One of the best cowboys I’ve ever seen is Dan M. “Buck” Brannaman. He’s an early adopter and leader within the Natural Horsemanship movement and mostly uses the vaquero style of cowboying. Buck lives with his wife, Mary, and three daughters on a 1,200 acre ranch in Sheridan, Wyoming. And his gift to us is sharing his knowledge through word and example.
He holds about 30 clinics a year, has made 7 DVDs about training and riding and is currently working on a book version of The Making of a Bridle Horse. He had five current books out, two of which he co-wrote with my friend William Reynolds.
Buck teaches basic horsemanship, colt starting, ranch roping and cattle handling. Brannaman also is a skilled Trick Roper, having performed rope tricks in television commercials since he was six years old under the name “Buckshot”. He estimates he’s started over 10,000 colts in his lifetime.
Unlike many other horse trainers Buck doesn’t like the publicity glare that often goes with it. He rarely attends the large equine expos. “I don’t like em much, cause I’m not a circus act,” I’ve heard him say. And at his clinics there isn’t Buck Brannaman branded merchandise for sale at every break.
From Wikipedia: Raised in Montana and Idaho, for many years he was a disciple of Ray Hunt……Brannaman had a difficult childhood, characterized by considerable child abuse at the hands of his father, to the extent that he and his brother spent a number of years in foster care placement. He took solace in horses, and learned from his own experiences to look at a situation from the point of view of the horse. He has written, “I’ve started horses since I was 12 years old and have been bit, kicked, bucked off and run over. I’ve tried every physical means to contain my horse in an effort to keep from getting myself killed. I started to realize that things would come much easier for me once I learned why a horse does what he does.”
Buck served as advisor on the set of The Horse Whisperer movie, but was in fact the primary role model used by Nicolas Evans when he crafted the best selling novel bearing the same name!
Although the entire family participates in ranch activities, his daughter Reata has become nationally known for her skills as well. She was recently honored by being on the January 2009 cover of Western Horseman magazine. Quite an up and comer!
One of the best roping books available is his Ranch Roping: The Complete Guide to a Classic Cowboy Skill, by Buck Brannaman and A.J. Mangum. You can get it HERE.
You can get more information at Buck’s official website HERE.
I’ve seen Buck rope the past few years at the Californios Traditional Ranch Roping and Stock Horse Contest and he is certainly one of the top hands anywhere roping and handling cows. Truly amazing to see how calmly and accurately he works.
If you have problems seeing the video below click HERE. The team is Jeff Hanson, Monticello, Utah; Frank Dominguez, Elko, Nevada; and of course Buck Brannaman.
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