Miles City Bucking Horse Sale
Encyclopedia
The Miles City Bucking Horse Sale is a major auction
of rodeo
stock held the third weekend every May in Miles City, Montana
and the premier social event for the community. Accompanied by a parade
, a horse racing
meet, a bull riding
rodeo and a number of social activities, it attracts rodeo stock contractor
s from the United States and Canada who are looking for saddle bronc, bareback bronc and bucking bull
prospects.
Horses consigned to the sale are not "wild" horses
or Mustangs
which, under the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971
, cannot be sold. Rather, consignments are horses selectively bred
as bucking stock, excess or unsalable young horses from large ranches, and spoiled riding horses that have become particularly adept at bucking
off riders. Likewise, most consigned bulls are bred specifically as bucking stock.
The Miles City Bucking Horse Sale was also the theme of a novelty country western song by Montana writer Greg Keeler, on the album Songs of Fishing, Sheep and Guns in Montana. The sale is held annually, regardless of weather.
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
of rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
stock held the third weekend every May in Miles City, Montana
Miles City, Montana
Miles City is a city in and the county seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 8,123 at the 2010 census.- History :...
and the premier social event for the community. Accompanied by a parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
, a horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
meet, a bull riding
Bull riding
Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....
rodeo and a number of social activities, it attracts rodeo stock contractor
Stock contractor
A Stock contractor is an individual or business that provides animals for rodeo competition. Stock contractors supply "rough stock" - Saddle bronc and bareback bronc horses and bull riding bulls, plus steers for steer wrestling and team roping, plus calves for calf roping events...
s from the United States and Canada who are looking for saddle bronc, bareback bronc and bucking bull
Bull riding
Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....
prospects.
Horses consigned to the sale are not "wild" horses
Feral horse
A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated ancestry. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and these horses often are popularly called "wild" horses...
or Mustangs
Mustang (horse)
A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but there is intense debate over terminology...
which, under the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971
Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971
The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 , is an Act of Congress , signed into law President Richard M. Nixon on December 18, 1971...
, cannot be sold. Rather, consignments are horses selectively bred
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
as bucking stock, excess or unsalable young horses from large ranches, and spoiled riding horses that have become particularly adept at bucking
Bucking
Bucking is a movement performed by a horse or bull in which the animal lowers his head and raises his hindquarters into the air, usually while kicking out with his hind legs. If powerful, it may unseat the rider enough so that he falls off....
off riders. Likewise, most consigned bulls are bred specifically as bucking stock.
The Miles City Bucking Horse Sale was also the theme of a novelty country western song by Montana writer Greg Keeler, on the album Songs of Fishing, Sheep and Guns in Montana. The sale is held annually, regardless of weather.