescher rode Nelson's last bronc. Jim Tescher finished with the highest score.

In 1969, hall of famer Harry Knight paid $875 for a bucking horse, a record. In 1979, Jack Bloxham, a buyer for Mike Cervi of Sterling, Colorado, paid $2,000 for the best bucking horse. By the 1980 sale, 302 horses sold, and they averaged $500 each. In 1981, Marvin Brookman paid $3,000 for a saddle horse, another record, to Arnie Lesmeister. Then Lyn Jonckowski won the ladies' bareback riding. A total of 243 mounts went at an average of $644.

Even though the originators of this event are no longer with us, it goes on every year in Miles City. A large number of stock contractors attend and purchase probable bucking stock. For more than a century, this north plain has provided top stock.[56]

Other bucking sales have taken place besides Miles City. In 1986, the PRCA started a Bucking Stock Sale. It is held at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, Nevada, annually. Some of the proceeds benefit the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For the hall of fame, it is one of the most profitable fundraising activities. It has been known to sell bucking horses, bucking bulls, pickup horses, and fighting bulls. The timing is ideal since most major contractors are in Las Vegas then.[53]

During the 1950s, Casey Tibbs was one the major spokespersons promoting the bucking horse. There is a letter to the editor of Hoofs and Horns magazine in the May 1597 issue. [7] "The question is continually being tossed around...whether the bucking horse of today measures up to the outlaw bronc of yesteryear." "In the Rodeo Sports News of June 1, 1957, Casey Tibbs, RCA vice president, wrote an open letter to Verne Elliot rodeo producer and stock contractor:"

Part of Tibbs response discusses events that occurred. Some top stock contractors did start their own breeding programs especially for bucking horses. The largest investments in breeding are time and required acreage. In addition, bucking broncs are usually at least four years old before they are tested or required to show their ability. A minimum of 80 acres per animal is required to raise them. Not all progeny may produce a buck or personality needed to add them to the contractors' bucking string. So their land is committed with dubious long-term results. So contractors are always looking for new broncs. Considering the number of rodeos held since the 1950s, the number of horses needed for roughstock events is overwhelming.

In 1956, Casey Tibbs proposed a "Saddle Bronc of the Year Award". The Rodeo Sports News (RSN), the Rodeo Cowboys Association's newspaper, sponsored it. The top ten saddle bronc riders voted on it at the end of the year. It was awarded at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver, Colorado, in January of 1957. The nominated horses had to have bucked in 1956. The RSN gave the winner a silver mounted bucking horse halter, decorative but still functional. The halter was worn when the horse was drawn. War Paint (horse) won the first award, who was owned by Christensen Brothers out of Oregon. War Paint also won the following year in 1987. Beutler Brothers provided the stock for the Denver rodeo in 1958. Christiansen's still brought War Paint for the award presentation. The arena was full of publicity personnel due to the publicity. Alvin Nelson, he 1957 World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider attended. Nelson was slated to give an exhibition ride on War Paint. He had never been near the horse prior. When the chute gate opened. War Paint made his typical high jump out of the chute. Nelson was off in two seconds. A few months later, RSN printed a story that War Paint had also dumped Tibbs in the same manner. <>

Horsemen known for good bucking stock

• Feek Tooke
• Harry Knight
• Eddie Vaughn
• Eddie McCarty
• Ray Knight

On the Road and in the Papers 1950s

By the beginning of the 1950s, rodeo had established itself firmly after over 50 years. You could find rodeos in almost any little town, city, and wide spot on the road west of the Mississippi. There was some good representation east of the Mississippi River too. The last twenty years had seen especially significant developments in the sport. However, there were always issues to be resolved and new ways to be learned.

One of the more important developments was public relations. By 1952, the Rodeo Cowboys Association was publishing their own newspaper, the Rodeo Sports News. The Rodeo Information Commission was established. By 1955, the Associated Press and the United Press, started carrying the Point Award Standings. The commission also contacted over 500 newspapers and 30 freelance writers and gave information about the RCA for the sport of rodeo.[52] Few responded at first.

New technology, especially television and its popularity, brought a new way of watching rodeo to the country. In 1953 and 1954, WBAP provided national coverage of the Fort Worth Rodeo through the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). There was concern, however, as to whether fans would stay at home rather than attend rodeos.[43]

On September 14, 1957, over 38,620,000 Americans watched an hour broadcast of the Pendleton Round-Up. It was carried on 168 CBS stations. It was the first time an outdoor rodeo was broadcast on television. The president of the rodeo, Jack Stangier, arranged the rodeo events so that the five top scoring contestants in each event competed on their last head. Markings were announced right away. Clark EcEntire won the All-Around, Alvin Nelson won the Saddle Bronc Riding, and Bob Cullison won the Bareback Riding.[52]

Publicity prior to the rodeo broadcast included a Reader's Digest article; episodes of The Lone Ranger and Wyatt Earp television programs promotions; and General Mills offered a premium gift book on rodeo.

By 1958, the RCA firmly decided to limit television coverage to two shows per year. They were concerned about overexposure on television affecting in-person attendance to rodeos. Sports like boxing had suffered this fate.

During this decade, issues of concern were judges, judging, matched riding, and allowance of permit holders into RCA rodeos. From the beginning, it had been accepted that roughstock judging was "a matter of personal opinion." Recommendations were made to eliminate talk of judges being not impartial to certain horses or riders, judges be moved around to different areas, thus judging a larger variety of livestock and riders. In addition, judges for rodeos with purses exceeding $1,000 would now have to be pre-approved. Additional criteria was considered.

In this timer period, match bronc riding was a popular event. The RCA discussed the frequency of matched riding. They concluded that too many in a particular area became competition with the RCA rodeos. Going forward, any organization desiring to hold a matched riding event would be required to submit a request. They would need written permission from the rodeo committee of each RCA rodeo in the area, and this for 30 days prior to and following the event.[52].

There is a matched riding event started in this time period that is still held annually. It is the Home on the Range Annual Champion Ride Match held at Sentinel Butte, North Dakota. The event is held on the grounds of the Home of the Range, a home for disadvantaged youth, run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck. Bronc riding brothers Tom and Jim Tescher encouraged visitors to come, spread publicity, and created the match in 1957.

Father Fahnlander, who served the Sentinel Butte parish then, got involved. For many years, he traveled to the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, to persuade top cowboys to compete at the event. Bronc riding has always been the foundational event. Throughout the years, many other events have been featured. The highest ranked competitors in each event are always invited. There are competitors from all over the country, but cowboys from North and South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming feel it is almost compulsory to compete. There are sometimes conflicts with the Dodge City finals, but at the Home on the Range, they understand this. Back in 1993, the saddle bronc purse was $12,000. Quite often, the winners of the matched ride donate their prize money to the home.[62]

In 1957, the RCA developed the Permit System. They developed this system to encourage newcomers into rodeo. It was a way for cowboys who had gathered experience through various venues such as high school, college, and non-sanctioned rodeos to determine if they wanted to go professional. A cowboy would purchase the permit for $5 and compete until he won some money. After that the permit was void. No longer could he compete in RCA rodeos as a nonmember. After that, he would have to pay a $100 member fee to become a full professional member. Permit members were not members of the RCA and also were not covered by its insurance plan. However, they were subject to all of its rules when competing at RCA approved rodeos. In February 1958, the Rodeo Sports News reported in their headlines, "Permit Holder Wins Bull Riding at Phoenix". Jimmy Clark of Purcell, Oklahoma, had won $1,325. In May, the RSN reported, "Two More Permit Holders Win". [52]

Another issue of this time period was insurance for all RCA members. The existing insurance plan covered "injury or accidental death in the arena, while competing, performing, or working an approved rodeo". In 1954, the RCA could claim no fatalities. But it did pay out $50,000 to cover injuries for that year.

