The Cowboy

b. An amusement park in New Jersey

Mechanical bucking riding devices were first introduced in the 1930s at Bertrand Island Amusement Park in New Jersey. The first ride was a bucking bronco named Ride Em’ Cowboy. These wild rides later became popular staples in country western bars all over the country. Mechanical bulls received mainstream attention with the movie Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger.

a. America’s forgotten cowboy poet

South Dakota’s first poet laureate, Badger Clark, lived much of his life alone in a cabin in Custer State Park (for only $10 a year in rent!) He wore whipcord breeches and polished riding boots, a Windsor tie and an officer’s jacket. When he wasn’t writing poetry, Clark loved feeding the resident deer flapjacks from his window in the mornings. His most famous poem, which you can still find printed on vintage postcards, is called “A Cowboy’s Prayer.”

c. Django Unchained

Directed by Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained tells the story of Django, a slave out for revenge. Audiences loved Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of Django as he tries to help a German bounty hunter capture two wanted brothers. To this day, the film tops the list of highest-earning Westerns with $449 million in satisfied moviegoers.

Nat Love was a former slave who became one of the most prominent Black men in the West. Love grew up in Tennessee, where he learned how to read and discovered that he had a knack with horses. He traveled to Dodge City, Kansas, when he was a teenager and found cowboy work on cattle drives. He became a crack shot out on the trail and earned his original nickname: “Red River Dick.” He later found himself in Deadwood, South Dakota, where he won a rodeo competition which earned him the new nickname: “Deadwood Dick.”