Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Pancho Villa´s Last Saddle




Welcome to the Pancho Villa last saddle website.

Famed saddle maker Ed Bohlin appraised the craftsmanship alone on this saddle at $75,000. Verification of Pancho Villa's ownership, priceless.

Montie Montana and Spot

MM and Spot



Monte Montana, with Spot and F. W. Holland at Hollands store trying on splint boots. California Horsemen, wasn't F.W Holland's in Tomales, Calif.?

Although all of Monties horse's were reported to be named Rex, his first trick horse was named Spot:

Montana was hired to rope horses at a fair. The fair boss gave the teen a horse named Spot to use while he was on the job. The horse handled so oddly, the young man asked his boss what the problem was. It turned out Spot was a retired circus horse. Montana bought the horse and went on the road performing all over the country.

The performer's name, too, was acquired by accident. He'd always gone by the nickname Montie, but it was a rodeo announcer who added the Montana. The first show of the night, the man announced the youth as Montie from Montana. The second show, he accidentally dropped the "from." The crowd loved the name, so the cowboy kept it.

And Montie almost didn't have a horse named "Larry:"

Montie Montana Ropes Horse in Post-Divorce Wrangling - Los ...

Montie Montana

John Davis, leader in the Republican Organizing Committee, watches Montie Montana performing in the state capitol at Bismark.

Courtesy of State Historical Society of North Dakota



If you can tolerate this God awful rendition of "When the Saint's Go Marching In" until 2:28 you will see a quite shot of Montie Montana impulsively lassoing President Eisenhower at the 1953 Inaugural Parade. He is lucky the Secret Service didn't put a cap in him!!!!!

"125 Montana Newsmakers: Montie Montana"




You Bet Your Life

In classic Groucho, he tells Monte Montana, "you have a very familiar name," then asks, "are you from Rhode Island?" In classic cowboy when asked "cummerbund", Montie responds "thing around your belly."






Montie Montana - Western Stuntmen by Neil Summers

Montie Montana--The Last "Real" Cowboy. He Shut Off The Light's When He Left





MM's Bohlin spurs

Tom, Montie, and Axel


Montie Montana and Axel Gautier

MM with his Bohlin gun rig.

Montie Montana and Tom Mix

Tom Mix

Vintage Gainesville Community Circus



If the colors are accurate on this linen post card, the white leg markings indicate this act was 3 chestnuts and 3 grey's. Does anyone know who's act is was and who is presenting it in this photo?

Golden Don at the K & L Ranch Motel

For Dan Wallen-- Abu Bekr Shrine White Horse Patrol 1965


The Circus "NO SPIN ZONE": The Famed Sioux City Shrine White Horse Patrol Performing Double Duty

The Live Fair--1912

Who had a mule/horse liberty act? Unusual in that the stage is so high and there doesn't appear to be a ring curb.

Lt. Dick Ryan on Hatsushimo 1946


The American army had their very own rodeo expert, Lt. Joseph R. "Dick" Ryan. He had already organized two rodeos for the troops in Grafton and Brisbane, Australia, the year before. He was to do the same in Tokyo. While looking for horses for the rodeo, he found a white Arabian stallion in a secluded stables. He decided that he would use the horse in the rodeo. Newspapers jubilantly reported that Ryan was the first American to ride the Emperor’s stallion. Ryan reported that the horse was, "pretty playful, indicating that he had not been ridden for some time."

Army Rodeos were staged by Lt. Dick Ryan throughout the South Pacific. Many Rodeos were held for the entertainment of servicemen stationed in overseas bases--including Brisbane, Sydney, Grafton and Townsville, in Australia...Port Moresby, New Guinea; Hollandia, Dutch Indies and Manila...and a final victorious show in Tokyo on Armistice Day in 1945. Dick Ryan a Lieutenant in the United States Cavalry had an interesting and varied career. He was a circus rider, rodeo performer, Hollywood stunt man, motion picture double and finally the owner and producer of his own world famous rodeo and stunt show.