Back When They Bucked Archives

Back When They Bucked

Back When They Bucked with Frank Beard

On the wall in the meeting room at the Sisters, Ore., Pro Rodeo hangs a bull’s head, a testament to a man and his family’s way of life. That bull, Cuddles, was one of many bucking bulls and horses owned by Frank Beard, of Beard Rodeo Co. Frank got his…

Back When They Bucked with Pat Litton

Pat Litton was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her dad was an ex-farmer that worked for the state and had a garbage route. “He later went into construction with his dump trucks and helped build airports during the war,” explained the 88-year-old from Gillette, Wyo. “We traveled all over. I went…

Back When They Bucked with Logan Adams

story by Merrill A. Ellis Logan Adams grew up in a rural Texas community. Actually, he was born on his grandparent’s Carpenter Ranch which is nestled outside of the Texas Hill Country town of Medina. His other grandparent’s ranch on the Adams side of the family was just down the…

Back When They Bucked with Betty Sims Solt

Today’s cowgirls don’t know the debt they owe Betty Sims Solt. The New Mexico cowgirl was on the front lines, working to make opportunities for girls and women in rodeo. At a college rodeo, Solt won the girls’ all-around title, and received a ten dollar watch for her efforts, while…

Back When They Bucked with Pat Ommert

Laces tied snug, tennis shoe cowgirl Pat North Ommert made hundreds of laps around as many arenas throughout the United States from the 1940s to the 1960s, dazzling crowds with her signature one-foot stand and vivid smile. The trick rider, jockey, and stunt double from California traveled and performed extensively,…

Back When They Bucked with “Cody” Bill Smith

All Bill Smith ever wanted to do was ride bucking horses, and be like his heroes, the Linderman boys. Smith, a three-time world champion saddle bronc rider, got to fulfill both of his childhood dreams. The cowboy was born in 1941 in Red Lodge, Montana, and grew up north of…

Back When They Bucked with Larry Trenary

Larry Trenary was “hungry” to rope, and it showed. The Arthur, Nebraska cowboy spent the best days of his life, roping with his sons, Bret and Troy. He was born in 1939, the son of Elza and Erma Trenary, both teachers, who lived five and a half miles north of…

Back When They Bucked with Jim Ivory

Jim Ivory admits he’s a gypsy, and that’s part of what has made him enjoy the rodeo world. The cowboy, who grew up in northern California rode bareback horses at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) four times, and has worked behind the scenes at rodeos across the world. He was…

Back When They Bucked with Phil “Hatch” Hatcher

story by Judy Goodspeed “Going down a cotton row with a hoe or pulling a sack gave me the desire to do better. My dad was disabled from a stroke, but back then there was no such thing as a monthly check. The only solution was all ten of us…

Back When They Bucked with Dick Hermann

Dick Hermann served his country well. The former saddle bronc rider and pickup man was in the U.S. Navy for 25 years, five years in active duty, mostly in Vietnam, and twenty years in the Reserve. After he was Seaman Hermann, he became a cowboy. Dick’s story starts as a…

Back When They Bucked with Glen Bird

Because of his high school ag teacher, Glen Bird began riding bulls. The Weatherford, Texas man began his rodeo career at the behest of Mr. William T. Woody, ag teacher at Peaster (Texas) High School, a career that would end up with six International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA) titles and…

Back When They Bucked with Dilton and Pat Emerson

Dilton and Pat Emerson of Bossier City, Louisiana, know the value of a horse shoe. Keeping equine athletes of all disciplines shod has sustained the husband and wife for many years, and their bootprints through rodeo history are accompanied by their ingenuity. This includes inventing a now widely-used anvil and…