Buffalo Bill UP

[Pat Holscher]

This is a UP saddle on display at the Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Cody, WY.



The placard only identifies it as an ''English'' saddle. Generally the identifying cards at the museum are impressively accurate, but here the saddle isn't quite identified the way it could be. What model of UP is this?

Pat

[Larry Emrick]

Hi Pat: Looks to be a 1902 pattern, complete with billets, girth, numnahs and at least one stirrup. It also appears to be in pretty good condition. I wonder what if any the connection with Cody might have been. Thanks for posting it. Larry

[Pat Holscher]

Originally posted by Larry Emrick
Hi Pat: Looks to be a 1902 pattern, complete with billets, girth, numnahs and at least one stirrup. It also appears to be in pretty good condition. I wonder what if any the connection with Cody might have been. Thanks for posting it. Larry

Larry, thanks.

For some reason, I didn't think to photograph the data plate (or, rather, ask my wife to do so with her digital camera, as this photo was taken by her, for me, as I'd run out of film). What I recall is that it said something about it being an "English" saddle used by Cody.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West show included riders from all over the world, and after the Boer War featured some riders who had fought in the Boer War. The saddle may have been connected with that.

I wish I'd taken a photo of a ring bit on display there. Ring bits are a cruel bit, but this was a heck of an example.

Pat

[John Tremelling]

Having recently joined this forum, I am ploughing through old interesting threads and came across this one. I do not know if anyone still visits it. As a point of interest, many years ago I read that at the outbreak of The Great War, Buffalo Bills Wild West Circus was in London. The horses were requisitioned, and issued to the mobilsed Westminster Dragoons, and during familiarisation the SSM was thrown and killed. I know, other ranks fall off, only officers are thrown, thus I wonder if a Warrant Officer would be thrown or fall off?

Please treat this info as 'hearsay' at the moment because I would have a devil of a job finding the referrence. If anyone really wants it, I think that it was in the Regimental History of the Westminster Dragoons which was I believe in unpublished format.

John Tremelling

[Pat Holscher]

Having recently joined this forum, I am ploughing through old interesting threads and came across this one. I do not know if anyone still visits it. As a point of interest, many years ago I read that at the outbreak of The Great War, Buffalo Bills Wild West Circus was in London. The horses were requisitioned, and issued to the mobilsed Westminster Dragoons, and during familiarisation the SSM was thrown and killed. I know, other ranks fall off, only officers are thrown, thus I wonder if a Warrant Officer would be thrown or fall off?

Please treat this info as 'hearsay' at the moment because I would have a devil of a job finding the referrence. If anyone really wants it, I think that it was in the Regimental History of the Westminster Dragoons which was I believe in unpublished format.

John Tremelling

Thanks John. It seems to me that I've heard a similar story, but I can't recall the details.

[mnhorse]

Last Friday I spent the morning The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody WY. (my first visit was 28 years ago). LOTS of changes since then!

One of the displays of W F Cody's equipment included a nice UP saddle. Did Bill use a UP in his Wild West Show? Has anyone else seen it? Or do I not know a UP when I see one. Its was simply marked "English saddle".

[tmarsh]

There was a group of costume riders from different countries and did contain some english cavalry types. The US army had a artillery drill team that did do some traveling with him also. Tom

[Pat Holscher]

Last Friday I spent the morning The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody WY. (my first visit was 28 years ago). LOTS of changes since then!

One of the displays of W F Cody's equipment included a nice UP saddle. Did Bill use a UP in his Wild West Show? Has anyone else seen it? Or do I not know a UP when I see one. Its was simply marked "English saddle".

I have a picture of that somewhere. I'll put it up when I get a chance.

Big changes, eh? I think they've done a really nice job of it. Hopefully you toured the firearms museum while you were there, and the Draper museum.

Where else did you go?

[mnhorse]

Last Friday I spent the morning The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody WY. (my first visit was 28 years ago). LOTS of changes since then!

One of the displays of W F Cody's equipment included a nice UP saddle. Did Bill use a UP in his Wild West Show? Has anyone else seen it? Or do I not know a UP when I see one. Its was simply marked "English saddle".

I have a picture of that somewhere. I'll put it up when I get a chance.

Big changes, eh? I think they've done a really nice job of it. Hopefully you toured the firearms museum while you were there, and the Draper museum.

Where else did you go?

It was a real "road trip", 4500 miles in 14 days. My wife and I revisited place we enjoyed way back when, plus some great new ones. We drove from MN to the coast of OR via ND, MT, WY, ID & WA, hit SD on the way home. Altho we had excellent weather the entire trip, we found ND & MT very well watered and green. Actually, there was flood water on I94 East of Bismark. Had planned a stop at Fort Lincoln, but were rained out by yet another cloudburst. MT had a big hay crop and all the rivers were running bank full.
Sure do hope the Yellowstone has gone down since then, I'm planning a deer hunt in a few weeks right on the river South of Sidney.

Some of our old favorites have changed in a big way, Jackson WY & Deadwood SD to name two.
Cody was just that Cody, had great time, Night Rodeo, a big steak dinner at.....(oops a senoir moment.... old time bar and steakhouse with a feminine name). Stayed at the Big Bear Motel, brand new, complete with a singing cowboy out in the parking lot.
The Buffalo Bill Center was the highlight for me tho. I spent much more time in the two firearm areas than I planned and probably passed over some other area a little too quickly.
The Draper Museum?? doesn't ring a bell, what did I miss?
Revisited the Custer Battlefield ( I think I have posted on that already).
Richard

[John M]

Last Friday I spent the morning The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody WY. (my first visit was 28 years ago). LOTS of changes since then!

One of the displays of W F Cody's equipment included a nice UP saddle. Did Bill use a UP in his Wild West Show? Has anyone else seen it? Or do I not know a UP when I see one. Its was simply marked "English saddle".

I have a picture of that somewhere. I'll put it up when I get a chance.


I recall seeing a photo of that UP on this Military Horse site some years ago,
John.M.

[Pat Holscher]

I recall seeing a photo of that UP on this Military Horse site some years ago,
John.M.

I just bumped that up. I may merge these two threads, given that they deal with the same saddle.

Here's the photo:

This is a UP saddle on display at the Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Cody, WY.



The placard only identifies it as an ''English'' saddle. Generally the identifying cards at the museum are impressively accurate, but here the saddle isn't quite identified the way it could be. What model of UP is this?

Pat

[John M]

Thanks for bumping that up, Pat.
It is a 1902 pattern UP.

John.M.