Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A . C O M 45 A Montana newspaperman described the bull, also known as Corbett, this way: "e bull throws his head around and gives the rider that sort of where-have-we-met before look. And while the victim yet gazes and guesses, Corbett gets his 'beautiful curve.' is sends the saddle and rider spinning. If the rider is not 'sent to the grass' by the first shock, he continues, constantly adding new and different variations while in mid air. ree, four, or five jumps usu- ally does away with the most experienced rider." Pres Johnston, who managed Corbett during his exhibition days, said, "After he threw his rider, he would stop and come to me, as I would have a piece of bread or some biscuits for him. He liked them very much." When Corbett was a calf, children tried to ride him after Sunday school. e first person to take on Corbett as a mature bull was Frank Collins, who recalled his adventure decades later. Collins and two other teenagers decided to give the bull a try on Easter Sunday 1892. e boys drew straws, and Collins pulled the short one. Collins recalled: "I stayed on him longer than anyone I ever saw try him. But of course I was not down astraddle of him all the time. I was just riding the air up over him and clawing at every thing I could get a hold of, but finally I missed making good connections. I stood on my head out in front of him." Collins and his friends must have talked up the bull's prow- ess because experienced riders became interested in him. at fall when a threshing crew arrived, a local bronco rider named Herbert Brady decided to give the bull a try. Collins put a halter on the bull and used a sack to blindfold him. Brady climbed aboard, and Col- lins pulled off the blindfold. Corbett snorted, and Brady sailed into the air landing with his stirrup between him and the saddle. Collins reported, "Herbert walked in wide order for a few days until he got healed up in places where the stirrup peeled him." Brady, an average rider, wanted Lou Kennedy, a more experi- enced man, to try the bull. But Kennedy took riding seriously and wouldn't try it unless he could make some money. So Brady cooked up a scheme to fleece Kennedy. He knew another excellent rider, Jack Flynn. He figured if Jack couldn't ride the bull, Lou couldn't either. Herbert persuaded Jack to try the bull so they would know if they should bet. Herbert, Jack and some friends went out one bright moonlit night and found the bull running loose. He was so tame they had no trouble catching and saddling him. Jack looked at his watch and said, "Eleven o'clock, boys, just the right time to ride a bull." en he climbed into the saddle. On the third jump he flew into the air, and the men sent word to Lou Kennedy that they had money to bet. Later that week after Sunday school, children rushed to join a crowd assembled to watch Lou ride. After Lou mounted he told his father to pull off Corbett's blindfold. e bull gave a snort and sent Lou flying. He caught his pants on the saddled horn and tore them so badly he had to make for the tall grass and hide from the Sunday school crowd. Lou's ride convinced Pres Johnston that he could make money betting on the bull so he talked his brother, Al, into buying the animal. e Johnston brothers named the bull "Corbett" after the world heavy weight boxing champion and began taking bets on him on Sundays in Belgrade.

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