Hall-Of-Fame: It Takes Special Kind Of Tough To Be Wyoming Cowboy

As the distant coyote howls and thunder rolls, a horse may falter and the cold chill may settle into the bones. Regardless of the weather or rough terrain, the cows still need to be gathered and work cannot be postponed for a “nicer” day.

The Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame honors these men and women who have spent 45 years or more in the saddle and embody the Cowboy Ethic. The 2024 inductees would agree that although a tough life, it is a rewarding one.

“They're tied to the land, and they love that,” Executive Director Candy Moulton said. “That's probably what they love the most. They're dealing with hard country and with livestock that can get scattered far and wide in that big open country. They love being out there by themselves.”

The men and women of Wyoming who embrace the cowboy life wouldn’t trade it for another. To an outsider wondering why, Cowboy poet Darrell Arnold pondered this question and put it to rhyme.

"Why do you do it?" someone asked.

"The money doesn't pay.

The work is long, the hours hard,

How can you live this way?

*****

"What makes you choose the cowboy life,

A life of dust and heat,

A life of sittin' on a horse

In wind, and cold, and sleet?"

*****

“I pondered on it for a spell

Then answered that I thought

I did it cuz the things I like

Are things a cowboy's got.

*****

“It's fun to throw a perfect loop,

And dally to the horn.

There's pleasure in the way I feel

When all the calves are born.”

Future Of The Cowboy Way Of Life

The question of the future of cowboying was posed recently in Casper as 23 cowboy veterans were inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame. Some have long passed but others are still very active at home on the ranch.

These inductees, who have all spent most of their life in the saddle, expressed hope for the future and see a desire in some of the future generation to still live this type of life. They do, however, want them to remember, this is real life and not a reality show.

According to recent inductee Steve James, it is more than just putting on a cowboy hat and boots to be able to call yourself a cowboy. It’s about a good work ethic and not putting on a show.

“Good help can be hard to find these days,” Kevin Campbell of Sublette County explained. “One time we were gathering cattle and the yearlings start drifting off. Jake Fisher, who was quite the character, hollers at this kid, “Hey, Joe! Get over there and head them yearlings! Keep them bunched up and remember you're not on TV!””

Although jobs are getting harder to find, for those wanting to pursue the cowboy way of life in Wyoming, it is possible and employment is available, for those who want to put in the effort.

“The cowboy lifestyle is kind of a spirit,” Moulton said. “They may do some of the work a little differently today, but they still have to gather cattle. You’ve got to brand them and that's not going to change.

“What also isn't going to change is these people who do this kind of work are tied to the land, and they believe in the land. Production agriculture is such an important part of Wyoming's economy and it is so important to our customs and culture.”

The Wrecks

The cowboy life can be a tough one on both body and soul. Many yarns were passed around about horse wrecks including one from Steve Bossman that had the audience in stitches during the “Coffee with Cowboys” presentation at the annual induction ceremony.

“I had a big wreck with a bunch of yearlings,” Bossman said. “I was helping a fella across the river and these yearlings had gotten across the highway. Some went back and some went down the highway.”

Bossman said that he and another fellow headed down the borrow pit to round up the young cattle herd. He was riding a black beauty that he had bought off a fellow inductee into the Cowboy Hall of Fame, Matt Avery. This horse had a history of being a bit ornery. It had nearly put Avery in the hospital twice but Bossman was confident that the horse could do the job.

“I was riding this horse, and he's doing pretty good,” Bossman said. “He grabbed every once a while, and at that time, I had a thin pair of reins and he didn't really like the bit so I had a half bit on him.”

Bossman paused and chuckled, remembering. “This horse liked to run off, but I thought I had him.”

He shook his head ruefully for, shortly into the round-up, the curve strap broke on one side. This started a dramatic chain reaction. The strap whipped up and slapped the gelding on the nose. The horse took off running with Bossman holding the thin reins.

With the curve strap gone, all he had on the horse was a nose band.

“We're going down highway there. All I could do was tug onto them reins. Pretty soon I'm sitting there, looking at the rein, when, oh no, I didn't have a rein!”

Both the reins had broke and he was now effectively riding the horse without any way to control the beast.

“I'm still sitting there, and the guy with me was smart. He wasn't trying to catch me, you know, though I made him run to keep up. Well, all of a sudden, the horse starts to angle, and we're about to hit the highway.”

Bossman had a plan.

“I think, this ain't going to be good. I'll just swing down off this horse and hold onto the saddle horn. I'll start running beside the horse and get off that way. I found a nice place, too, that had no rocks, no brush and would make a good landing.

“Beautiful stuff, yeah? Well, I hit it but that darned horse was going faster than I realized. The guy behind me said that I looked like a two by four coming off top of a truck. I made about three turns, come up in the gravel with my nose bleeding.

“Some cars stopped and the guy panicked, saying you broke your nose! I told him, ‘No, it ain't broke’ but he didn’t believe me. He said, ‘You need to go to the hospital.’ I said, ‘No, I need to catch that horse.’

“Well, the guy behind me, he picked up all my parts.

“Pretty soon, the old horse quit. He circled around, and we went to the fence and got some wires, got things back together.

“Worst part about it is I had him sold, oh, for about twice what I gave for, you know. And it was a guy on the construction crew on that highway, and he seen me. He says, ‘Is that be the horse you're trying to sell me?’ I hesitated for a minute. And he says, ‘That's what I thought.’”

Eventually, Bossman was able to sell the horse to a dude ranch and that horse became a great horse – for dudes. Apparently, it just didn’t want to work calves.

Cowboy Hall of Fame

The Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame gathers once a year to honor the men and women who have lived a life in the saddle and a desire, unlike the black beauty, to work the land. They have taken a brief break from their daily chores to gather in Casper as the new cowboys and cowgirls are inducted into this prestigious hall of fame.

“Each inductee is nominated either by family, friends or themselves,” Executive Director Moulton explained. “One of our major criteria is that our cowboys who are inducted have to have been working as working cowboys for at least 45 years in the saddle as a livelihood. That's a really high bar for people to meet.”

The stories of the cowboys and cowgirls being inducted were as wide ranging as the ranches they worked.

“We have someone going in, George Amos, who was a cowboy in the 1880s so he was open range cowboy when you're running chuck wagons,” Moulton said, highlighting a few of the historic inductees. “Tillie Sewell from up in Osage was working in the 1920s. She was the oldest daughter and often did her work riding side saddle. Imagine that, go gather your cattle on side saddle!

Those that were still active arrived at the induction ceremony, surrounded by friends and family.

“We really want to recognize and honor these people who are doing this really tough work and an important work,” Moulton said. “I don't think they could imagine doing anything else.”

Darrel Arnold agreed as he ended his poem, from the book ‘Cowboy Poultry Gatherin'.’ It answered for many of those in the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame, the why they continued to live the cowboy life despite the hardships and the wrecks.

“I really like fine leather gloves,

And brandin' in the spring.

I'd rather hear a bawlin' cow

Than hear a choir sing.

*****

“And, to this list, add one thing more,

It's more than like, it's love.

A horse is what a cowboy has —

A blessing from above.

*****

“What cowboys are is what I am.

It's all I care to be.

And all the things that cowboys have

Are good enough for me.”

Contact Jackie Dorothy at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com

Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.