The Bucking Horse and Rider (BH&R) is a registered

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. In 1936, Wyoming trademarked the image for the state's license plates. However, the state's usage of the logo can be traced back to as early as 1918. Wyoming is popularly known as the "Cowboy State," in part because of the use of the bucking

bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

as its symbol. The

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

at Laramie athletic teams are nicknamed the Cowboys and Cowgirls, both of which use the bucking horse and rider logo on their uniforms. Uniforms for the

Wyoming National Guard The Wyoming Military Department is part of the Government of Wyoming. Its primary components are the Wyoming Army National Guard, and the Wyoming Air National Guard. Leadership The Commander in Chief As of June 14, 2022, the current Commande ...

serving in Europe during World War I featured the horse and rider symbol. First Sergeant George N. Ostrom of E Battery, 3rd Battalion,

148th Field Artillery Regiment The 148th Field Artillery Regiment is a Field Artillery Branch regiment of the Army National Guard. History World War I The 148th Field Artillery was organized on 29 September 1917 by General Order 2, Headquarters 41st Division at Greene, Nor ...

91st Division,

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

, is credited with designing the insignia. According to references in military records of the 91st Division, Ostrom manipulated a horse named Red Wing, which he had bought near Crow Agency, Montana, into the Army remuda with the assistance of Army Horse Purchasing Officer Chester Cotton of Sheridan. Once the soldiers and the horse reached the post outside

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

, Major Louabaugh selected the horse as his mount, only to have it start bucking when the two bears used as mascots entered the parade ground. Chester Cotton and George Ostrum were detailed to remedy the horse's behavior. Ostrum used his memory of Chester Cotton subsequently riding Red Wing to win a slogan contest for the unit once in Europe. The horse survived World War I and was retired to a stable in France. The idea that the horse in the image was Old Steamboat (1894–1914), the famous bucking horse near Cheyenne, was developed much later, as few civilians saw the event depicted by Ostrum. The incident was documented with citations in the book ''Where Rivers Run North'' by Sam Morton. The slogan, "Powder River — Let 'er Buck" and was taken into the trenches as a password and counter-password by troops from that unit in Europe. Descendants of those soldiers were still serving with the Wyoming National Guard in 2014. The silhouette of the horse and rider is still in use today on uniforms of the Wyoming National Guard soldiers.

Clayton Danks Clarence Clayton Danks (July 21, 1879 – June 23, 1970) was a three-time winner of Cheyenne Frontier Days, an outdoor rodeo and western celebration held each July in the Wyoming capital city of Cheyenne. He is believed to be the cowboy of th ...

, a

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

native who died in 1970 in

Thermopolis, Wyoming Thermopolis is the county seat and largest town in Hot Springs County, Wyoming, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town population was 2,725. Thermopolis is Greek for "hot city." It is home to numerous natural hot springs, in which ...

, is believed to be the cowboy on an earlier version of the Bucking Horse and Rider symbol. He rode Steamboat in the

Cheyenne Frontier Days Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It bills itself as the "World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration." The event, claimed to be one ...

rodeo in 1909. In 1936, Allen True's Bucking Horse and Rider design modeled after Albert "Stub" Farlow of

Lander, Wyoming Lander is a city in Wyoming, United States, and the county seat of Fremont County. It is in central Wyoming, along the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River, just south of the Wind River Indian Reservation. It is a tourism center with several nea ...

began to be used on license plates, and it is this version of the design that continues to be used to this day. The iconic horse Steamboat came from the Tyrrell ranch near Chugwater, Wyoming, northwest of Cheyenne, and was given to Cheyenne Frontier Days by its former general chairman, Ace V. Tyrrell. Steamboat is buried on Frontier Park grounds near bucking chute #9, the only animal ever given the honor of being interred on park grounds. In 1975, Steamboat was inducted into the

National Cowboy Hall of Fame The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Ame ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, in 1979, into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

and in 2002 into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame. Wyoming sought to counter rampant counterfeiting of the state's license plate when it debuted the horse and rider image in 1936 as part of its license plate design. It is now the longest-running license plate motif in the world. Secretary of State

Lester Hunt Lester Callaway Hunt, Sr. (July 8, 1892June 19, 1954), was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from the state of Wyoming. Hunt was the first to be elected to two consecutive terms as Wyoming's governor, serving as ...

spearheaded legislation for the new design and commissioned artist Allen T. True to render the graphic image. True is also noted for painting murals for the Senate and House chambers in the

Wyoming State Capitol The Wyoming State Capitol is the state capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Wyoming. Built between 1886 and 1890, the capitol is located in Cheyenne and contains the chambers of the Wyoming State Legislature as well as the office ...

. True's bucking horse and rider image is also on the nameplates of Wyoming newspapers the ''

Wyoming Tribune Eagle The ''Wyoming Tribune Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Cheyenne and distributed primarily in Laramie County, Wyoming. It is the state's second largest newspaper in terms of circulation, behind the '' Casper Star Tribune''. The ''Tribune E ...

'' of Cheyenne and the ''

Casper Star-Tribune The ''Casper Star-Tribune'' is a newspaper published in Casper, Wyoming, with statewide influence and readership. It is Wyoming's largest print newspaper, with a daily circulation of 23,760 and a Sunday circulation of 21,041. The ''Star-Tribune' ...

'', on the state quarter, and on the state highway shield.

References

External links

*{{URL, http://soswy.state.wy.us/Services/BHRHistory.aspx, Wyoming's Bucking Horse and Rider (BH&R) Symbols of Wyoming Trademarks Vehicle registration plates of the United States Silhouettes Horses in art