Horses that Buck
RED LODGE, Mont. -- When Bearcreek native Bill Smith first gained national attention for his rodeo skills, he recalled in a program last Thursday, a reporter approached him. Shy and nervous (“a lot less windy than I am now”), the young Smith responded to the reporter that what he liked about rodeos was “horses that buck.”
The phrase became something of a slogan for Smith’s career, as he went on to become a three-time world champion saddle bronc rider. It also became the title of a 2008 book chronicling his life. Margot Kahn, author of Horses that Buck
: The Story of Champion Bronc Rider Bill Smith, joined Smith for a lively discussion in front of a capacity crowd at the Carbon County Historical Society Museum on May 28.
When Kahn, who now lives in Seattle, first met Smith, she had never been to a rodeo. “I did not know how many miles he traveled for a chance to ride a horse that bucked,” she said, reading from the book’s preface, “or what it felt like, or how the road could make you feel free.” But after seven years of interviews and research, as well as rewrites as she pursued a Master of Fine Arts in Nonfiction at Columbia University in New York, Horses that Buck was published by the University of Oklahoma Press. It is now in its third printing.
“It’s her book,” Smith said with typical humility Thursday, “I just helped. I didn’t realize the talent this girl had—and she didn’t either. Everybody I talk to tells me what an easy read this book is, a page-turner.”
Smith now lives in Thermopolis, Wyoming, where he raises and sells horses at the WYO Quarter Horse Ranch. But the crowd Thursday was filled with relatives and old friends from the Red Lodge area, including the family of Bill’s nephew Jack Wipplinger.
The intimacy of the crowd led to both tender reminiscences and teasing.“My first girlfriend is here,” Smith announced, claiming their sixth-grade relationship faltered when she accused him of liking his horse more than her. After Kahn read an excerpt describing Smith competing in a rodeo in Filer, Idaho, on a broken leg in the early 1960s, Smith claimed that the other competitors had exaggerated his toughness: “I get a hangnail, it hurts.”
Since retiring from rodeo in 1979, Smith has built a nationwide reputation for his handling of horses. (The musician Lyle Lovett, in his Billings concert the previous week, called Smith “a role model, not just for cowboys but for anyone.”) Kahn said she was attracted to his story because it had ups and downs, with rodeo success followed by a period of struggle and a change in mindset, then “ending on a high note” with the current successes of his horsemanship career.
That career leads him all over the country. Smith came to the Red Lodge event direct from Minneapolis, where he’d been looking at horses. “Good horses are hard to find,” he said, noting that he had to look for not only what he liked in a horse, but also what his customers would like. “I couldn’t stay in business selling horses for what they’re worth,” he said. “Nobody needs a horse any more. They’re a luxury item, a plaything.”
But he expressed satisfaction with his career, noting that he truly loved horses, especially those that buck.
As the program made clear, Smith also makes a great subject for a book because of his incredible storytelling. In a give-and-take with friends in the audience, he kept the crowd laughing with stories including his worst accident, an avalanche in the Thorofare, the best bucking horse he’d ever seen, and cowboy pranks involving the overtipping of occupied Porta-Potties.
“My life has been filled with luck,” he said. “I’ve kept on trying to screw it up, and always come out smelling like a rose.”
Kahn said it was the first book event she’d done together with Smith, and the first with an audience that knew so much about Smith and rodeo in general. The two had an easy rapport on stage, and mingled with the crowd at a reception and signing before and after the talk.
Autographed copies of the book, which was announced this week as a finalist for a High Plains Book Award, are available at the museum and Red Lodge Books.
(cross-posted from the Carbon County News)
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
The phrase became something of a slogan for Smith’s career, as he went on to become a three-time world champion saddle bronc rider. It also became the title of a 2008 book chronicling his life. Margot Kahn, author of Horses that Buck
: The Story of Champion Bronc Rider Bill Smith, joined Smith for a lively discussion in front of a capacity crowd at the Carbon County Historical Society Museum on May 28.When Kahn, who now lives in Seattle, first met Smith, she had never been to a rodeo. “I did not know how many miles he traveled for a chance to ride a horse that bucked,” she said, reading from the book’s preface, “or what it felt like, or how the road could make you feel free.” But after seven years of interviews and research, as well as rewrites as she pursued a Master of Fine Arts in Nonfiction at Columbia University in New York, Horses that Buck was published by the University of Oklahoma Press. It is now in its third printing.
“It’s her book,” Smith said with typical humility Thursday, “I just helped. I didn’t realize the talent this girl had—and she didn’t either. Everybody I talk to tells me what an easy read this book is, a page-turner.”
Smith now lives in Thermopolis, Wyoming, where he raises and sells horses at the WYO Quarter Horse Ranch. But the crowd Thursday was filled with relatives and old friends from the Red Lodge area, including the family of Bill’s nephew Jack Wipplinger.
The intimacy of the crowd led to both tender reminiscences and teasing.“My first girlfriend is here,” Smith announced, claiming their sixth-grade relationship faltered when she accused him of liking his horse more than her. After Kahn read an excerpt describing Smith competing in a rodeo in Filer, Idaho, on a broken leg in the early 1960s, Smith claimed that the other competitors had exaggerated his toughness: “I get a hangnail, it hurts.”
Since retiring from rodeo in 1979, Smith has built a nationwide reputation for his handling of horses. (The musician Lyle Lovett, in his Billings concert the previous week, called Smith “a role model, not just for cowboys but for anyone.”) Kahn said she was attracted to his story because it had ups and downs, with rodeo success followed by a period of struggle and a change in mindset, then “ending on a high note” with the current successes of his horsemanship career.
That career leads him all over the country. Smith came to the Red Lodge event direct from Minneapolis, where he’d been looking at horses. “Good horses are hard to find,” he said, noting that he had to look for not only what he liked in a horse, but also what his customers would like. “I couldn’t stay in business selling horses for what they’re worth,” he said. “Nobody needs a horse any more. They’re a luxury item, a plaything.”
But he expressed satisfaction with his career, noting that he truly loved horses, especially those that buck.
As the program made clear, Smith also makes a great subject for a book because of his incredible storytelling. In a give-and-take with friends in the audience, he kept the crowd laughing with stories including his worst accident, an avalanche in the Thorofare, the best bucking horse he’d ever seen, and cowboy pranks involving the overtipping of occupied Porta-Potties.
“My life has been filled with luck,” he said. “I’ve kept on trying to screw it up, and always come out smelling like a rose.”
Kahn said it was the first book event she’d done together with Smith, and the first with an audience that knew so much about Smith and rodeo in general. The two had an easy rapport on stage, and mingled with the crowd at a reception and signing before and after the talk.
Autographed copies of the book, which was announced this week as a finalist for a High Plains Book Award, are available at the museum and Red Lodge Books.
(cross-posted from the Carbon County News)
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Labels: articles, history, narrative