Yet another issue was a change to the Official Rule Book stating that there, "will be no trading out or placing of contestants". The previous rule allowed cowboys to trade positions after the stock and position were drawn. This enabled cowboys to adjust their schedules and participate in more rodeos on the same dates. After a review by the directors, where they considered the interests of the paying customer and news media, they decided that the customer is the one who makes rodeo possible for all. Thus, it is to the fans rodeo owes its attention. Since the spectator is the one most cheated by the practice of trading out, and because in time all would have felt it, this decision was made to disallow it. It was also considered that there is intense competition for the entertainment dollar these days.[52]

During all of these efforts to improve rodeo, Houston decided to hold a nonapproved rodeo for 1958. The RCA, as usual, reviewed all of its sanctioned rodeos and purse amounts. If a rodeo appeared to have an increased spectator size and enough revenue to improve the purse for each event, the RCA recommended it. Usually, the rodeo committee agreed and purse amounts grew. However, Houston officials declined to increase their purse sizes when asked. The RCA knew that Houston had earned roughly $300,000 last year. Thus, the RCA board did not consider their request unreasonable. The Houston rodeo was held in 1958 without professional cowboys.

In 1954, competition was fierce between riders. Saddle bronc riders Deb Copenhaver and Casey Tibbs were at the top. Tibbs bet Copenhaver $1,000 he would win the World Championship despite the fact that Copenhavor $2,500 ahead. At the end of the season, Tibbs did win the championship. Tibbs finished with $23,052 to Copenhaver's $20,388. At the awards ceremony, Tibbs received the champion buckle and a check for $1,200. Copenhaver received a check $1,000 for second place, which he handed over the Tibbs.[52]

Also in 1954, Eddy Alridge and best friend Buck Rutherford, were both close in the bareback championship. The two traveled together, assisted each other in the chute, and then competed against each other. But they also made a deal regarding the winnings. Whoever won the championship would keep the champion buckle, but give the other the saddle that was always awarded. Eddy Aldridge won over Buck Rutherford by $7. Aldrige won $14,498 and Rutherford won $14,96.[52]

The 1950s was a time of increased travel capability. Cowboys took advantage of the benefits of traveling together to share expenses. They traveled by all available means including car, train, and airplane. Since cowboys were not always successful in events, one who was might pay everyone's entry fees. Then, in turn, when they were successful, they would return the favor. Bill Linderman said once, "In rodeo, if a competitor's broke, we'll not only loan him transportation and entry fee, we'll throw in a saddle. Besides we'll tell him how the horse he draws bucks". A reported called it "frontier honesty".

Having begun in the mid-forties, using airplane travel for rodeos was still new at this time and very expensive. By this time, broncbusters were focused on making a point for every dollar he won. So, obviously the way to be champion was to win the most dollars. That meant making as many rodeos as possible. Thus, using air travel meant sharing the ride with as many other cowboys as possible.

Buster Ivory related that early in the 1950s he, Carl Olson, Glen Tyler, and Wag Blessing chartered a twin-engine airplane. The plan was to leave Reno, Nevada, travel to Calgary, Alberta, then Salt Lake City, Utah, to Ogden, Utah, and then end up in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They compete in each rodeo and would split all expenses. They all nominated Ivory to manage all the travel arrangements. "I know you guys," he said, "you'll all change your mind before the plane takes off, so if I'm going to handle it, give me your money now." The guys complied, and Ivory scheduled the plane for the next morning. Come the next morning, and Blessing and Tyler had already gone different directions. Ivory could not locate Olson. However, Ivory knew that Olson liked to gamble, he started checking for him in casinos. It didn't take long to locate Olson at a craps table. He had lost most of his money. He was also still drunk from the night before. Ivory managed to lead him to the airport though.

While they were awaiting the plane to be ready for takeoff, Olson decided he wanted to eat something. Ivory told him the airport was not a good place to eat. However, Olson took no notice of him. Ivory decided to take his wife on the trip since two of the expected travelers weren't coming. Not long into the flight, Olson turned green. No one seemed to notice until Olson opened the airplane door. The forced air almost sucked him out of the plane. Ivory believed Olson's toes, which were hanging over the edge of the door, were what saved him. "I, and the pilot's wife, both tried to get him back in the plane", said Ivory, "but I was laughing so hard I was not very helpful. Finally we got him back in his seat, and the door closed. We asked him why he did such a dumb thing". His answer was he didn't want to throw up in the cockpit.

"A piece of metal came off the wing later, and I pointed it out to the pilot", Ivory recalled. "The pilot said, 'Oh my God' and we landed at Helena, got it repaired and headed on." At Lethbridge there was a storm which they decided to through rather than around it. When landed at the airport, there were holes in the wings, dents from hail in the metal near the motor, and cracked windows.

In the early fifties, hall of famer Harry Tompkins once left New York in the morning on a commercial airline to compete at a rodeo. Then he got on another flight to compete in a rodeo in the afternoon in Omaha, Nebraska. After that, he got another flight to compete in the evening in Chicago, Illinois. He was back in New York by 10:00 p.m. to compete in another bull riding. "We would really cut it short", he recalled. "The bull riding would already be in session when I walked into the arena".

Another incident that Tompkins recalled was a flight from Reno, Nevada, to Great Falls, Montana, with Jack Buschbom, Jim Shoulders, Casey Tibbs, and Gerald Roberts. That day was extra hot in Reno. Apparently, they could not get the plane to high enough altitude to cool down. Taking into account the heat and the pitch of the plane, Tompkins felt as though he might regurgitate. Tibbs said, "Hey, I've got some airsick pills I take now and then. Want one?"? Tompkins was suspicious of Tibbs due to his many practical jokes. But Tibbs took two of the pills first, so Tompkins decided it would be okay. Tompkins learned later Tibbs had thrown his pills over his shoulder. Tompkins said, "I took two-they were laxatives-and I had to go to the bathroom in a paper sack in front of five other cowboys before we landed".[53]

Tibbs was well known for his pranks. A person did not need to be acquainted with him to be involved. Once on a very turbulent flight, Tibbs noticed a woman getting a little "green around the gills". Tibbs faked airsickness. He requested a cup from the stewardess (airsick bags weren't invented yet). Then he gagged into the cup a couple times to fake throwing up into it. He sat there holding the cup a couple of minutes. Then he put the cup to his mouth and faked drinking the contents. The woman next to him lost it after that.

On August 1, 1958, the Rodeo Sports News headlines reported that due to flying four round trips between the Nampa, Idaho, and Salina, California, rodeos thus commuting 700 miles by air, several cowboys won money at both rodeos. Deb Copenhaver, George Menkenmaier, Enoch Walker, Marty Wood, Bill Rinestine, Jim Shoulders, Dean Oliver, and Harry Tompkins. Wood won the bronc riding event at both rodeos. Shoulders won the Nampa All-Around event.

Rodeo cowboys spend many hours driving or flying to events. They tend to complain about the travel time more than anything else. Many cowboys get in their vehicles after a rodeo and drive at night to avoid traffic. It also keeps them from having to pay for hotel rooms. But on the down side, there a fair share of automobile accidents due to this

The September 1, 1958, edition of the Rodeo Sports News printed a story about how the award winning bucking horse, War Paint, was used as part of the memorial for George Menkenmaier, who died the day before in an automobile accident.

A story from the Rodeo Sports News is cited using the two-time bucking horse of the year War Paint and the death of cowboy George Menkenmaier, who died on the highway at 31. Menkenmaier had been an RCA member since 1947, but it wasn't until 1956 that he left the Northwest to compete. Menkenmaier was from Burns, Oregon. where he grew up, riding broncs was still a cowboy chore. He was the leading the race for the 1958 saddle bronc riding champion.

The 1950s was the decade in which rodeo finally got a finals event. It was major a highlight of the era. All of rodeo had discussed it for years. However, it was only until the early 1950s was any progress made to a point where people actually believed it might happen. So the directors, representatives, and officials got together and started planning.

This end-of-the-year rodeo would have seven events. The top fifteen competitors of each event would attend. There would be four performances with four go-rounds. Assorted stock contractors would provide bucking stock. The RCA would manage the event.

