Recently discharged from the Army I was back in my hometown. I was dating a young filly with long black hair, brown eyes, and a killer smile. Her daddy, Martin, was a misplaced cowboy trying to make a living on a hard scrabble place just outside of town. And he sure enough loved good horse flesh; he owned a sorrel gelding with a strip face named Topper.

 

When I started going out with Lynn, Martin wanted to check me out as far as riding rough stock was concerned and he saddled up Topper and I stepped aboard. Well, all I can say is that I rode him, and from then on I was all right in Martin’s eyes. I guess he figured that if I could stay on the hurricane deck and not pull leather I was cowboy enough for his daughter.

 

The rodeo was in town and everybody in the area was in town too. Most everybody was hanging out at the local bars waiting for the show to start. I borrowed Topper and saddled a sorrel mare for Lynn and we rode into town to take in the show.

 

We were riding down Main Street in front of The Headquarters Bar when one of my friends yelled out to come in and have a beer. Lynn didn’t like the idea much, but I put the spurs to Topper and rode him into the bar anyway.

 

Let me tell you we cut a wide swath inside the bar, and everybody seemed to have business to conduct outside. Topper was rolling his eyes and stepping around like he was walking on eggs until someone handed me a beer. I thanked him with a wave of my hand which must have startled and already spooky horse. He commenced to buck inside the bar and it was all I could do to get him headed in the right direction to get the heck out before he broke up everything in the place.

 

I rode him out of the bar and things were kind of frigid for a while, but warmed up later on that afternoon at the rodeo. I thought maybe Martin would be a little put out of the way I treated his horse. Not the case, he thought it was hilarious, asked me if I wanted to duplicate the show that evening. However, I had other thing in mind to do when the sun went down. I married Lynn later on.