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Bulldogging. Postcard by J. E. Stimson, 1909.
An article in Union Pacific Magazine, July 1929. detailing the history of Frontier Days,
How Frontier Days Became a Great Classic, noted that over the years,
Roping and bulldogging have been speeded up to such a point that faster steers
came into being to keep pace with the game. some ranchers are now raising
a breed of wide-horned, leggy cattle, useless for an;ything but show purposes, but
very valuable there. These ranchers are steer specialists, producing expert
steers. The animals are exercised, and fed a grain ration. they are fleet as a
saddle horse, weight around 1,200 pounds each, are are of a pinto design, similar to the
appaloosie ponies popular with the Indians.
As noted in the program for the 1936 World's Championship at the Boston Garden:
According to all the traditions of Rodeo, Bill Pickett, a cotton-picking Negro on a
Texas ranch along the Rio Grande, was the first steer wrestler.
This hazardous method of stopping a refractory steer seems to have come about
by accident. Bill, a capable cow hand, was trying to drive a steer into a corral. The animal
dodged the gate several times, until Bill lost his usually placid temper.
To the amazement of the onlookers, Bill urged his poney forward until he was
abreast of the steer. Then, leaping from the saddle, Bill grabbed the steer by a horn
with one hand and slid the other arm around the animal's neck. Using the
horn as a fulcrum, Bill, after stopping the steer, threw the animal to the
ground. When the steer was released, it trotted meekly into the corral, which was all
that Bill wanted.
Pickett's steer-wrestling act was featured in Rodeos. Clay McGonigal and one or two other
cowboys essayed the stunt successfully. Other cowboys followed and soon
steer wrestling very deservedly became one of the high spots of Rodeo.
In addition to Tom Mix noted on the previous page, Frontier Days attracted many of the leading
rodeo stars including many from the Miller Bros. 101. Following the demise of
Buffalo Bill's Wild West, the Miller Bros. out of Ponca City, Oklahoma, was the leading
western show.
Fred Stone, 1919, photo by Ralph Doubleday
Fred Stone (1873-1959) was a mutual friend of both Will Rogers and
C. B. Irwin and served as an honorary pall bearer for Irwin. Stone was born in Longmont, Colo., and joined the W. W. Cole Circus
at age 11. By 1902, he played the part of the Scarecrow in the Broadway production of the
Wizard of Oz. He and Rogers would sometimes appear on the same Vaudeville bill. The two shared a mutual love of
steer roping, polo, and flying. One of Roger's children was named Fred Stone Rogers. The two wrote with Elsie Jamis introductions to the
1928 book Roping Trick and Fancy Rope Spinning. Stone appeared in over 70 motion pictures including
Samuel Goldwyn's 1940 The Westerner. As indicated in the next photos, Stone was not
the only one who found the bulldogging contest difficult.
Kenneth Hays in bulldogging contest, undated, photo by
Ralph Doubleday
By 1936, the rules for bulldogging had evolved:
Each wrestler must make at least one catch from his horse.
Steers are numbered and drawn for.
Wrestler and hazer are allowed to leave chute with steer, but wrestler
must not leap before crossing dead line.
Steer must be thrown by hand, not knocked down.
Wrestler must signal with one hand for time when steer is thrown.
If wrestler lets steer up before being told, 30 seconds shall
be added to his time.
Best total time for all steers wins final money.
A time limit of two minutes is placed on wrestling.
If wrestler jumps and misses steer, he is allowed only
the help of his hazer in catching a remounting horse.
Bulldogger signaling time. Photo by Ralph Doubleday.
Sam J. Garrett, Bulldogging contest, undated, photo by Ralph Doubleday
Sam J. Garrett (1892-1989) was a champion roper who received his start at age 14 with
the Miller Bros. 101.
Sammy Garrett swinging big loop. Photo by Ralph Doubleday.
Garrett won the 1912 Frontier Days Fancy Roping Contest and later played in
some western movies, including the lead in Big 4 Films Corp.'s 1931 Flying Lariats.
Joe Gardner in Roping Contest, photo by Ralph Doubleday.
Joe Gardner (1877-1921) won the world championship roping contest in Chicago in 1920 and rode in
"staged" rodeos with Tom Mix, Will Rogers, and William S. Hart. His father, John Henry Gardner,
was an early Texas cowboy who trailed cattle from Texas to Ogallala and Montana. On one trip up to
Deadwood City, other cowboys included Joel Collins and Sam Bass each of whom went on to
infamy as road agents. When Joe Gardner died of stomach cancer, Lupe Loya, a nom de plume
for Lela Cole Kitson (1896-1970) wrote in Street & Smith's Western Story Magazine of Gardner's horse
"Skunk:"
At the ranch near Sierra Blanca waits a gray horse, "Skunk," which Gardner
rode during the last ten years of his life, and which shared with him the
honors and plaudits of fame. Never more will Skunk dash into the arena in
pursuit of a wild bovine, with the cheers of the multitude ringing in his
ears; never more will the rider he loved rub his silky neck after the
laurels are won and tell him he is "a good old hoss." But Skunk can be
patient, because it won't be long now before he, too, must strike out on
that long sunset trail; and if the justice prevails in the world beyond
which we hope and believe exists, then Skunk and his beloved rider may meet
again. Quien Sabe?
Mrs. Kitson, women's page editor for the El Paso Herald-Post, also wrote under the pen name of
Shirley Manners. In addition to Western Story Magazine she wrote for Thrilling Ranch Stories and
Ranch Romances. She wrote among other stories the 1925 The Cactus Turns the Other Cheek.
Ray Bell. Photo by Ralph Doubleday.
Next page, Frontier Days continued, Cowgirls, Husband and Wife Teams.
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