Tag: kindness wisdom story

TWO NEIGHBOURS

Once, two ladies were neighbours.

One of them was very fat, while the other was very thin.

They always kept fighting with each other.

All the other neighbours were fed up with their quarrels.

One day, an elderly person said to both the ladies, “Why do you quarrel so much? Can’t you be like the wheels of a two-wheeler where one wheel compliments the other?”

At this, the thin lady said, “Yes, but how can a vehicle move smoothly when one tyre is of a tractor and the other of a cycle.”

Everybody present there started laughing, hearing such a witty answer.

In a recent post of a Michael Pintar photo…there was lots of talk about a saddle horn. That photo is a perfect example of why bronc saddles dont have a saddle horn.

In our travels filming for the Feek’s Vision documentary, I was lucky enough to get the story of how the first hornless bronc saddle came about.

Feek’s Vision film crew (myself & Ken), met up with Deb Copenhaver and Dan Mortensen in Billings to talk Tooke Bucking Horses. 8 or 9 hours later after the sun had set…lots of stories shared, including how the first saddle bronc saddle came about.

Deb had entered a rodeo; I want to say it was in Great Falls, I would have to go back and check the footage, but the other film crew member has it (I’m looking at you, Ken)…another bronc rider had entered but didn’t have a saddle to use. And if you knew Deb, he was one of the nicest people on the planet; he let this other competitor, we will call him Toby for the sake of the story, use his saddle.

Toby was set to ride before Deb, the saddle was formed, and they needed to roll the horse to the next chute; in the process, the horse jumped a bit, breaking the horn on the saddle…not off. Deb was disgusted….while telling the story, he looked and Mortensen and said, “That’s why you never lone your gear out, correct Dan?’. Well, wondering what to do with this saddle…one of the Linderman came over and sawed off the horn, and that is how the modern-day bronc saddle was born. As Bob Ross would say, a happy little accident.’ This saddle can be seen in Colorado Springs at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Sitting with Deb that day was one of my favourite interviews for ‘Feek’s Vision’…just for the simple fact of what he had seen and done over the years….battling Casey Tibbs for World Championships….shared a story of Tibbs playing a prank in an airport that almost ended up in a fight….he talked about going to a church in New York, praying before his final out at a Madison Square Garden Rodeo….travelling by plane and a number near-death experiences.

I love history…I live for rodeo history…not only preserving the Tooke legacy, but storys like this from Deb.

Of every rodeo cowboy I have ever met…two quotes stick with me. Larry Mahan stated, ‘I fell off that big lopping SOB (Major Reno) and made the Tooke’s famous!’ and Deb grabbed my earrings and asked, ‘What would Feek think of you wearing these?’….first thing that came to my mind was ‘Well Deb, was out fencing, and ended up with more wire in my ears than on the post.’…he chuckled and said ‘you got ol Feek’s humour kid.’

Over the years I have been complimented on my writing. Thank you! But in school I never excelled in English or grammar. And if you knew Ernest, he won buckles for his writing, and published three books.

In a phone conversation with grandpa, I asked him about his writing style. He said, “Tobe, so many people wanna make the story more than it is by colouring it up; a lot of time, you don’t need to; you just tell it how it is.’ The more I read his articles and stories, the more I realise less is more….not to say I don’t overdo0 pop it, but I try to paint a picture.

Ernest didn’t have ‘that’ Facebook, but I would show every picture and let him read what I posted I think he realized I was ok at story telling. Truth be told, he wrote his stories and my grandma, Peggy, corrected and fixed a lot of his errors. He wouldn’t admit any typos or grammatical errors. Man those nights of staying over at the ranch house and sleeping on the pull out crouch…Peg pounding away on the typewriter for Ern. Weird to think I have all those stories he wrote and she typed in boxes here in my office.

Ernest passed away in 2018 & Peg in 2021…think about them a lot, but with Feek’s Vision official release date coming, both are on my mind more than usual.

These pics were capture by Mary Peters at our reenactment at the ranch. Ernest was gone, but I think about how he would have taken over the set, whether Ken liked it or not. I can hear Ernest saying this is accurate and this needs to be changed. I think Ken & I, along with everyone would have loved to have him on set that day.

This arena is built just over the hill from the buildings on our ranch outside Ekalaka. Ken Howie did the majority of it by himself; I was able to help a few days….dad….JO and the girls. I remember the day of filming….the clothing was period correct, no cell phones on site, and I couldn’t believe locals were putting their cars and wagons out there….risking a Tooke bronc tearing some shit up. It was just perfect—one of my favourite days.
We ran out of beer…the weather clouded up, so filming stopped….LIGHTING….Ken is a wizard with lighting, so we had to stop production. So Mac Tooke jumped on the motorcycle and rolled up the hill with the only cell phone on set that could call Ekalaka…

“Dawg House?”
Bartender (guessing it was Charlie): “Yes, can I help you?”
Mac: “ Hey, how many you got in there on a Sunday?”
Bartender “A couple; why?”
Mac “Well, we are out here on the movie set at the Tooke ranch, and we are out of beer; you bring us a couple of cases?”
An hour or so later…we had beer on set.

Granted we had to toss the girl in the cooler out to keep the beer cold. Gotta love small towns!

The more drinks we got in the cowboys…I realised we might need even more beer. But unfortunately, the sun was going down. So Ken shut down the cameras, but we had cowboys saying ‘CAN WE RUN ONE MORE THROUGH.”

My grandma was there that day, and I remember her telling me, ‘I wish your grandpa were here; he would love this!”….I just smiled and hugged her and said, “Me too, and your hat looks silly!”…you can see her in some of the shots, but here is a pic; it looks more like a mug shot!

Some of you wonder how authentic this documentary is…we have a hall of fame cowboys, we have contractors with our bloodlines, we have Feek’s family and friends….and we pulled off a 1940s rodeo on the Tooke Ranch just like the Tooke boys did almost nine decades ago.

With a world filled with screens and crime and lots of bullshit….that day will stand with me forever…a simpler time…people horseback, people talking & laughing. I wish there were more of that today.