By August 25, 1958, John Van Cronkhite, general manager of the RCA, recognized the very high national interest in holding this event. This was due to governors and mayors from from all over the country contacting him. On November 6 and 7, a historic session was finally held to determine the conditions and policies. Three sites were initially considered for the event: Dallas, Texas, Los Angeles, California, or Louisville, Kentucky. Dallas was chosen for the first National Finals. Also, the National Finals Roping was determined to be held in Clayton, New Meixco.

Throughout 1959, pieces were continued to be put into place. As each decision was reached, the national media covered it. Mike Swift of the Rodeo Information Commission created records to select the best stock for the National Finals. Stock contractors would be required to keep detailed records on their stock's performance. It was also decided that all stock selected must have competed only five times or less prior to their appearance in the National Finals Rodeo. Prize money of $3,000 total was earmarked for the roughstock categories for stock. For first place was $500, for second place was $300, and for third place was $200.

The first headquarters for the National Finals Rodeo was the Baker Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Bill Linderman acted as the first arena director. Cecil Jones was designated as the rodeo secretary. Buster Ivory functioned as the livestock superintendent. There were two initial announcers: Cy Taillon and Pete Logan. And there were three timers: Flaxie Fletcher of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Jo Ann Herrin of Dallas, Texas, and Muggs McClanahan of Fowler, Colorado.

By November 1959, the bucking stock had finally been selected. A total of 210 broncs, bareback horses, and bulls were prepared, with an allowance of 40 more in reserve. Hall of fame stock contractor Harry Knight provided the most head of stock with 29. Beutler Brothers provided the second-most head of stock with 23. An additional 23 different stock contractors represented with stock at the National Finals.

They held the first National Finals Rodeo on December 26 to 30 at the new $2 million coliseum. The new arena seated 8,000 spectators. They held ten performances with the top 15 contestants in each of five events.[52]

Upon their entrance into the National Finals Rodeo, these contestants were sitting first and second in each of the roughstock events in the world standings as follows:

Saddle Bronc: Casey Tibbs and Winston Bruce Bareback Riding: Jack Buschbom and John Hawkins Bull Riding: Bob Wegner and Jim Shoulders

The winners of the Average roughstock events were: Saddle Bronc: Jim Tescher Bareback Riding: Jack Buschbom Bull Riding: Jim Shoulders

Jim Shoulders also won the All-Around title.

The 1950s were an important era in the publicity of rodeo. Many groups traveled to foreign countries to hold rodeos. All forms of media, including television, promoted rodeo generously. Statistically, more than 14 million spectators bought tickets to see RCA sanctioned rodeos in 1958. And the addition of the National Finals Rodeo was the highlight of the decade.[52]

Broncbusters of the Era (1950s)

• Gerald Roberts
• Casey Tibbs
• Jim Shoulders
• Harry Tompkins
• Benny Reynolds

Broncs of the Era (1950s)

• Crazy One
• Wild Swede
• School Boy Rowe
• Miss Klamath
• Miss Newhall

Rebellion in the 1960s

For the most part, all of the craziness of the 1960s did not touch on the rodeo world. Most of the flower children did not come from rodeo families. So rodeo continued to improve. In fact, the word improve seemed to be the RCA by-word. This growth took many cowboys who spent many hours on subjects such as television coverage, better insurance, details involving rule infractions, and changes in the arena.

In 1961, the RCA board of directors met during the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado for five days. The issues at hand were very controversial. Several rodeo topics were discussed, including a new rule on specifications of the bronc saddle in use at the time. The conclusion was that the bronc saddle director determined its use would be strictly enforced.

In 1962, the Fourth of July weekend became "Cowboy Christmas." This was due to there being 34 rodeos in 19 states and 2 Canadian provinces that weekend. The largest purse that weekend was in Camdenton, Missouri, with an amount of $14,000 split among eight performances. By 1963, rodeo was setting attendance records. The RCA approved five season rodeos to be telecast on national television. One year, they moved the National Finals Rodeo to Los Angeles, California. At the end of the year, the RCA had approved 583 rodeos. They had a payoff of $3,496,739.52. This amounted to an increase of 46 approved rodeos and $416,000 over 1962.[52]

However, not everyone in the rodeo world was invested in its growth. As others tried to improve rodeo, there were some who worked the angles of the system for their own benefit. The November 15, 1963, issue of Rodeo Sport News reported that Paul Mayo, of Grinnell, Iowa, and R.C. "Judge" Tolbirt, of Columbus, Texas, had been suspended indefinitely from the RCA. Each man was also fined $500. Mayo's name was stricken from the championship standings. Mayo had been the leader in the standings at the time. <> In the June 15, 1964, Rodeo Sports News it was reported: "Paul Mayo and Judge Tolbirt Re-instated...Two members of the Rodeo Cowboy Association, who were suspended eight months ago for cheating in competition, were officially re-instated at the RCA Board of Directors' Las Vegas meeting, May 20.

"Paul Mayo, 22, of Grinnell, Iowa, and R.C. 'Judge' Tolbirt, 26, Columbus, Texas, were given 'another chance' after full consideration by the 12-man board. "They didn't like to hand out a life sentence for a first mistake.' said Dale Smith, RCA President."[52]

In 1965, Mayo came in second place in bareback riding. He won $16,990 compared to Jim Houston's $17,631 first place winnings. He also came in sixth place in the All-Around. He came in 15th in the bull riding. In 1966, he became the Bareback Riding World Champion and won $25,473, which was $8,000 more than Houston who took second place. He also placed third in the All-Around that year. In 1967 Mayo placed second in the bareback riding event and Clyde Vamvoras won the championship that year. Mayo won the bareback riding event again in 1970, and placed in the top five places in the event from 1965 to 1971.[61]

In 1964, Cy Taillon, a familiar rodeo announcer, busted a man impersonating Casey Tibbs during the Fort Worth rodeo. Taillon spotted an unfamiliar man signing autographs behind the announcer's stand. Inquiries led to the discovery that the man was signing autographs as Casey Tibbs. The man had been in prison. Apparently he had written a book about Tibbs while incarcerated and had come to believe he was Tibbs, the famous bronc rider and world champion.[52]

In May 1, 1967, the Rodeo Sports News ran a headline that read, "Association Formed in Opposition to RCA". The article reported that Bob Wegner, World Champion Bull Rider of 1964 had been suspended. Wegner had incorporated an association in the state of Washington named American Cowboys Association. The organization was to include twenty men teams who would compete in a newly formed league. An October issue of Rodeo Sports News reported that Wegner had filed suit and was asking for $300,500 from the RCA and George Williams of RSN, for damage to his reputation in controversy over team sport controversy.[52] Per Wegner, it was settled out of court. Wegner was paid $25,000, and a promise his name would be removed from the RCA's blacklist. However, in the next issue, his name was back, despite the court decision. Wegener filed suit a second time, for $1 million. In 1969, another out-of-court decision was made. Wegner was paid $7,500 and this time his name was actually removed from the blacklist permanently. In 1974, Wegner once again competed at RCA sanctioned rodeos. The Wegner vs. RCA case set a precedent. The stance in the future was towards allowing athletes to act as free agents in some major sports.

The RCA spent significant time in the 1960s dealing with animal rights organizations. Human societies from various states were on the RCA's case about issues. The RCA was continually answering their queries. The states of West Virginia and Connecticut even introduced anti-rodeo bills. In 1967, however, the Ohio law making rodeo illegal in that state was declared unconstitutional. Then a bill in California that would outlaw cattle prods (the hotshot used to move animals) got killed in committee.[52] Then the Wall Street Journal printed an article on the issue, to the effect that if the animals did not perform in rodeos, they would probably be in a can-as dog meat. The RCA directors were aware that most complaints came from extremists whose investigations were incomplete and who were not in possession of the facts. Nontheless, they had to address each criticism. Many hours were spent informing the activists on the true picture of their use in rodeos and the well care they received, compared to their alternative destiny.

