One of the most iconic Wyoming images is that of the cowboy on a bucking bronc. It graces the license plates of the state’s vehicles and the University of Wyoming logo. The original bucking bronc was a horse named Steamboat.
He was coal-black, with three white feet and originally owned by the railroad station agent at Chugwater. Steamboat was then sold to the Swan Land and Cattle Company in 1901, where the beginning of a long series of riders tried to “break” him. Steamboat was soon a legendary feature on the rodeo circuit. Ownership of Steamboat changed hands several times, and it was rumored that Buffalo Bill Cody once offered $2,000 for him.
A UW professor in the College of Agriculture captured the now well-known photo of Steamboat at the Albany County fair. Guy Holt was the cowboy who was seen riding him.
Steamboat died of blood poisoning in 1914.
Learn more about Steamboat, the bucking bronc, in the Robert H. Burns papers at UW’s American Heritage Center.
For more information, visit the American Heritage Center site.