In one of his first competitions, when the steer hit the rope, Comanche was jerked off his feet and Will went flying. Will picked himself and Comanche up and tried again. Down went Comanche and Will again.

“Try it once more, son,” said the judge, “and if the steer knocks you down again, tie up yore horse’s feet and I’ll give you time.”

Will won his first “first” when he was 19. Against a field of 10, Will “tied his cow” in 52 seconds flat. With that sweet taste of success in his mouth, he competed in every steer roping he could attend. His 52-second “first” looked good to him until he saw a steer tied down in 34 seconds. He sought out the cowboy that did it. ‘That is, he sought out the horse that the cowboy rode, a big sorrel named Robin. Will bought him for $125, one of the finest roping ponies he ever owned.

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Will rode Robin in parades and roped the girls by the feet, streetcar motormen out of their cars, and sometimes dignitaries who became a little irked and had to be kidded out of it. Will was good at both.

Around Claremore and Oologah, Will built quite a name as a roper. For the next couple of years he ranged farther and farther afield. He competed in shows in Memphis, Tulsa, and Springfield, Mo., and many others. The last big “steer roping” he attended was at the San Antonio International Exposition in October, 1901.

The next spring his itchy feet took him away from the Indian Territory country. He was never again to live in the land of his birth.

Long about that time most of the young bucks in Indian Territory were excited about tales coming out of the Argentine. The cattle business down there, the stories went, was growing like wildfire. That was the place to be.

Will left Comanche at the Dog Iron and, riding some old cayuse, started cross-country with another cowboy, Dick Parris, for New Orleans. But before Will reached the Argentine, 10 weeks had passed and he had been to Galveston, New York, and South-hampton.

He showed the Argentines something about Indian-country roping, and he learned something from them, too.

“I hadn’t even got close enough to that steer to start swinging my rope when I heard something whizzing over my head,” Will said. “A guy 20 feet behind me had thrown clear over my head and caught the steer! ”

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2 Comments

  1. Reedie Vanlandingham Reply

    I so enjoyed reading this article. I have loved horses since I was very young. I have always wanted a horse but couldn’t afford to buy one. I have been told that they are expensive to maintain. I don’t know anything about them. But I will always love reading and looking at them in pictures. They are majestic creatures that are so beautiful to look at.

  2. Kristi s sumner Reply

    My grandfather James (Jim) Minnick was best friends with will rogers and also taught will how to play polo. Will and my grandfather Jim minnick and Fred’s stone were all friends .

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