7 Totally True Facts About Wyoming’s Legendary Bucking Horse Steamboat

Did you know that Wyoming’s iconic “Steamboat” symbol goes far beyond the stamp on our license plates or the Wyoming Cowboys’ logo? Preorder “A Home for Steamboat” today to learn facts about the legendary horse, Steamboat, and read a story of unexpected friendship between Charlie and his famous horse.

Steamboat was born in 1896 on the Frank Foss Ranch near Chugwater, Wyoming. He had many names according to the press: Legendary Bucking Horse, King of Buckers, Old Outlaw Horse, and many more. Steamboat was a top bucking horse for years (1901-1907). His first professional rodeo was in 1901 at the Festival of Mountain and Plains in Denver, Colorado. 

Charlie Irwin had Steamboat from 1903 to 1912. He met Steamboat at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo and put him in his own Irwin's Wild West Show after his rodeo days. Irwin was a rancher, rodeo cowboy, and Wild West show promoter, and he helped produce the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeos for ten years. In 1975, Irwin was inducted in the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, along with Steamboat, who was also inducted into the Hall of Fame as one of the Great Bucking Horses. 

All source references come from:

Steamboat, Legendary Bucking Horse: His LIfe and Times and the Cowboys Who Tried to Tame Him by Candy Vyvey Moulton and Flossie Moulton.