Clayton Danks

Clarence Clayton Danks (July 21, 1879 – June 23, 1970) was a three-time winner of Cheyenne Frontier Days, an outdoor rodeo and western celebration held each July in the Wyoming capital city of Cheyenne. He is believed to be the cowboy of the widely-recognized Wyoming state trademark, the Bucking Horse and Rider.

Background The son of John Danks (1844–1922) and the former Sarah Gregg (1845–1921), Danks was born in O'Neill in Holt County in northern Nebraska, His ancestry was English, Welsh, Scottish, German and Spanish. Clayton and his brother, James T. "Jimmie" Danks, were reared in Long Pine Canyon in Cherry County, also in northern Nebraska, where their father operated a stagecoach station. Clayton and Jimmie subsequently worked on the Two Bar Ranch in Chugwater in Platte County, Wyoming, near Cheyenne. Clayton worked on the Iron Mountain Ranch, the Dumbell, the Chapman Ranch on the Sweetwater and the Reverse 4 Cattle Company before homesteading in Valentine in Cherry County.

Rodeo career In 1899, Danks began competing in rodeo. In 1904, at the age of 25, he won the Cheyenne Frontier Days competition in steer roping. In 1907, he tried to reclaim the title but failed. First, the steer rose before he could rope it, and on the second attempt, his rope broke. Danks hence entered the saddle bronc competition, and after a few setbacks he made it to the finals, where two horses Millbrook and Steamboat, were waiting for their riders. By a draw, Danks rode Millbrook, considered an easier horse than Steamboat, "the most ferocious bucker Frontier Days had ever seen." and a search was undertaken for his prize-winning saddle. Family members finally located the saddle at King's Saddlery and Museum in Sheridan, Wyoming, where it was obtained after much negotiation. In 2013, the saddle was donated to the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum. Steamboat was inducted in 1975 into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, and in 1979 into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs.