East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1917-09-24
WINS CHAMPIONSHIP
OF WORLD IN FIVE
YEARS OF RIDING

To win the title of worlds cham
pion broncho buster five years after
first mounting a bucking horse is an
achievement that will rival the record
of most any cowboy rider. 1t is just
what Yakima Canutt did Saturday
when he was adjudged the winner in
the finals of the bucking contest of
the eighth annual Roundup.
1t was in the fall of 1912 at a fair
held in ColfaX, Wash, that the now
champion climbed aboard his first
bronx. He was only a boy of 16 then
and had come to the fair with his
father, j. L. Canutt, a farmer of Pc
newawa Wash, and his elder broth
er. He had been raised on the farm
and had been on many horses but
never on a bucker. He wanted to
ride in a little bucking contest held
there and, though his father and
brother tried to dissuade him. he had
his way. He must have had a nat
ural sense of equilibrium for he was
given the first prize.
That changed his career. He de-
cided to go in for the cowboy sports.
After that he rode a bucking horse
every chance he got which was not
very often for the first year or two,
for he still staid on the old farm He
first came to the Roundup in 1914
and that year failed to attract any
particular notice. He came back in
1915 and, his riding had improved 50
much that he was able to win second
to Lee Caldwell. He rode old Badly,
Smythe, Monkey Wrench and Speed
ball at this show. Last year he made
good ride but failed to qualify.
This year has been great year
for him in the saddle. Besides the
championship title with the s4OO
purse and $3.50 saddle which he won
here, he has won bucking contests
at Walla Walla. Philomath, Oregon,
and Kalispell, Mont, took third at n
contest at Ashland and won first in
day money at Medicine Hat, Alberta
He won three contests in 1915. one
at Garfield. Wash, one at Dayton,
Wash. and one at Pine Bluffs, wyo..
took third at Cheyenne and placed
two days at Kansas City
Yakima Canutt. whose real name
is Enos Canutt, is only q years old
now. The goal of his buckaroo ambi-
tion has been to win the Roundup
contest but he probably likes the
game too well to quit the dangerous
sport. After winning at Kalispell in
July. he was married to Katie Wilkes,
the diminutive girl who won the
cowgirls' bucking championship at
the 1916 Roundup.
Parents Saw Him Ride.
His father and mother, Mr. and
Mrs. J. L. Canutt of Penewawa,
WASH, were among the spectators
who saw their son ride himself into
fame Saturday and they were mighty
proud of their boy when his name
was on every tongue.
Broncho Bob Hall, who won sec
ond Saturday though handicapped by
a broken foot. halls from Independ-
ence, Ore. and has been in the rid
ing game for IA years. II am old
enough to quit" he said, "but I want
to win at the Roundup first" He
qualified for the semi-finals in 1915.
took third money in 1915, second in |
1917 and maybe his ambition will be |
in 1918.
Canutt not only won the bucking |
championship but the all-around |
cham pionship as well and secured |
the Police Gazette belt He wore It
yesterday when he posed for a spec
al picture at Bowman's. He is
mighty proud of the saddle which he
won. 1T is the finest saddle have
ever seen anywhere" he said yester
lay. Canutt paid the Roundup tho
ribute of being the greatest show Of
is kind and the squarest. "Your
Judges are the right kind he said.
They are not cowboys who follow
he game but men who know the
,ame and have no interest in decid-
ng a contest except on It's merits. 1
ave ridden at four Round-Ups and
have never had any fault to find yet
With the way It Is run"
Canutt is a bulldogger as we'll as
bronx rider He won first at Medi-
Inc Hat this year in the event, sec