Rodeo was also receiving plenty of positive and some negative publicity. The RCA Board of Directors made several changes in this decade. New rules were announced. In 1964, a new notice to saddle bronc competitors warned: "Any contestant using any sort of adhesive preparation on chaps or saddle shall be disqualified at that rodeo immediately". Another notice was added for bareback riders: "Any contestant using finger tucks or finger wraps shall be disqualified at that rodeo immediately".[52]

The 1967 Official Rule Book had new rules added to it regarding rough stock: "Any animal that becomes excessively excited so that it gets down in the chute repeatedly, or tries to jump out of the chute, or in any way appears to be in danger of injuring itself, should be released immediately". And: Sheepskin lined flank straps shall be placed on the animal so the sheepskin covered portion is over both flanks and the belly of the animal:. And: "A one thick pad must be used under bareback rigging if stock contractor requests its use. Stock contractor must have pads available if the rider does not have one". And: "Cinchas on bronc saddles and bareback riggings shall be made of Mohair and shall be at least five inches wide:"[52] These rule changes are thought to have been instigated by the criticisms set forth by the Humane Society.

As of 1966, Rodeo Foundation Judging Schools were created. These schools were mandatory for RCA judges and prospective judges. Bill Pedderson held the schools. The initial locations were in Sidney, Iowa; Pueblo, Colorado; Coffeyville, Kansas; Huron, South Dakota; Louisville, Kentucky; Pendleton, Oregon; Omaha, Nebraska; and San Francisco, California.

Another area for which the RCA was making every effort to improve things in professional rodeo was to ensure fair and impartial judging of events for all contestants. Judging especially of roughstock events is entirely a personal opinion. Yet, true impartial judges must ignore competitors, according to the RCA.

By 1964, the RCA was located in new and more spacious headquarters in Denver, Colorado. In 1965, the top 15 saddle bronc rides pulled in a total of $193,189. The top 15 bareback riders pulled in a total $165,783. A total of 382 rodeos recorded a total attendance of 5,331,985 fans. If added to this total was the figure from rodeos that did not send in attendance records, the estimate was that 9.5 million people attended RCA approved rodeos. The tally of bareback entries was 10,696, and the tally of saddle bronc entries was 7,095, both at RCA approved rodeos.[52]

In 1966, Houston, Texas moved their rodeo to the Astrodome. In 1967, they $10,000 to their purse. In 1968, news headlines reported: "Year's Biggest Money Pie at Houston, $89,240!"[52]

In 1966, in the middle of all these changes, the Denver Post established an editorial policy regarding rodeo. The new policy placed professional rodeo and current World Standings on the sports page. The RCA had been working to this goal since 1950.

On February 25, 1968, free-lance writer John White wrote about this in the Portland Oregonian's Northwest Magazine: <>

<

White continued his synopsis much longer, comparing other sports, poking fun at sports editors for not recognizing rodeo as a sport. It was an infusion in the sports world that was well appreciated. Rodeo is still fighting this battle to some degree.

In 1959, the Rodeo Information Foundation worked steadily to edit and improve new media packets in order for educating and informing the media as well as interested rodeo committees. An additional writer, Randy Witte, of Lakewood, Colorado, a journalism major was hired. He was also a cowboy who rode bulls and was learning steer wrestling. His mission was to write hometown stories on cowboys and find human-interest stories to circulate to the media.

Sports editor John Wendeborn, of the Enterprise-Courier in Oregon, wrote an article wherein he confessed that rodeo was not his thing. He considered it a yearly show that visited Oregon bringing, "hard riding', hard drinking cowboys-fugitives from some less-disciplinarian past."[52] Any rodeo results that crossed his desk, he equated to wrestling or roller derbys-entertainment but not sport. However, his opinion changed after his exposure and education regarding rodeo clarified for him what and who composed rodeo.

Wendeborn came to see that competition is the key to rodeo being a sport. He also learned that a rodeo cowboy competes against livestock, the clock, or himself and other cowboys. Professionalism in rodeo had been refined since the beginning of the sport. In 1969, the cowboys in the sport now were not range cowboys looking for a quick dollar. These cowboys were making a living and working hard to stay in the job. Wendeborn then said that rodeo definitely belonged on the sports page![52]

The cowboys were still traveling down the road to rodeos in large numbers. There seemed to be more cowboys who didn't make it to their destinations than accidents in the arena. Bert France died in a highway crash near Mobridge. Smoky Snyder died in a car accident in Kern City, California. Don Mayo, champion bareback rider, broke his back in a three car collision on his way from Belle Fourche, South Dakota, to the Camndenton, Missouri, rodeo. Approximately 46 pro-rodeos took place over the July 4th weekend in 1963, and there were no injured cowboys in the arena. In the 1960s, not all roads were yet covered with asphalt. Due to the number of rodeos and distance between arenas, some cowboys became more creative in figuring out ways to get to as many as possible. It turned out flying was a good option. An article in a 1967 Rodeo Sports News reported: <

Bill Linderman, secretary of the RCA at the time, was killed in a United Airlines Boeing 727 plane crash on November 11, 1965, near Salt Lake City. His death was a shock to the rodeo world. The Bill Linderman Memorial Buckle created in 1966 goes to the winning cowboy. The cowboy must win one roughstock event and one timed event, and at least $1,000 in each event. The first recipient was Benny Reynolds. In 1967, Bob Scriver of Browning, Montana, was chosen to sculpt a life-size bronze of Linderman for the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. It was unveiled in December 1969.

By the end of the decade, rodeo was really on its way. Every season its number were better than the last. The number of competitors who made a living on just rodeo was up. The Rodeo Sports News and Hoofs and Horns carried numerous advertisements for bronc saddles and bareback riggings by respected saddlemakers. Jim Houston and Larry Mahan had their own designs which they advertised. The "flower children" faded into history, and rodeo kept going. Not all problems of the sport had been resolved, but it sure had come a long way from the first rodeos where competitors had to bring their own bronc and winning meant riding the bronc until the outlaw quit bucking.

Broncbusters of the Era (1960s)

• Larry Mahan
• Marty Wood
• Bill Smith
• Shawn Davis
• Winston Bruce

Broncs of the Era (1960s)

• Descent
• Sheep Mountain
• Trail's End
• Big John
• Centennial

Schools and Sponsors in the 1970s

The 1970s begun with even more improvements to rodeo. And these changes were being noticed. The Rodeo Cowboys Association initiated an multi-level membership program so that many levels of their membership worked to implement these improvements. The RCA assigned event representatives area directors who handled problems and answered questions in their region of the country.

Event judging also improved during the 1970s. The RCA used pro-judging seminars which were very successful. These seminars were based on a program used by the National Football League. Judge candidates were required to pay a $100 fee, attend a rigorous 4 day program, and be tested regarding their experience and knowledge.

The RCA still viewed publicity high on their list on areas to focus on. In 1971 and 1972, there was a failed attempt by hiring a New York public relations firm. However, early in 1974, the RCA found their publicity was higher without the firm. Many rodeo movies were made in the 1970s with themes on rodeo or cowboy life. In 1967, Casey Tibbs produced a movie about a wild horse round-up he staged, named Born to Buck. Tibbs was awarded a prize for the movie from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. The movie Great American Cowboy won an Academy Award as it was the best feature-length documentary that year. Actor Cliff Robertson starred in a movie named J. W. Coop, the story about a cowboy. The world premiere was held in Oklahoma City during the National Finals Rodeo in 1971.

Since the movies began, there have been Western heroes. However, the Roy Rogers/Gene Autry era was not a true pictorial of the cowboy in many ways. The 1970s movies were founded in realistic views of cowboys, and they gave the public a truer picture of the cowboy life.

