-1 '
Page 8
Spilyqy Ty&ioo, Wrro Springs, Oregon
October- 28, 2004
Bruised Head: rodeoing began at an early age
(Continued from page 1)
Clint Bruised Head is from
the Blood Reservation at Stand
Off, Alberta, Canada, along the
Alberta-Montana border. I Je is
a full-blooded Blood Indian and
grew up on the family ranch
that is still home to most of his
, family.
Clint reminisced about how
, one time his dad took his four
brothers to a rodeo and his mom
: took his two sisters to a rodeo.
: I le was at home tending the
cows and horses. His uncle Joe
, came by and said there was a
junior rodeo going on, and
asked why he wasn't there. Clint
' said he didn't have a ride.
' Uncle Joe said, "Well, jump
' on the truck, I'll take you." From
then on uncle Joe would take
him to rodeos, and find him rides
to take him to other rodeos,
sometimes making three or four
in a weekend.
Later Clint started riding the
Greyhound bus, but soon found
that it was too slow, so he started
hitchhiking.
. "For me taking my rigging
bag out to the highway, and go-
' ing down the road hitchhiking
:was the biggest thing in the
world. Just getting there,"
'Bruised Head said.
' Even before junior rodeoing,
the young cowboy joined the
' Canadian Pro Rodeo Associa
tion where he rode cows and
steers.
He always wanted to be a
professional cowboy and as a kid
he would see his heroes at these
rodeos. "Guys like Charlie
Sampson and Gary Lefew. I was
Mookin' at them, and they were
pulling my bull rope."
They are retired now, and
Brusied Head says, "I run into
;4hem here and there, and I get
''to meet them. I sat down with a
bunch of. them at Pendleton this
M&M r 1 ml miBRilH
World Champion All Around Cowboy saddle World Champion Steer Wrestling saddle
tfl love every one of
those rodeos. I love
being there, I love the
competition, and I love
the camaraderie be
tween the cowboys. "
Clint Bruised Head
I just never did leave."
The lady he talks about is his
wife of ten years, Sammy
(Allen) Bruised Head, who also
, hails from a rodeo background.
The couple have three children.
During his career, Bruised
Head has competed in six
events. Those events included
bull riding, bareback riding,
bronc riding, team roping, calf
roping and steer wrestling. He
now concentrates on just four
events. Wife Sammy says with a
laugh that if he had the money
he would enter all the events,
but his entries are predicated by
world next year. Rodeos such as
Cheyenne, Ft. Worth, Denver,
Houston and San Antonio.
As Brusied Head talks, the
enthusiasm is etched on his face,
remembering how it was to jun
ior rodeo, high school rodeo,
Indian rodeo and now compete
in the PRCA.
"These are rodeos I have had
on my mind since I was a kid. I
used to watch these guys on vid
eos." Bruised Head said his high
school rodeo coach used to
catch them at lunchtime and say,
"You guys don't need to sit out
here and watch the sun go
down."
Bruised Head continued,
"He'd drag us up to the chemi
cal lab and he'd throw on some
rodeo videos. We'd watch these
cowboys compete, and he'd be
teaching us. He'd fast forward,
slow motion, fast forward, slow
motion, showing us the finer
points."
One of his most memorable
wins came in 1992 when he
won, the All-Around Champion-
the Northwest.
Holding down a full-time job
makes rodeoing even tougher
for the Blood Indian cowboy.
Clint says it wouldn't be possible
to do both without a very sup
portive boss. He pointed out that
Glen Carpenter, his supervisor
at Warm Springs Construction,
has been great to work for, al
lowing him to work and still ro
deo. To fully understand how Clint
Bruised Head feels about rodeo,
just ask him to name his favor
ite rodeos. Other than the Na
vajo Nation Fair in Window
Rock, Ariz., which is his all time
favorite, Clint says, "I love ev
ery one of those rodeos. I love
being there, I love the competi
tion, and I love the camarade
rie between the cowboys."
At the Indian National Finals
in California Oct. 14-17, Clint
won the last go-round in calf
roping with a time of 10.3 sec
onds to ensure his Ail-Around
title. Clint won two of the four
gp-fQupds in sttfif willing, yjth
Lyman Colliflower pf Rocky ,
Boy, Mont.- '
Colliflower also did the haz
ing for Bruised Head. This is an
example" of the camaraderie
that Clint mentioned earlier,
because while Lyman
Colliflower was helping Clint, he
too, was in contention for the
world title.
The Bruised Head parents
were in attendance at the finals.
They enjoyed the opportunity to
see many family members com
pete for top prize money.
Clint says, "My folks were
plumb tickled when they heard
I won the Ail-Around title."
Anyone who knows the per
sonable 36-year-old cowboy is
also plumb tickled. Nice guys
don't always finish last. In the
case of Indian World Champion
Ail-Around Cowboy Clint
Bruised Head, this nice guy has
,made a, career, put of finishing
first
Even when winning, rodeoing
Detail from the All Areund
Wprld Champion saddle.
can be expensive. Clint and
Sammy would like to thank the
many people who sponsored
their trip to the national finals.
