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| Cisco and I @ the State High School Finals in Huron, SD in 2005 |
I know horses can't live forever. But in my mind, Cisco could never die.
I've heard it said before that if you are lucky enough to own one great horse in your life, you are lucky enough. I've been pretty fortunate to have some great horses over the years, but none will ever replace the 'old paint reservation horse' that carried me through junior high, high school and college rodeos.
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| Cisco and I in 2005 |
Sixteen years ago, my dad and World Champion bareback rider Mark Garrett did a little horse tradin'. Dad thought we needed another good ranch horse so he traded a young horse straight across for the paint horse named "Cisco". Cisco was a grade ranch horse (meaning he had no registration papers to prove his actual age). Mark called the gelding 8 or 9 years old at the time. Cisco's early years are somewhat unknown. It is believed that Cisco originally came from the Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Eagle Butte, SD as he packed the late NFR bronc rider, T.C. Holloway's brand on his right shoulder. Rumor had it that he went through Holloway's bucking string where he evidently didn't buck hard enough so Mark purchased him for a saddle horse from Chuck Holloway in the early 90's. I have no doubt that Cisco's first years was what made him the tough as nails horse that he was.
Upon bringing Cisco home to our ranch in Buffalo, SD, dad decided that he would be the perfect horse for my younger brother, Pat, who was 10 years old at the time. In Cisco's younger years, I wouldn't have called him a "kids horse". He bucked Pat off numerous times before dad ordered me to start riding him.
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| Cisco and my brother Pat pole bending at a Junior Rodeo in 1999. |
Despite Cisco being the absolute roughest riding horse I have ever swung a leg over, he was smooth as glass to jump off of in the goat tying. He was so rough riding, at times I swore every one of his hooves were hitting the ground at a different time. I would eventually go on to use Cisco in every event - barrels, poles, goat tying and breakaway. He was the true definition of an all around horse. I would like to say there wasn't one thing you couldn't do on that horse, but there was. He was the worst dragging horse we ever had. He wouldn't pull a calf behind him at a branding to save his life. Oh and he was cinchy. Very cinchy in fact. If you hocked the cinch in him too fast he would stretch out and fall over and hold his breath so it appeared that he was dead.
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| Regionals 2003 |
Cisco's career nearly ended in the fall of 2004, shortly after we had won the South Dakota State High School Goat Tying Championship, when he tore his deep digital flexor tendon. With many trips to the vet, 8 months of stall rest and lots of rehab I was able to keep tying goats on Cisco but he was never sound enough to rope on or run barrels again.
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| Newell Labor Day 2000 |
Cisco carried me to State High School Finals Championships, College National Finals qualifications and won many titles along the way. The last time I rode him was at the college rodeo in Missoula, MT in 2009. Even though he wasn't entirely sound, he would still give 110% every run. He was the most honest horse I ever had. Once he became solid in all of his events, he had absolutely no cheat in him. He would run hard and straight every time in the goat tying and I don't ever remember him ducking out on me. He would from time to time hump up and try his darndest to buck but truthfully the horse couldn't buck that hard.
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| Regional High School Rodeo 2004 |
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| National High School Finals 2004 |
I retired Cisco after the Missoula college rodeo in 2009 and didn't get to take him to the CNFR that year. He could still run for me in the goat tying but the long hauls were taking a toll on his body. We would have to stop every 2-3 hours to unload him out of the trailer to stretch his legs and he couldn't stay stalled over the weekend at a rodeo. In 2010 I gave Cisco to my cousin's daughter, Rubi. Rubi had taken some falls off of her pony and was a little timid around horses until Cisco came along. She and Cisco built a bond that lasted for 5 years while Cisco carried her to many wins in the barrels, poles and flag racing events.
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| Cisco and Rubi |
By 2010, Cisco was who knows how old and he had lost all of his upper teeth. My cousins took such good care of him in his last years. Since he had no teeth he had to be on a special feeding program, but with a little Previcox and a lot of TLC he was still fat and sassy in his old age as he taught Rubi the ropes.
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| Rubi and I with Cisco in 2010. |
Cisco had all the love in the world on his time on earth. He passed away on August 23rd. Although many many tears were shed, I have to smile when I think back on all the happiness that 'old rez pony' brought to my life and Rubi's. I never in a million years thought that he would ever be a kid's horse but he took good care of Rubi when she was first learning to ride. He had a heart of gold and all the try in the world.
"Every horse deserves, at least once in his life, to be loved by a little girl."
Cisco was lucky enough to have two little girls love him and he will forever be that horse in our lives that will always have a special place.
RIP Cisco
??? - August 23, 2015