In the 1970s, the International Rodeo Writers Association was formed. This organization, united with its sponsor, Levi Strauss & Co., held an annual competition for the best rodeo coverage and writing. Carmen Anthony, from Spain, was one of the first winners. She viewed a rodeo from behind the chutes at Calgary. Tired and dusty, she wrote about her experience, this is part: "I think rodeo is a great sport. It takes skill, physical conditioning, physical ability, and technical knowledge. The men are so attractive and appealing too...that helps as a spectator sport." She added, "It makes football look rather dull...just fighting for a touchdown."[52]

A short film titled, "Match of Champions," which Larry Mahan narrated, was circulated to television stations across the country. Justin Boot Company published a 16 page booklet. The booklet, "Rodeo: The All American Sport," contained action photographs of six rodeo greats who offered their experiences about rodeo. These were Larry Mahan, Jim Shoulders, Freckles Brown, Marty Wood, Jack Roddy, and Pete Logan, all members of Justin's advisory board on boot styling. Justin received thousands of requests from all around the world.

In the 1970s, radio stations started covering rodeo information. Early stations included WBAP of Fort Worth, Texas; KROE from Sheridan, Wyoming; KDGR of Deer Lodge, Montana; and KBLF out of Red Bluff, California. Some local rodeos added more publicity by adding matches between rodeo and golfers. Cowboys and skiers challenged each other in skiiing in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and the National Western Stock Show in Denver. In Edmonton, Alberta, there was an ice hockey content where cowboys played against hockey players.

Newspaper reporters at that time were either praised or cussed for their radio coverage. One such reporter, Jim Murray, of the Los Angeles Times, used his satire and wit. His tongue-in-cheek disrespectful description of one stock contractor's 23 year old paint horse, Cheyenne, is belied by the fact that Cheyenne had won his riders hundreds of dollars. The horse was on his way to the slaughterhouse, when Andy Jauregui, a stock contractor who keeps tight tabs on the equine world, heard of him. "Andy is kind of the Godfather of the switchblade set of horses, the desperadoes of the tanbark," credited the dry-witted Murray.[53]

Another improvement that took place in the 1970s was the further development of sponsors. In 1971, the Winston Tobacco Company instituted an incentive program. They gave $105,000 to the top cowboy in six events. The incentive was paid twice per year. In 1977, the Black Velvet Stock Contractor Stock Awards were providing bonus incentives to each stock contractor. The stock contractor could select one saddle bronc horse, one bareback horse, and one bull to receive the bonuses all year. This had the desired effect of elevating stock to the same level as cowboy winners. The program gave the stock contractors $25 each time the livestock bucked during a paid PRCA performance. Contractors were also paid $250 for each Black Velvet nominated livestock selected for the NFR. Money amounts were also awarded for different positions won, such as $500 for each selected as best at National Finals, $300 for each selected as best in east of the 12 circuits throughout the country, $3,000 for best Saddle Bronc, Bareback Horse, and Bull of the Year, and $5,000 for any animal nominated to the Black Velvet program for the first time and selected as a bucking animal of the year, that same year.[53]

In 1975, the Rodeo Cowboy Association became the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Dues increased. The newspaper Rodeo Sports News rates increased. A survey was completed on how much members of the RCA spent annually on rodeo and rodeo-related expenses. Results showed that members of the RCA annually spent $24,288,101 on rodeo-related expenses. This figure came from surveying 852 reporting members and 4,121 readers filling out the survey. The figure was further broken down into individual rodeo expenses such as: food and lodging, vehicles, telephone, horses, etc.

In 1977, the PRCA estimated that 14 million spectators watched professional rodeo, not including television. Prize money totaled $7 million annually. The PRCA totaled 4,322 members, with 3,026 permit holders.

In the 1970s rule changes were constantly being discussed and made. In 1972, the most important change made in this decade was the 10 second saddle bronc ride to an 8 second ride. Another important rule change was that pickup men now had to stay clear of the rider and bronc until the whistle. Otherwise, in the effort of trying to do their job most efficiently, they sometimes got in the way of the judges' view while trying were attempting to score the ride.[52]

Cowboys taught in rodeo schools mostly teaching other cowboys throughout the country. In the early 1960s, Jim Shoulders opened a school on his ranch in Henryetta, Oklahoma. He taught the basics in all three roughstock events. In later years, Shoulders brought in Bill Federson and others to work with the saddle bronc riders. By the early 1970s, the Rodeo Sports News was full of rodeo school advertisements.

Of particular note, Shawn Davis opened the first school for Native American youth. He also possessed a mechanical bucking machine for teaching purposes. Davis also commented that the highly-skilled competitor only came along around every 5 years. After so many schools opened, "top-flight cowboys were ten-deep in each event." He believes it was because in the earlier days learning was all trial and error. With the advent of all the schools now run by professionals and all the time students have to practice, more cowboys can become high level competitors.

Just like the rest of the world, rodeo has had its fair share of tragedies. In 1973, Bill Stevenson hit the ground wrong at a rodeo and severed his spinal cord. He died in the hospital. Also in 1973, a Harry Vold truck was traveling to Cheyenne Frontier Days when a pulled out in front of it near Longmont, Colorado. The driver had to turn into the median. The truck rolled. It was carrying 24 of Vold's top broncs and four were killed: Grey Cup, Tall Timber, Mother Goose, and Geronimo. Fourteen more were crippled. In 1978, a truck carrying Bob Barnes' broncs was in wreck and seven of them were killed in Peterson, Iowa.

In 1979, four Canadian PRCA cowboys were missing when a single-engine airplane coming from Salem, Oregon, did not reach its destination, Las Vegas. Brian Claypool, Gary Logan, Lee Coleman, and Calvin Burney disappeared. Four months later, the remains of the plane were found in northern California.[53] The stock market crash of 1970 caused the failure of Rodeo Far West, a $3 million production. Rodeo Far West had been a production of rodeo people touring in Europe for nine months in various countries. However, sometimes an accident is just a close-call. A November 15, 1972, Rodeo Sports News headline reported: "Five Hands Escape Bad Injury." Five cowboys traveling from Evanston, Wyoming, to San Franciso, California, to a rodeo, were traveling at speeds over 100 miles, the car was in an accident. It rolled several times in the medium strip of the freeway. Shawn Davis, Rusty Riddle, T.R. Wilson, John Holman, and Pete Gay escaped with nothing more serious than cuts, bruises, and one had a concussion.[52]

Rodeo absorbed the ups and downs of the 1970s, and kept coming. The National Western Stock Show and Rodeo started the 1970 season with 54 cowboys. In 1971, Cheyenne Frontier Days recorded the biggest payoff in its history, a purse of $96,700. Over "Cowboy Christmas", July 4, rodeos paid out 1/4 million dollars in 1973. In 1975, the Nationals Finals Rodeo sold out all performances. In 1977, there were 579 PRCA rodeos in 37 states and 4 Canadians provinces.[53]

The stereotype about cowboys willing to help out anybody is true. It's true even when it's their competitor. It has occurred enough times that no one can doubt it. In fact, a native of Wyoming and a longtime saddle bronc competitor, Larry Burgess, has said that he once needed a ride to get to a far away destination in time for a saddle bronc riding competition. He could only find one cowboy who he could bum a ride from that night, Jerome Robinson, who also was going to pick up another rider along the way, Gene Beghtol. Robinson wasn't due at that destination until the night after Burgess, but he took pity on him, and they left that evening. They both did all the driving so that Burgess could rest for his event because he was up first. They made it 1,100 miles in 19 hours. Burgess said he counted the guys as friends, but still believed they would have done the same for anybody.

In 1973 Casey Tibbs and Billy Myers finished competing in the Las Vegas Helldorado rodeo. Tibbs won first and Myers won second place. Then they went to Binion's Horseshoe Casino. It was Benny Binion's rule for his casino to always serve cowboys. The two cowboys cashed their winning checks and lost it all. At a rodeo in Texas the next week, Casey was asked who won Las Vegas. Casey answered, "Well Benny Binion won first and second in the bronc riding."

It has been one hundred years since rodeo started during the trail drive era. What has since developed in the arena sport is substantive, but the "try" of a strong-willed cowboy who single-mindedly wants to win his event is the same "try" that made these things reality. Modern technology has become commonplace, yet the simple pleasure of watching a bucking horse and a cowboy tryout to outdo each other still draws a crowd.

