Greg Cassidy: Rodeo Records & Legacy

For Greg Cassidy, being a rodeo cowboy wasn’t a choice or a random career path, it was his calling. He started out riding steers just like his dad, and it wasn’t long before he was competing in the timed events at pro rodeos. Four times he won the Canadian Steer Wrestling Championship (1985, ‘87, ‘88, …

Lorne Craig: Badlands Rancher

Born in 1902, Lorne Craig was well into his 80s when I met him. He came from a pioneer family of 10 children and his dad and grandfather were early ranchers in Oklahoma when it was opened up for settlement. Despite some pretty big challenges and harsh winters, the new land proved to be productive …

R.D. Symons: Shattering Canadian Myths

With his books, poems and artwork, R.D. Symons was to the Canadian West what Charles M. Russell was to the West of the United States. Born in Sussex England in 1898 he came to Maple Creek, Sask., at the age of 16 to learn to cowboy. He acquired his skills in the Cypress Hills and …

Earl Bascom – Born A High Rider

History shows only a half-dozen western artists who actually lived and worked as cowboys during the open-range era of the West. Cowboy artist, inventor and rodeo champion Earl W. Bascom was the last of this rare breed. Earl’s life started in a sod-roofed log cabin on the 101 Ranch near Vernal, Utah on June 19, …