Wyoming is known worldwide as the Cowboy State, earning the nickname from its rich history of cattle ranching and cowboy culture that remains the core of what's become known as the Cowboy Code.
This way of life is embodied in the thousands of cowboys who have worked in Wyoming for more than 150 years.
Even marginal cowboys are tough, hard-working, no-nonsense folk who develop a bond with the land and cattle that in some ways go deeper than family. It takes someone exceptional to be singled out in Wyoming as a cowboy's cowboy.
One such cowboy was Alva Miller of Chugwater.
In the early 1900s, Miller was just 9 years old when he and his older sister Georgia were hired by the Swan Land and Cattle Co. for a few summers. Their job was to individually take a team of horses to the different sheep camps and move the sheep wagons to new grazing areas.
Ida Kaye Harvey Sadlier was another cowhand who grew up on a cattle ranch outside of Robertson.
Her true love were the horses and her barrel racing though she spent long days in the saddle, caring for the cattle on the family ranch. Gary Steele Lozier, a fourth-generation rancher, spent his entire life in Sublette County.
And then there was Richard Ellis who grew up on his family ranch in Lander.
Scotty Ratliff, himself a cowboy, believed that these unsung heroes and others deserved recognition and it was wrong that they were being forgotten. As a result of Ratliff’s dedication, Miller, Sadlier, Lazier and Ellis have all been recognized for their life work in the saddle.
“I really love the West, the cowboy mentality and horses,” Ratliff said.
It has been nearly 15 years since Ratliff had discovered that these cowboys were not being honored. Ratliff had been invited over to a neighbor’s house for coffee, and she introduced him to her dad. The older man had just been inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, and this piqued Ratliff’s interest.
“I got to wondering who the hell's in the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame? I'd never heard of one,” Ratliff said. “So I called down to the secretary of state to see if there was such a thing, and there wasn't.”
Armed with the knowledge that the Cowboy State did not have a Hall of Fame for its cowboys, Ratliff decided to take matters into his own hands. He was passionate about the Cowboy Way of Life and was determined that the men and women who followed this code would be honored.
It was those that worked the land and rode out daily that he really wanted to make sure were honored.
Scott Ratliff of Riverton, Wyoming, grew up in the saddle and follows the Cowboy Code. When Ratliff discovered that Wyoming did not have a Hall of Fame to honor the cowboys he looked up to, he took action and now 20 to 30 cowboys every year are inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame. After all, Ratliff said, Wyoming is the Cowboy State. (Courtesy Photo) 
Scott Ratliff of Riverton, Wyoming, grew up in the saddle and follows the Cowboy Code. When Ratliff discovered that Wyoming did not have a Hall of Fame to honor the cowboys he looked up to, he took action and now 20 to 30 cowboys every year are inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame. After all, Ratliff said, Wyoming is the Cowboy State. (Courtesy Photo) 
Scott Ratliff of Riverton, Wyoming, helped found the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame to honor all those who made a living in the saddle. He said that it is an opportunity to recognize those who have gone unsung their entire lives. (Courtesy Photo) 
As a youngster, Scott Ratliff grew up on a ranch and his family followed the cowboy lifestyle. To honor those who made their living from the saddle, he helped found the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame. (Courtesy Photo)
Cowboy Way Of Life
Ratliff was well-acquainted with ranch life since he was raised on a family ranch north of Pavilion.
“We had cows, sheep and a coal mine,” Ratliff said. “It was a tribal unit and there was a little over about 250,000 acres.”
Over the years, Ratliff, a member of the Shoshone tribe, has witnessed many changes in how ranches are run.
“Back then, we didn't have horse trailers,” he said. “If it was a long way, we loaded them in a stock truck but if it was three miles or so we would just long trot them.”
Ratliff grew up horseback and that was how they did everything.
“It's become a bigger part of my life than just riding a horse,” Ratliff said. “ It is where I get my strength and sometimes my solutions.”
It was this first-hand knowledge of growing up in a saddle that propelled Ratliff forward on his journey to make the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame a reality.
The Grass Roots Movement
Learning that Montana had a Cowboy Hall of Fame and Wyoming did not, got Ratliff motivated to change that fact.
“I sat down with Paulette Moss,” he said. “She was running the Wrangler, and we started visiting and she was wonderful at it because she got me to focus more on what it was going to look like.”
Moss suggested that they speak to Pinky Walters, a rancher who they both knew.
“The three of us got together and talked,” Ratliff said. “What we were trying to capture is that guy that has spent a lifetime horseback and promoted the cowboy way.”
The cowboy way, according to Ratliff, was being a good neighbor.
“It was so important that you were a good neighbor,” Ratliff said. “You couldn't survive without it.”
When they moved cows and needed help, it was not always possible to hire help and that was when you needed your neighbor. These neighbors would come together for branding and gathering.
The three discussed their options for the next four months and then started opening up the conversation to others.
“We took on another four or so people and the next thing you know, we were breaking the state of Wyoming into ten regions,” Ratliff said.
They recruited a representative from each region, and the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame came closer to being a reality.
Scott Ratliff has spent a lifetime riding horses and encourages the next generation to follow the Cowboy Way, Bridger Peil. (Courtesy Photo) 
Scott Ratliff has spent a lifetime in the saddle and wanted to honor those who have been unsung by helping to create the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame. (Courtesy Photo) 
Scott Ratliff wanted to honor those who, like him, live the Cowboy Code, and so helped create the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame. He has encouraged his own daughters and grandchildren to live by the code. (Courtesy Photo) 
Scott Ratliff of Riverton, Wyoming, helped found the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame to honor all those who made a living in the saddle. He said that it is an opportunity to recognize those who have gone unsung their entire lives. (Courtesy Photo)
Highlighting Cowboys Lost In Time
“One day we decided that it was time to give it a try,” Ratliff said. “We put out that we were looking for applications, and we had our first induction down in Douglas.”
The three founders each kicked in money to cover the cost of a barbeque and were expecting about 100 people. Instead, a crowd of 350 showed up.
“We literally didn't have a penny to go on but at that induction, we cleared enough for us to hire a part time secretary,” Ratliff said. “The next year we moved to the event center in Casper.”
By the third year, they had almost 900 people show up at the induction of cowboys into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame.
“It's been just a wonderful thing to be a part of,” Ratliff said. “It's still doing wonderful things.”
Ratliff said that one of the goals is to induct people who have lived that cowboy lifestyle. He stresses that it is not a competition.
“It's not like this guy was a better horseman, or that guy was a better horseshoer,” he said. “It's about honoring the people who had a heart for the Western way of life.”
Honoring Cowboys
The Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame continues to induct people that are both alive and have been gone for nearly a century.
The Hall accepts nominations on its website. Requirements for inductees include spending 45 years on horseback or having died prior to being able to get that many years.
“It's not necessarily somebody who was a rodeo cowboy,” Ratliff said. “It could be someone that rode horses, broke horses, helped with branding and did whatever needed to be done with a horse.”
Another goal of the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame is to not only have cowboys from all walks of life but from every region in Wyoming.
“We capture and keep alive those memories of these hardworking people,” Ratliff said. “It’s a chance to honor them. And some of them have never been honored publicly in any other way.”
According to Ratliff, you can just feel the heartfelt love that these cowboys have for their horses and their way of life.
“This is a cowboy state,” Ratliff said. “It was time to honor our heritage.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