Broncbusters of the Era (1970s)

• Joe Alexander
• Bruce Ford
• Monty "Hawkeye" Henson
• James Charles "J.C." Trujillo

Broncs of the Era (1970s)

• Angel Sings
• Sippin' Velvet
• Crystal Springs
• Three Bars
• Rodeo News

I Ain't Hurt, There's No Bones Showin'

It was in the 1980s that rodeo became a serious business. Sponsors spent more money than ever on rodeo. Invitational rodeos increased where cowboys could win extra money. From 1976 to 1981, the percentage of prize money increased by 79 percent. Corporate sponsorship reached $9 million in 1981, which was $8 million more than 1977, when prize money only totaled $900,000. Of special note, in 1981, more rodeo tickets were sold to PRCA rodeos than to NFL games.[53]

By 1989, 4,031 competitors at PRCA rodeos won money. Membership reached 5,560, with 3,584 permit holders. A total of 741 rodeos were held that year with 2,128 performances. The total prize money was $16,879,429.[53]

Large, well-known sponsors who gave financially as well as promotionally by the end of the 1980s included Wrangler, Coca Cola, and Justin Boots. Several new competitions were added during the 1980s, such as the Rodeo ProTour, and the Coors Chute Out, both which added extra dollars. Existing rodeos also added extra money. The Calgary Exhibition and Stampede introduced a new round they labeled their $50,000 Showdown Round. The XV Olympics Winter Games held a Challenge Cup with the US rodeo team against the Canadian team in Calgary. The Wrangler Showdown, held in Scottsdale, Arizona, also had a US rodeo team compete against Canada. The amount was for $220,000.

In 1985, the NFR moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, providing a needed boost to that city. December was a slow month there typically. After the NFR moved there, the December issue ended, and a contract was signed to keep the NFR in the city until 1994.

Behind the chutes, the cowboys were doing just fine as always. Reporters asking the cowboys about the ups and downs of rodeo, got mixed answers from the cowboys. When a reported asked about the pros and cons of rodeo, Todd Little, a bareback rider, said, "The money, the women, and the good times." Shawn Frey, another bareback rider, "The money, the freedom, and the friends." Gary McDaniel said, "It was the ability to make your own decisions and the friends you made-and the bad, you got to wear your car out"![53]

When asked about the difference between them and timed event cowboys, one roughstock competitor said, "We don't fall intentionally like bulldoggers do."

It was back in the 1960s that bareback riding saw some serious style changes. A top-ranked bareback rider in 1963 named Don Mayo competed by using a laid back style. This style kept his body approximately horizontal with the bronc's back. His three brothers also used this style and found they won often. Soon, others followed. Jim Houston, another rider, made a bareback ridding using a more flexible handhold. Riders could lean back more than the traditional handle.

Throughout the 1970s, other cowboys tried this laid back style. In the 1980s, this new style seemed to take hold and many competitors were using it. However, older competitors and some fans were wary of the new style. A ProRodeo Sports News reporter questioned roughstock champion Harry Tompkins from the 1950s about the new style. He said, "The way the cowboys fall back and let the rump of the horse him them in the back doesn't call for a lot of coordination. If the great horse, Come Apart, were around today, they'd all be on the ground-crippled too."[53]

When Don Mayo was questioned about the style, he said when he first started riding he had never been to a rodeo. He had never seen how bareback riders rode. He and his brothers practiced on calves on their Iowa farm. In his efforts to recall his memories, he said he "believed it was because calves have no shoulders, and he couldn't keep his feet up on the neck to spur without leaning back," so "Good old farm boy logic told me to throw my body back and it would throw my feet forward. I guess when I rode my first bronc, at 14, I just did what I had practiced at home." When he was 17, he became professional, with he brothers following shortly thereafter. They all used that new style. They were all top competitors.

Mayo admitted that the style got him both praise and criticism. The crowd appeared to like it. Some judges did not. Mayo said he once won an event because of the style, when he hadn't even placed. Again, he won another event in the same state, because of the style. However, the judges who disapproved of his style would never score him to win. It got to where Mayo would find out who was judging an event before he entered. Eventually, Mayo learned to adjust his style according to who was judging the event. He would adjust his style to accommodate a judge who was critical of the laid back style.

T.J. Walter, director of rodeo administration for the PRCA once said the following when asked about this bareback form and judging of styles: "There are bareback riders who do lay back, but when the horse comes down, some riders come back up to a sitting position. The judges should be watching the spurs, the stroke, and the length of the spurring. The position of the rider should not matter." In reviewing the top riders in the event today, Walter says at least six are of the "old school" who did not lay back. Both styles have the ability to win an event. Walter shared, "Leonard Lancaster once told Paul Mayo, when he was competing, if he had a spur on the back of his head he'd win first every time."

Cowboys have always been known for competing through their injuries and no greater rodeo incites them to do so than Cheyenne Frontier Days. They have competed with broken ribs, legs, and arms, and more. Obviously, roughstock cowboys are going to get hurt. A 150 pound man sitting on a 1,200 pound animal who wants him off doesn't make for a good combination. Timed event cowboys deal with injuries too, just not as often.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers of rodeos have said that cowboys are like no other patients they have. When they are injured, they are still trying to figure out how they can compete. This is the only sport they have seen where competitors are so determined. There is something that sets the cowboy apart, whether it is adrenaline, just sheer will, or refusal to confess pain.

Nonetheless, by 1980, it was finally decided that something should be done about cowboy injuries in a professional manner. The Justin Boot Company sponsored a program by Dr. J. Pat Evans and Don Andrews called the "Justin Heeler." These doctors brought their medical expertise to rodeo. It went against the grain of traditional medicine which required the patient to stop competing. This method focused on getting the patient back to competition as soon as possible. Dr. Evans was the team doctor for the Dallas Cowboys. He was also the director of the Sports Medicine Clinic of North Texas. He had already an understanding of the cowboy. His existing attitude toward competing had grown from personal experience of rodeo. He had competed in rodeo and also played high school and college sports. The two doctors came in knowing that rodeo was one of the most intense physical sports but had no medicine personnel as was so typical in other sports.

In 1979, in Fort Worth, Texas, at tournament style rodeo, the new sports medicine program began. Dr. Andrews treated cowboys' injuries but was limited due to not having a trailer or sponsor. John Justin committed to sponsor the program in 1980. In 1982, Andrews attended 22 rodeos in order to treat cowboys, some of whom he directed to Dr. Evans. Interviews with several cowboys appeared in the ProRodeo Sports News regarding their experience with the Justin Heeler Program. In the early 1980s of the ProRodeo Sports News, Dr. Bruce F. Claussen discussed parts of the anatomy and how to care for them. Several issues covered other common issues. It was obvious that the athletes were becoming more educated on their injuries and attempting to prevent, not just count on "luck." Dr. Evans has advised many cowboys what to do and when to return to competition. Unfortunate cowboys who didn't listen reinjured themselves. Others, who followed his instructions, have been kept in top shape. By 1984, the program had two rigs. It was visiting 40 rodeos per year. Then Jacki Romer joined the team. She had a BA in exercise physiology. Soon, she had the guys taping their arms and taking special advice. Her goal was to get them back to rodeo as soon as possible.

On September 14, 1988, the ProRodeo Sports News showed this headline, "Is it time to consider safety gear?" This was in response to two bull riding accidents which had occurred just prior to this. Dr. Andrews was consulted. He replied, "The solution isn't as simple as it appears. If everyone wore a helmet, we might reduce head and skull injuries. But what we've found in other sports is that with helmets, we see a greater rate of spinal injuries. Whenever there's a force delivered, it has to be transmitted to another area. The helmet takes the force, but transmits it to the spine." His suggestion at that time was to await further lab testing.

In bareback riding or bull riding, a type of helmet or protective headgear could work. However, "Adding the weight of a helmet to the snapping motion of a bareback rider's neck would magnify that snapping motion." Andrews clarified. "When you increase the load on the end of a lever, the head in this case, you're asking for a neck injury."