They are DMJ Warm Springs
Shell Station, Warm Springs
Ventures, Warm Springs Forest
Products, Rodney Smith Log
ging, Pete Peterson Heavy
Equipment Repair, Chancellor
Damon of the Chance Corpo
ration in Window Rock, Ariz.,
members of the community
who purchased raffle tickets, and
individual sponsors Frances
Allen, Jo Ann Smith and Arlene
Bryant.
Jio.w much money they have
year,, all the guy remembered .This year'Cljnr and Sam'myHaWhlpWthe Navajo,N;rtionFair.,,,tui).$f 4.2j seconds, and,3. ?
'the times they went to Canada gone to 40 rodeos. , jn Window Rock, Ariz. seconds. He would nave also
and saw this little Indian kid Clint joined the Professional "I was calf roping, steer won the last go-round but he
riding, and they remember help- Cowboys Rodeo Association wrestling and riding bareback broke the barrier. During the
' ing me pull my bull rope."
' Recalling his days growing up,
and how all the family enjoyed
:rodeo and how they worked to
hone their skills, Clint said, "We
couldn't keep a wild horse
'around the place to practice
'bareback or bronc riding on. We
' were always training, yearlings,
two-year olds, whatever, we
,were always training. That's
.-where horsemanship comes in.
- A lot of guys don't believe in
' horsemanship, but I do. You've
' got to know how to ride a horse
into the box, how to score a
steer, that's where horsemanship
comes in."
Bruised Head has been a resi
dent of Warm Springs for 12
years. When asked how he hap
pened to come to Warm Springs,
Clint described it this way, "I
rodeoed a few times down here
in the states and I saw her at a
couple of rodeos. I started chas
ing her a little bit, and I came to
Warm Springs to visit her, and
(PRCA) this year, so now he will
compete year round. Clint says
since joining the PRCA he has
received outstanding support
from some of the top names in
the business. Moving up into the
highest echelon of rodeo, Clint
rides some of the top horses in
the world.
Tony Currin, one of the
world's best steer wrestlers from
Hermiston, Ore., mounts him
on his good horse, Vegas.
Former bareback rider Sid Britt,
from Hermiston, also provides
Clint with good horses. Others
who have gone out of their way
to help the Indian cowboy are
Brad Gleason, Luke Branquino,
Spud Duval, and Bob Loomis.
Clint said, "A handful of the
top cowboys in the world have
helped me and made me a lot
tougher than I was."
Tony Currin has taken
Bruised Head under his wing
and they've discussed competing
in some of the top rodeos in the
horses to win the all-around that
year. To win the Navajo Nation
Fair was really an accomplish
ment for me, I was a kid then
and it still stands out to me,"
Brusied Head said.
Wife Sammy commented
that it is still the greatest Indian
rodeo in the United States.
"Most guys call it another ro
deo, but to me, every year, that
was my national finals. I'd ride
real hard, bulldog and rope as
hard as I could."
Brusied Head said he goes
back every year. He has since
won the bulldogging title once
and come close to winning the
all around four times. He has
finished second in bareback
riding a number of times.
Sammy said her husband threat
ens tcfcome out of retirement
in the bareback riding every year
at the Navajo Nation Fair. Clint
did miss this year's Navajo Na
tion Fair because of a number
of conflicting PRCA rodeos in
steer wrestling, Clint was
mounted on a horse owned by
defending world champion
Many winners in raffle
The following are the winners, and the items won, in the
recent Clinton Bruised Head raffle.
Verleen Tom, rifle case, donated by Bruised Head. Corey
Clements, shawl, donated by Sammy Bruised Head.
Dan Brisbois Jr., beaded visor, donated by Arlene Wewa
Bryant. Javon Smith, picture album donated by Frances Allen.
Sissy Smith, horse blanket, donated by the Bruised Head
family. Jim Coburn, boning knife, donated by the Bruised
Head family.
Biff Johnson, eagle fleece throw, donated by Frances Allen.
Johnny Holliday, beaded bracelet, donated by Corey Clements.
Floyd Gibson, neon wall clock, donated by Frances Allen.
Theresa Morris, MK satin hands, donated by Sammy
Bruised Head. Emerson Squiemphen, men's watch and pen
set donated by Clinton Bruised Head.
Shane Smith; half-case of huckleberry soda, donated by
Frances Allen. Caroline Torres won the Southwest necklace
and bracelet donated by Sammy Bruised Heads . 1
Wendell Jim, electronic dart board donated by the Bruised
Head family. Kevin Miller, $100, donated by Clinton Bruised
Head. Eli Smith, Pendleton blanket donated by Frances Allen.
''DotttkSm'ithJ'SpiSderman baacjc'do'na
T!bRh6hda 'Gfeert,iMary Klfi'md
Bridgett Whipple. Lia Suppah, Tasheena George, Kara Katchia,
Shane R. Smith and Angie David won bags of jerky donated
by JoAnn Smith.
Lorie Mitchell, Phill Rodda, Dan Brisbois Sr., and C.
DeVaney won four pens, donated by JoAnn Smith. Roberta
Queahpama won fried rice donated by JoAnn Smith.
mi
vote
mm
is very professional with exemplary
managemeni siuns ... always
receptive to new ideas and
challenges ... provides timely,
accurate, and insightful analysis to
her employees as well as the
commission."
Orthelia Patt, Chair
Sandra Main,and Andrew Hofstetter,
Warm Springs Gaming Commission
Hiio tho PEST for Jofforson County Treasurer
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