Cowboy poem, "Bugger Red" by Stan Tixier

Oh, there's tales of fame and glory,
And I'll tell you folks a story
   Of a buckin' horse that had a special knack
For dislodgin' skillful riders,
Downright rough and tough rawhiders,
   That assumed a set position on his back.
He was kinda' lean and wiry,
With a temper mean and fiery,
   He was wild from birth, an outlaw born and bred,
But an average lookin' pony,
Light haired sorrel, sorta' roany,
   He was known throughout the west as Bugger Red.

Bugger Red, the name struck terror
For the ordinary wearer
   Of the high healed, high top boot with pointy toe,
And the twisters, those that knew him
Would regret the day they drew him
   In a contest that they call a Rodeo.

He was fifteen hands but rangy,
Long tailed, cockleburred and mangy,
   When they found him in Montana on the range,
Though a few had tried to ride him,
When the contract rider tried him
   It was certain that his life was gonna' change,
'Cause he had instinctive movement
And with practice came improvement,
   But at six years old he never had been fed,
He put on a couple hundred
And they scratched their head and wondered
   If he'd make a saddle bronc, this Bugger Red.

Well, he got his start in Boise,
With a large-sized crowd and noisy,
   And a salty rider got a big surprise,
When that red horse left him hangin'
And his pumpkin head went bangin'
   As the sand came up and smacked him 'tween the eyes.
So he went from there to Baker,
Like a mover and a shaker
   He dispatched a twister quicker than a flash,
Poor guy landed in a rubble,
Shoulda' never took the trouble,
   'Cause he never stood a chance to with the cash.

Then in Pendleton, by golly,
When a rider took a fall, he
   Said he never saw it comin', never did,
He was stickin' for a few jumps,
Suddenly he had some new lumps,
   And ole Bugger showed that he would not be rid.
That performance was repeated
Many times, and undefeated
   Was this buckin' horse no one could ride, instead
Every hopeful bronco buster,
All the luck that they could muster
   Weren't enough to stay aboard that Bugger Red.

Bugger made his reputation
With an awesome combination
   Of just brutal force along with speed unique,
He could jar you 'til you rattle
Then rotate a slippery saddle
   With a most effective buckin' horse technique,
He was ornery as the devil
As he started straight and level
   For a jump or two and then he'd bog his head,
With a swift and twistin' motion
Like a rowboat in the ocean,
   Some poor cowboy would depart from Bugger Red.

So, for season after season,
It was obvious the reason
   Bugger Red, you see, still never had been rode,
Lotsa' top hands came and tried him,
Not a one could stay astride him,
   Each and every sad contestant would be throwed.
Well, his fame was quickly spreadin',
It was likely he was headin'
   For a special class wherein it can be said
Ain't no buckin' horse that's tougher,
Born to make a cowboy suffer,
   Than the toughest of them all, old Bugger Red.

But alas, it's truly spoken
Every record must be broken,
   And the very best there is will one day fail,
One spring evening down in Reno,
And it's true for all that we know
   Well, he wrote a final chapter to this tale,
There a rider drawn at random,
With some luck and skill in tandem,
   Proved there's never been a horse alive or dead,
That at last could not be ridden,
Every move was to his bidin',
   And he scored a winnin' ride on Bugger Red.

Oh, there's legend and there's fable,
Cowboys sit around a table
   And imbibe a bit and tell each other lies,
Now and then amongst them fellers
There's authentic history tellers,
   And you find your mouth drops open in surprise,
For when saddle broncs are spoken
Of, there isn't any jokin',
   'Cause for every rank cayuse that's spurred and bled,
Just forget them other suckers,
When they name the greatest buckers
   There's a horse that's mentioned first, it's Bugger Red.

Bugger Red, the name struck terror
For the ordinary wearer
   Of the high heeled, high top boot with pointy toe,
And the twisters, those that knew him
Would regret the day they drew him
   In a contest that they call a Rodeo!

In the early years of rodeo, many of the bucking horses used were simply wild horses that had been captured and brought to town for the rodeo. As the sport of rodeo grew in popularity, access to quality bucking horses quickly became a concern for all rodeo producers. How do they make rodeo horses buck? Bucking bronc painting by H. D. Koerner

Rodeo producers and stock contractors don’t make horses buck; they utilize horses that already have an inclination to buck. . Approximately 40 percent of rodeo bucking horses are in the sport because they have continued to buck their owners and riders off. They come from the racetrack, feed lots, ranches and just about every other equine discipline. These horses are considered too dangerous for other equine activities, yet they are perfect for the events of bareback riding and saddle bronc riding. Stock contractors, the owners of rodeo livestock, continuously get phone calls from anxious owners who cannot seem to train the buck out of a horse, but want to insure the horse receives a good home. Another way bucking horses make their way into professional rodeo events is that they are bred specifically to buck.

Tthere are two types of bucking horses. The type of horse used for bareback riding varies from the type used in the saddle bronc-riding event. Bareback horses are smaller animals with a wilder bucking style while saddle bronc horses are generally larger with a more classic style of bucking that allows the rider to sit up in the saddle and get a rhythm with his feet forward from the horse’s neck and back to the cantle of the saddle. Many saddle bronc horses are draft horse crosses, these large sturdy animals have the perfect classic bucking action as well as the strength and durability that make them excellent athletes for long-term careers in the sport of rodeo.