Detours seem are becoming common on this adventure! Though I had planned on stopping in Miles City, Montana, as part of my rock hunting journey, I landed there during the 75th Annual Miles City Bucking Horse Sale weekend. Needless to say, I never made it down to the river.
Wow! The Bucking Horse Sale is quite a community event! Hotels offer extended full breakfast services for the community, local businesses sponsor all sorts of events, cowboys and cowgirls come from all over, and everything you can imagine regarding horses and rodeos is offered by vendors at the trade show. The city park is full of events throughout the weekend, including live music, street dances, a farmer’s market, Western Art Roundup exhibits, and food trucks. Food trucks also line the road behind the grandstand at the fairgrounds, and fresh squeezed lemonade and toffees are sold near the trade shows. I was only there for one day, but the event lasted for four days of horse races, rodeos, bucking horse sales, trade shoes, street dances, a parade, etc.. One place names it the “Cowboy Mardi Gras”.
This event has grown up for 75 years around the Bucking Horse Sale, but never having attended an event like this before, what in the world is a bucking horse sale? It is where saddle bronc and bucking bull rodeo prospects are auctioned off to contractors or rodeos. This sale showcased the animals by cowboys riding them out of the chutes. They were graded by how high they jumped into the air and bucked, etc. and then auctioned off. It was amazing to watch. That was one of the many times on this journey I would have liked to have had a good camera to catch the action! My phone isn’t one of those! But you know, I got to witness these events, and experience them. That is the most important part! The auctions were sandwiched between horse races and ceremonies.
Unofficially, the first Bucking Horse Sale took place in 1950 when Les Boe purchased yearling steers on behalf of the Miles City Livestock Commission. Along with the steer, he inadvertently ended up with 35 head of bucking horses and didn’t know what to do with them. After a lot of consideration, someone suggested selling them, and the first three-day event was held. It was a success, and the community thought it would be a profitable event, so the first official World Famous Bucking Horse Sale made its debut in 1951. To help commemorate the 75 years, some of the people involved early on, as well as their descendants, were recognized, at one of the ceremonies.
I landed in Miles City on a Friday night, and spent Saturday checking out the different events, the parade being the first. I always enjoy parades. I’ll never forget the first parade we saw shortly after we moved to Winsted, Minnesota, with four small children. We had no idea it was going to happen, but it went right past our house. We hustled to the front yard to watch. Small towns put on the best parades! As a journalist, photographing the local parades was an assignment I always enjoyed!
Anyway, there were so many people, it was hard to find a place to watch! I had to park a few blocks from the center of the city and the City Park, and I took my parade chair thinking i would be able to sit and watch. No way! I stood with a group of people holding the chair over my shoulder the whole time.
The energy in the community was palpable! Children lined the streets to collect candy, moving farther and farther into the street as the parade progressed. The kids in front of me moved so far into the street, I was afraid they were going to get hurt! One little blond girl – braided pigtails, cowboy boots, jeans and a denim jacket – must have been about 5 or 6 years old, and she was fun to watch! She was so self assured and fearless! And she was going to get as much candy as possible. By the end of the parade, her bag was so full it was nearly up to her waist!
Of course there were lots and lots of horses!
There also were the fire trucks, the steam-powered tractors, the political candidates, the clowns, the 4H and FFA groups, classic cars and all the normal parade units. One unit I had never seen before was a cowboy riding a bull, saddle and all.
From the parade, I went to the City Park to check out the Farmer’s Market and the “Quick Draw Art” event. I expected more produce at the Farmer’s Market, but it was basically a vendor show. There were lots of jewelry, clothing, baked goods, and craft booths, as well as knife booths and a gun booth. One booth with stones caught my eye. The vendor had cut and polished Montana agates, as well as polished shards that broke off during tumbling. He said he collects all the agates on the Yellowstone river, and tumbles even the slabs. Well, of course I had to purchase the tumbled shards! They are perfect for jewelry making, and they are beautiful! I don’t have the correct equipment to cut the rocks I have collected, but I can’t wait to see how many of them look after polished!
When I first saw “quick draw” I assumed it had something to do with guns, but I was wrong. The Quick Draw Art event was a blast to watch! There were about 15 or so artists who had 30 minutes to create a piece of art, then another 10 minutes to frame it if needed, and then the art pieces were auctioned off to raise money for the local art museum. There were a lot of different mediums and artists, including a potter who threw a vase on a pottery wheel. One artist painted on a cow skull. Live music was performed while the artists were working. There were so many beautiful pieces that raised between $300 to $3,000 each when auctioned off.
The rodeo was held at the fairgrounds, so that is where I headed next. The stands were so full, standing room was all that was left. The most interesting event to me, and it seemed to be the most dangerous, was the wild horse race. The horses are not really wild Mustangs or captured wild horses. A federal law passed in 1971 prohibits the sale of those horses. The horses at the Bucking Horse Sale events are either selectively bred as bucking stock, or are excess or unsalable young horses, or spoiled riding horses that are adept at bucking off riders. Likewise, most consigned bulls are bred specifically as bucking stock.
Each team has three cowboys, and the goal is to get a saddle on the horse and one of the cowboys ride the horse around the track. The wild horses were let go from the chutes, all 16 at one time, each assigned to a specific team. The horses were not thrilled and pandemonium ensued. It is a dangerous event, and cowboys often get hurt. One did during the race I watched. Watching the men nearly get trampled and then bucked off and then the horses trying to herd made me nervous. It was amazing to watch. When the race was over, the horses had had enough, herded together, and made it difficult to get them through the gate and out of the arena.
The different bucking horse sale heats were sandwiched between horse races, wild horse races and ceremonies. I stayed long enough to witness at least one of each. Standing near the fence near the first turn of the track, the smell of the disturbed dirt as the pounding of horses hooves flew by was an incredible experience. Horses are one of the most beautiful, strong, powerful animals God has created. The fire, passion, intelligence and determination in the variety of horses at this event was something to behold.