Featring cowboy poet and bronc rider....DAVE P. FISHERPresenting cowboy poet and rodeo bronc rider.....DAVE P. FISHER

 

 

Whistle Stop

 

 

 

I once drew up a horse no man had beaten in a go,

He even threw off a champion up at the St. Paul show.

I sought out those who’d seen him, and was askin’ all around,

They told me to cock my hammer or he’d throw me to the ground.

 

I guess I was pretty anxious and maybe a little scared,

But aimed to give it all I had when the two of us were paired.

The entry parade was over and the speeches all were done,

The bareback horses all had bucked and the calves were being run.

 

The broncs were moved on down the line and into every box,

They stomped and kicked the sliders at the sound of snapping locks.

My horse’s name was Whistle Stop, he was standin’ in chute five,

The chute boss he called out my name and I just came alive.

 

I set my saddle on him and pulled the cinch up tight,

I was feelin’ pretty flush and ready for the fight.

When the rope was tied on the gate I got myself in place,

I called outside, tucked my chin and launched out into space.

 

 


 


He jumped up and he twisted and swapped out both his ends,

He did his best to throw me out and give me to the winds.

He turned himself inside out and popped me from the seat,

I got myself back into place, I’d no plans for being beat.

 

I started feelin’ pretty smug and thought I had him rode,

But he had one more trick left for his burden to unload.

He bucked out hard to the right then left with all he had,

Then I was sittin’ in the air and my crash was pretty bad.

 

That was many years ago and I heard that horse he quit,

Didn’t want to buck no more and was broken to the bit.

But I recall how great he was the night that me and him,

Fought it out in front of all and took it to the rim.
 

 Dave P. Fisher
© All rights reserved.

 

   

About the author....Dave Fisher said:

 

Photo of Dave Fisher on "Whistle Stop".

 

     "I happen to have this unusual photo of me on Whistle Stop. (See photo above.)  He was whipping back and forth so fast, turning inside out, swapping ends, that the photo caught the rear end.  You can see my arm up and some of my back.  Note how high he was in that back end kick, but I was in good shape -- and then too darn smug!!  I drew this horse in Eugene, Oregon.  He had sent Shawn Davis for a crash the week before in St. Paul, Oregon.  One of the wildest broncs I've ever been on."
                                              
Dave P. Fisher
    
                             ________________________________________________________________

          

    Dave comes by his knowledge of the rodeo world first hand.  His time spent as a saddle bronc rider, Advisor for the local High School Rodeo Team, and running with friends who were bull riders, bareback riders, and ropers have given him the inside track on life behind and in front of the chutes.  He knows the smell of the livestock, the nervous kicking of broncs in the chute, bellering bulls, and the feel of sliding your legs down between the chute walls and a horse ready to go.  Slipping the oxbows over your boots and praying that the bronc doesn’t throw himself over backwards because you’re in there, and then the explosion out of the gate. 

This is how Dave put it, “We all worked together, I pulled as many bull ropes and bareback riggin’s as I did saddle cinches.  We were there for each other when one of us got hurt, or to cheer on a good ride or run.  It was a great time in my life."
 

    “We went down the road to Chris LeDoux 8 tracks and knew every one of his songs.  Our heroes had names like, Gay, Henson, Alexander, and Camarillo.  We knew all about Casey Tibbs, Jim Shoulders, and the greatest rodeo cowboy, who made the world sit up and take notice, Larry Mahan. I went on from there to make a living off a horse for years, but the rodeo days have always stayed vivid in my mind.”   

 
    Dave has published two novels: Yates, U. S. Marshall and The Strawberry Mountain War. |Dave's novel, Yates, U. S. Marshall,  takes place in a fictional town in Nevada. Dave's book, The Strawberry Mountain War is about a range war in eastern Oregon. He just published his first collection of short stories of the American West...."BRONC BUSTER". Several of these stories have been chosen for special awards.

 

Cover of "Yates-U.S. Marchall"

Cover of "The Strawberry Mountain War".

Cover of "Bronc Buster"


To order a copy, log on to Dave's web site: 
          www.DavePFisher.com   


               Your comments are invited - DavePFisher@aol.com

  

 


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