Interviewed cowboys were were against the wearing of protective gear. Fans come to see them compete in dangerous sports; they would be disappointed to see them wearing protection. However, they also felt it would eventually become a reality at some point in the future. The cowboys also felt that they had strengthened their bodies and muscles through various training programs in order to compete more effectively and avoid injuries. It was in the 1990s that protective gear actually made an entrance into the rodeo arena. These are protective vests and helmets. Bull riders comprised the most use of them, but there were a few bronc riders too. Bronc riders who had suffered head or neck injuries were more likely to wear protective gear. In 1996, in the ProRodeo Sports News, a helmet made of titanium weighing only 1 1/2 pounds was advertised. Cowboys still differ on the use of protective gear. Youth rodeos are starting to become greater users of protective gear.

Broncbusters of the Era (1980s)

• Brad Gjermundson
• Clint Johnson
• Lewis Feild
• Marvin Garrett
• Robin Burwash

Broncs of the Era (1980s)

• High Tide
• Cheyenne
• Skoal's Alley Cat
• Tombstone a.k.a. Big Bud a.k.a. All Velvet a.k.a. The Legend

Computerized Cowboys in the 1990s

In the 1990s, the sport of bronc riding was 150 years old. Just like any other sport, it had embraced the technology of the age. Riders still tested themselves against the bronc as was done in the beginning of the sport. But the business of administration was now computerized.

The PRCA created and staring using a computer program called ProCom. From that point forward, all PRCA cowboys would call to enter PRCA-approved rodeos throughout the country. The dates are posted during which they can register. Then cowboys would phone in to give their PRCA representative preferred dates, as well as cowboys with whom they travel. This so their dates will coincide.

They can even designate where winning rodeo points should go toward the year's final tally. Roughstock contestants can have 125 rodeos count and timed event contestants can choose 100. After the entries close, the cowboy can call back for confirmation of dates and stock drawn. Prior to 1976, cowboys called the each rodeo and registered with the rodeo secretary.

The information was written down and transferred. Thus, the information was not entirely available. Also, information regarding rodeos was sometimes not available. This caused cowboys to spend unnecessary time on the telephone. ProCom came online in January 1990. In 1995, it recorded 700,000 calls. Any issues are resolved promptly.

The ProOfficials Judging System was instituted in the 1990s. At the time, Jack Hannum, PRCA supervisor of the system and circuit coordinator, would conduct twelve seminars annually. In the 1990s, there were eight full-time judges. The judges were paid a salary plus expenses. There were also 150 plus reserve officials. Judges are allowed to consort with cowboys but not partake of drinks with them nor travel with them. Although judging has improved significantly, roughstock judging is still a personal opinion.

Ron Gullberg, of the Casper Star Tribune, interviewed George Gibbs, a Wrangler official, when he was working the Central Wyoming Rodeo. He said, "We watch for humane issues because contestants themselves don't want to ride an animal that may be injured or sick." They also ensure that the competitors end up with the stock they have drawn.

The roughstock is scored by the judge on several actions during competition. There is: "buck drop, power, height of kick, change in direction, spin, front-end movement, and rhythm or lack thereof." Per Gibbs, "In bareback bronc riding there is a spurring motion that the cowboy rolls back and forth from the neck to the hand hold as fast as he can. He wants to get as high in the neck as he can." As far as saddle back bronc riding goes, " Gibbs said, "The spurring motion comes from the neck through the sides of the horse's body and then back up front again. What determines the ride is how high the cowboy puts his feet up the neck of the horse. The timing and the rhythm of the horse and the length of the spur motion are very important. And very important is the contact of the feet and spurs, which we call drag. You just don't want a swiping motion where the cowboy's not getting a lot of contact with the neck and body."[69]

In 1990, two scoreboards were introduced in rodeo, by Daktronics, Inc., of Brookings, South Dakota. One was the Copenhagen/Skoal ProRodeo Scoreboard. These scoreboards provide quick times and scores on the competitors. For a time, there were three scoreboards hauled to rodeos by a team for almost every day of the year. It took 45 foot trailers. One scoreboard handled all of the statistics. The other scoreboard handled the graphics and logo displays. Someone in the arena wears a telephone headset. They relay information from the judges to assist the operator.[53]

In 1992 in Reno, Nevada, the first two high resolution screens were introduced. They displayed video replays of events that had just occurred in the arena. The screen would show the audience a video replay of an action that had just occurred in the arena. It also gave the announcer an opportunity to explain the action. This screen has aided many spectators in educating them about the sport.

In June 12, 1996, the PRCA went online to the Internet. The website ProRodeo.com was born and is still the professional website. From there, anyone can find information on a number of PRCA subjects including the National Finals Rodeo, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Event Descriptions, PRCA publications, etc. Other sports have their own website; the PRCA needed to keep up.

The PRCA regularly had its approved annual rodeos. But it also sanctioned other rodeos which were treated like one-time events. Or treated like an annual event but based on competitor scores regarding who could participate. The PRCA sanctioned some new events in the 1990s. Many of these new events were sponsored by professional rodeo's major sponsors.

In 1989, Wrangler (jeans) held a Rodeo Showdown. It was a competition between the United States and Canada. The total prize money was $220,000. It took place in Scottsdale, Arizona. Each team was made up of the top five participants. The saddle bronc and bareback teams from the United States won their events. In 1992, Coors sponsored a Rodeo Showdown. It was an individual event. Craig Latham took first place in the saddle bronc riding, and Denny McClanahan took first in the bareback riding. An event from 1976 continues to be popular, Walt Garrison's All Star Rodeo for Multiple Sclerosis, is still in the 1990s. An event titled the Exceptional Rodeo was also popular in the 1990s. Approximately 35 to 45 rodeos were held each year in the country. The rodeos were held prior to the regular rodeo and were especially for children with mental and physical challenges. The real cowboys enjoyed interacting with the children just as much as they did.

In 1975, the PRCA Circuit System was instituted. The entire country was separated into twelve divisions named circuits. It was created to accommodate competitors with talent, but whom lack the time and resources to compete with the sports major stars. A cowboy must select a circuit as their home circuit to compete in. Each time they earn money they accumulate points in that circuit as long as they are competing in it. The winners of each circuit compete in the finals event, once called the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, now known as the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo. The Finals started in 1987 and are held in the spring in Pocatello, Idaho.[53]

The 1990s saw a significant increase in sponsorship just like the 1980s. If not for sponsorship, there are some events that could not afford to be held. Sponsors choose to be involved in different ways. The Justin Heeler Program still continues to assist injured competitors after 10 years of involvement. The Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund helps when cowboys are injured or killed in rodeo accident. It helps injures cowboys who are not able to compete. Chuck Simonson, a bull rider injured at Caldwell, Idaho, received financial assistance. The assistance covered his rehabilitation for one year, part of his medical expenses and living expenses, as reported in January 1991. The PRCA donated money to the fund that that year, the $75,000 bringing the fund's balance to $230,000. Events are held each year to benefit this fund.[53]

The rodeo has attracted many significant high level sponsors such as Dodge, Coca-Cola, Wrangler (jeans), and other sponsors. These sponsors have paid sizeable amounts of money at many levels into local rodeos to the National Finals Rodeo to special competitions.

Wrangler has rewarded PRCA world champions, circuit champions, and stock contractors. Bonuses have been paid for having the top animal at all three roughstock events in all ten rounds at the National Finals Rodeo. Wrangler is one of the sponsors for the ProOfficial Judging Program. There are many other programs that Wrangler sponsors.

The cowboys would be striving to get their earnings, even to pay their expenses, without these corporate sponsors. In 1995, PRCA cowboys competed at 739 PRCA-sanctioned rodeos. They competed for $25.4 million for that entire year. And still they are quick to say they need more sponsors. "If there were more sponsors in rodeo more cowboys could go 'on down the road'," said Bob Logue, bronc rider, representative, and contest director.

