This is me and Phil Spanganberger of Shooting Times magazine . We are talking over how cool the new sharp rifles were. This was a beautiful spring day . We were bear hunting until it got warm . Colter and Jerk were the two horses in the photo . Phil was an entertaining guy with much knowledge of the old west . I really liked him . About thirty minutes after this photo was taken my life almost ceased . I was riding a young spoiled colt from Ronan MT
. He had been started badly and turned loose for two years . He was four and always looking for buggers . He could buck a lick too. I went and unhobbled him , cinched him up and led him over to where I was in a good position to mount. I got on him ok and started to make a little circle waiting for them to mount . I saw an elk horn . I stopped him and started to get off and just as my leg came over the cantle a fawn deer jumped out of the grass . I didn’t see him and would if stepped on him . My colt jumped down hill and kicked me in the belly . In the photo you can see I’m wearing overshoes over my boots . My foot hung up and we headed into crevice basin . If you’ve been in crevice , you would know that it’s as steep as it gets . My fear has always been hanging up . Just two nights before I had a nightmare that this happened I told Sue about my nightmare! I’ve always thought of this . I tried to pull my pistol to shoot him but I was getting kicked and ripped up by sagebrush . I was pulling on one rein for a few jumps and that really scared him and he went to running and bucking and kicking me . It was turning into a blur when my foot came loose . I laid there gasping for air that wouldn’t come quick enough. I then saw my hunters running to me hollering . I broke two fingers and was scratched to hell . We got their horses gathered up and mine was long gone . My brand new handmade Chip Drusch saddle was somewhere on a colt headed for blacktail on the Yellowstone . For once I was glad I wasn’t with it!!!! I got home told Sue and Jeremiah what happened and she remembered the dream . I was going to look for my saddle the next day . I was glad I snugged up the cinch as the next morning he was looking over the gate at his buddy . Nothing worse for the wear! He turned into a tough little horse . But I never trusted him completely . One day he went to bucking for no reason . A guy was up here claiming to buy bucking horses for Mike Cervi . I climbed on him with a bareback rig in Gardiner and nodded for the gate . He wanted to see him buck . I’d only ridden two bareback horses in my life . For a reason . That little bugger ripped me apart before he threw me . The only pickup man was my brother standing in arena to pick me off the ground ! True story! With today’s social media I could of followed him but never heard of or saw him again . I got 1250$ and glad of it . I was more sore after that ride than when he drug me, . My brother Clarence was at the rodeo grounds and he said as he drove away , damn pretty little horse to throw a big man like you . I hit his truck with a rock!
Respectfully Warren
