RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - To many rodeo fans and even fellow competitors, Pine Ridge rodeo legend Howard Hunter Sr. was a superhero.
One of the riders who looked up to him was Marty Hebbs, 42, of Cherry Creek, who won six championships in the Indian National Finals Rodeo.
“When I knew Howard was riding before or after me, I knew I had to try to ride like Superman because I was going up against Superman,” Hebbs told the Rapid City Journal (https://bit.ly/1H0eohv ).
When Hebbs was 19, Hunter showed him that it was the rider, not the horse, that made the difference.
“I remember I got on this sorrow mare one day at a Great Plains Rodeo competition in Rosebud and I scored a 62,” Hebbs said. “The next day he got on that same horse and scored 80 points and got a re-ride. I was thinking, ’Holy cow, I’ve got a lot to learn.’”
A legend of the South Dakota and Great Plains rodeo scene, Hunter died Saturday, April 4, but his legacy will endure through the countless cowboys he has mentored. He died at the age of 64 at his home in Kyle after losing a battle with esophageal and stomach cancer.
During his rodeo career, Hunter amassed well over a dozen saddle bronc titles in numerous competitions and made an impact on a national level. Hunter is considered by many to be one of the greatest American Indian cowboys in the history of competitive rodeo. He is considered a master of the saddle bronc who served as an inspiration and a mentor to aspiring young riders.
Hebbs, who met Hunter through his uncle Curly Hebbs, would not only ask Hunter for advice, he would also try to study all the little things Hunter did, down to how he would grasp the reins on a horse before a ride.
“There were so many people up here, (in Ziebach County) and down there (in Pine Ridge and Rosebud) who looked up to Hunter,” Hebbs said.
“He was a big deal.”
Hunter’s accomplishments in the rodeo circuit seem as lengthy as a phonebook. Here’s a list of some of his achievements:
- South Dakota Rodeo Association Saddle Bronc Champion in 1971.
- Qualified for the Indian National Finals Rodeo 14 times since it began in 1976 and won the Indian National Finals Rodeo Saddle Bronc Championship in 1980, 1987, 1988 and 1990.
- Howard’s bronc ride on the horse Banjo Eyes in Salt Lake City in 1976 became the logo of the Indian National Finals Rodeo.
- First All-Around champion of the Great Plains Indian Rodeo Association in 1974 when he won both the bareback and saddle bronc championship titles. It was the first of 11 saddle bronc titles he won in the association.
- The Badlands Circuit Saddle Bronc Champion in 1976, 1978, and 1982.
- Qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in 1976, 1979 and 1980.
Bob Amiotte, 52, a rancher from Wanblee who used to compete in rodeos, is another man who Hunter mentored and inspired.
“He had a big impact on my life; he was a great bronc rider. He was like my hero,” Amiotte said. “He inspired me to do my best since he was one of the greatest Indian bronc riders around.”
Hunter’s daughter, Staci Hunter, remembers him as a man and a father who took great pride in his achievements, but rarely boasted about them.
“My dad was very proud but very humble. He didn’t gloat about his accomplishments, but would help anyone who needed it,” she said.
Hunter’s rodeo career ended after he suffered a traumatic brain stem injury that put him a wheelchair in 1995. However, the injury left his memory intact, so he enjoyed going to and watching rodeos even after his injury.
“Everyone we’ve ever talked to has said, ’He’s the man who put Kyle, South Dakota, on the map,’” Staci Hunter said. “He loved to mentor younger cowboys and he had a lot of people who looked up to him.”
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