For their part, the bronc riders keep traveling around the country trying to win money and adding up points for the National Finals Rodeo. Many top cowboys gave solid advice when asked what they would tell younger cowboys interested in competing. Ty Murray said, "Don't just want to win on the weekend or at the rodeo, want it all the time." Robert Etbauer said, "It requires determination and TRY." Lewis Feild said, "Have patience. come into rodeo with a 'Look, Listen, and Learn' attitude. Try high school, college, and amateur rodeo before becoming a PRCA member." Bruce Ford said, "Learn to ride safe before you try to be great."[53]

In 1992, there was a survey of cowboys which asked who their childhood rodeo heroes were. Eudell Larsen, from Laramie, Wyoming, who was a saddle bronc rider, said, "Clint Johnson and Tom Miller. Clint's school got me on the right track and taught me the basics." Bud Longbrake, from Dupree, South Dakota, also a saddle bronc rider, said, "Tom Miller, he always said to mark your horse out two jumps and lift on your rein and everything will work out after that." Marvin Garrett, from Belle Fourche, South Dakota, a bareback rider, said, "Bruce Ford, Phil Lyne, and Mahan. Bruce dominated when I started, he did it different than everyone else, he was wild and aggressive."[53]

It was in the 1990s where rodeos ranged in size from small town to major attractions. In the small town rodeo, local cowboys compete against each other and any full-time top ranked competitors that happen to pass through. Major attractions that had reached significant size by this time include the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede (now just the Calgary Stampede), and Cheyenne Frontier Days. In 1996, the Calgary Stampede's total purse was $650,400. In 1995, rodeo attendance passed 131,938. In 1996, Cheyenne Frontier Days celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Top cowboys in the 1990s expressed their opinions for making professional rodeo better. Saddle bronc rider Derek Clark stated he thinks the top fifty rodeos should invite the top fifty competitors in each event. "Good bucking events are getting more scarce every year. I think a less experienced rider should have to earn his way to get to compete against proven competitors", said Clark. Bob Logue would prefer to see professional judges specialize in an event or two, not all events.

It is certain that the PRCA will always be changing its rules, among other things. By the time the Cowboy Turtles' Association had been in operation only four years, they already had a 28 page handbook. That handbook was full of 12 pages of members, still leaving 16 pages of rules and information. The PRCA rulebook in the 1990s had 14 chapters of by-laws, 11 sections of official rodeo rules, and a 64-page judges' handbook appendix.

"It is hoped by many that rodeo will not change so drastically that the following words, written by Gene Lamb in 1954 for a book he had planned, will no longer apply to rodeo: <> Gene Lamb, founder and first editor of Rodeo Sports News, and author of several rodeo books, passed away January 11, 1996."[53]

Broncbusters of the Era (1990s)

• Robert, Dan, and Billy Etbauer
• Ty Murray
• Dan Mortensen

Broncs of the Era (1980s)

• Kingsway Skoal
• Lonesome Me Skoal
• Khadafy Skoal
• Bobby Joe Skoal
• Pawnee
• High Chaparral Copenhagen

Tooke bucking horses

Chandler Earl 'Feek' Tooke, born in 1909, lived most of his life on a ranch a few miles west of Ekalaka, Montana. Tooke and his brothers built an arena for rodeos on their ranch in 1931. Then they produced rodeos in Ekalaka, Baker, and Miles City, Montana. They also expanded into South Dakota and North Dakota. Then they started leasing bucking horses to other rodeo producers. Eventually their bucking horses bucked in rodeos bordering the West and the mid-West and also at Madison Square Garden.

Despite the public's negative view that horses could not be bred to buck, as a horseman, Tooke's biggest goal was to do so and provide a steady stream of bucking horses for many years for the rodeo. Tooke made an important step he purchased the stallion, a shire named King Larrygo, from Fox Chemical Company, in Iowa, in 1943. Larrygo was 3 years old, and weighed in at a ton. Breeding this large stallion promised progeny with the traits desired in bucking horses which are displayed by today's bucking horses. He also purchased rank (difficult to ride) mares from General Marion Sweeney.

After an irritable mare kicked King, his use as a sire was shortlived. Tooke did get one colt from him first. Tooke would later find out how important this colt would become by changing the abilities of bucking horses and the way they were bred. At maturity, the dark sorrel colt stood 17 hands and weighed 1,700 pounds. Named Prince, his mother was a Shire with a bad temperament, which he inherited. Tooke claims that Prince is the best bucking horse sire in history. However, many other stock contractors claim this too. The title "the Henry Ford of the bucking horse industry" has been applied to Tooke several times. Or the title "Henry Ford of his industry." Tooke and his son Ernest created a bucking horse "program" where he bred registered Shire stallions with cross-bred mares.

Tooke proved his claim regarding breeding bucking horses when his horse Sheep Mountain won the title Best Saddle Bronc at the National Finals Rodeo in 1967. Sheep Mountain became the first bred to buck horse to win a major award. After the PRCA became the sanctioning body for professional rodeo in 1975, they named the award the Best Saddle Bronc of the NFR. In 1968, Tooke rode into the Jim Norick Arena at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds to receive the award for the previous years' championship. Later, he would ride out with the award and suffer a heart attack that killed him at age 59, award still in his hand. His son Ernest took over. Hall of fame rodeo broadcaster and senator Clem McSpadden was quoted "Without Feek Tooke and his broncs, we wouldn't have bucking horses...he was years ahead of his time." In 2008, Feek Tooke the ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted Tooke for his contributions as a stock contractor.

Soon, in the United States and Canada, stock contractors were breeding bucking horses. As stock contractors bred horses from Tooke's horse's descendants, they could find horses from Tooke's bloodlines in over 6,000 bucking horses. The foundations of this bloodline are Prince, Snowflake, General Custer, Timberline, and Gray Wolf. McSpadden said, "They kept alive the tradition of great bucking horses which are the backbone of rodeos in Canada and the United States."

Eighty percent of horses bucking in the NFR are related. And the ones that have become world champions since 1987 have the same genetics. Also since 1987, the majority of PRCA Bucking Horses of the Year awardees have the same genetics, including Angel Blue, Spring Fling, Air Wolf, Commotion, Guilty Cat, Bobby Joe Skoal, Challenger, and Cloud Gray.

A fan of Tooke horses, hall of famer Erv Korkow, purchased five big mares in the early 70s. He used the mares with colts from hall of fame sire Gray Wolf and Timberline to start his breeding program.

In the mid 1970s the Calgary Stampede used General Custer's son Gray Wolf to sire 33 colts. This resulted in a horse named Grated Coconut who became the Bareback Horse of the Year six times, still a record. Grated Coconut also won the Bareback Bronc of the NFR in 2008.

Hall of fame stock contractor Harry Vold used Tooke genetics to produce three-time Saddle Bronc of the Year, Bobby Joe Skoal. And Hall of famer Bennie Beutler used his genetics to produce three-time Bareback Horse of the Year, Commotion. Tooke and his horse, Prince, have impacted bucking horse bloodlines for over 70 years (since 1940 ish). Prince was the key to changing the bloodlines and creating bred to buck horses. The Tooke ranch in Carter county still runs about 60 direct descendants of Prince.

Other HoF contractors: Here are others not in the HoF

Miles City Bucking Horse Sale

In 1946, Tooke spoke of an idea to have horses buck out of a chute as part of an auction of bucking horses. He related this idea to Bill Linderman, then the top all-around cowboy. Linderman liked the idea so much that he advertised it as the "World's Premier Bucking Horse Auction" in Billings, Montana in May 1947. The inaugural Miles City Bucking Horse Sale occurred in 1950.

References

Bibliography

• Woerner, Gail Hughbanks (1998). A belly full of bedsprings : the history of bronc riding (1st ed.). Austin, Texas 78709: Eakin Press. ISBN 1-57168-253-8. Retrieved May 22, 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

• PRCA Awards. Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Retrieved December 12, 2018.

• Wrangler NFR. Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.