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Hanks: Red-lipped Bronc stomper

Jack Hanks

Gentle readers, if you receive this on the eighth day of May then this was the day that I married “Little Miss Martha” some 52 years ago.

Martha was an extremely sweet, quiet, patient and loving woman. What a doll she was. Down deep inside of me I reckon I wanted her to be a little more on the edge but I saw what a true value she would be in my life.

She was all that I expected her to be and more. On the other hand, I always liked a woman who could wear a pair of spurs, handle a rope and know her way around a horse. That wasn’t Martha. She would ride with me and the kids at times but never out of a trot.



Well, except for that one day she was determined to go against my SOLID advice and ride a hard-headed, big stout colt that was still a bronc. At least that was my opinion of him for what time I had spent on his back.

“You see women in all sorts of occupations these days that used to be ‘men only’ jobs. I love to see a woman in working clothes with a tool belt or a pistol on her hip.”

He ran off with her and launched her some 15 feet into the terra firma dislocating her thumb and filling her mouth with dirt and grass.



That scared me to death, and her as well, and any time after that she was more than willing to listen to my sage advice when it came to what horse she should ride, if she rode at all. She didn’t ride much at all after that incident but it did clue her in to some of what a cowboy’s life can accommodate at times.

I have been watching YouTube videos of a young lady who calls herself Adrian Buckaroogirl. Now this is one attractive, entertaining (plays and sings with a guitar) gal and a very few years back was a “red-lipped bronc stomper.” For sure this gal was like the girls that rode broncs back in the 20s and 30s.

She has videos of her working the branding pen draggin’ calves to the fire, building fence and so on. This is one tough and beautiful young woman who has nothing to prove.

She, according to her, loves horses, doing ranch work, looking like a lady always in makeup and riding broncs. Man, I think if I was 40 years old again and single I’d hit a trail to Nevada and look this cowgirl up!

It always made me happy, for some reason, to see a gal throw her leg over her own Harley and ride off as if she were shopping at Macys.

You see women in all sorts of occupations these days that used to be “men only” jobs. I love to see a woman in working clothes with a tool belt or a pistol on her hip.

My lady doctor here is in the Marine Reserves and has been put out of an aircraft into the ocean and left for hours before she was picked up again. She is truly a pleasure to have as my “doc.”

She also plays, or has played drums, in a country and western band. How can ya top that? Well, I reckon you could be a beautiful blond with ruby red lips coming out of the buckin’ chute at some rodeo on a big stout bronc while the cowboys are all standing around feeling a little out of place.

Truth is, my “Little Miss Martha” may have been more woman than any lady bronc rider around, only in a different way. Had she been an accomplished bronc rider that would have made me feel somewhat lacking in that area, I might not have wanted to marry her at all. Just sayin …. !

I ordered a new straw hat from Big Bend Saddlery in Alpine, Texas, and it should arrive today. I’ll shape it, look in the mirror as I walk out the door to go dancin’, and do the best an old man can do on the dance floor.

Stay tuned, check yer cinch on occasion and just to let ya know, you can find peace in the sagebrush and dirt! I’ll c. y’all, all y’all.❖


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