Rodeo of the Ozarks

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He appeared on Johnny Carson. He appeared on David Letterman. He taught a buffalo to jump through a hoop of fire. And before all of that he spent thirty years putting his body between charging bulls and the cowboys who needed saving.
Born May 28 1930 in Fort Smith Arkansas, Bunky Boger knew at six years old exactly what he wanted to be. His family sent him to a 7,000 acre ranch in Wyoming every summer from age six until high school — harnessing and riding horses from the time he was barely tall enough to reach the traces. By the time he was a teenager he was riding bulls and steer wrestling at local Arkansas rodeos just to earn money. Then the bullfighters caught his eye.
He figured it out quickly and practically. Riding bulls paid occasionally — when everything went right and you stayed on. Fighting bulls paid every single performance. The math was simple. He made the switch and never once looked back.
His rodeo career ran from 1946 through the late 1970s — an era when bullfighters were called rodeo clowns and were required to be both laugh-getters and lifesavers in the same performance. Thirty years of getting bones broken, skin gored and saving the lives of dozens of bull riders across North America. He worked the barrel at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City in 1975 — the highest honor the sport could give a man in his profession. He studied the great animal trainers Glenn Randall and Bill Buschbom and began developing a side of his act that would eventually outlast the rodeo circuit itself.
He trained dogs. He trained a miniature Brahman. He trained a blanket Appaloosa. He trained a buffalo — which he named Cody — to perform tricks including jumping through a hoop of fire. Then he took Cody to the Late Show with David Letterman. He trained chickens to play Tic-Tac-Toe against casino patrons in a glass-enclosed board game that moved from casino to casino across the country for years. He appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He toured Puerto Rico four times. He eventually traveled with 200 farm animals across North America — performing at fairs and rodeos and schools and anywhere else that would have him and his extraordinary collection of trained animals.
In his later years he added an educational dimension to his act — teaching children about agriculture, farming and the rural lifestyle that most modern kids had never encountered. His wife Connie grew up on a ranch near Pierre South Dakota and shared his passion for keeping that connection alive between people and animals.
He passed away peacefully September 19 2018 at his home in Lowell Arkansas at 88 years old — surrounded by family and a lifetime of extraordinary stories.
He said of the buffalo who launched his television career simply and with the grin that defined him — "You have to be careful with buffalo. If they think you've mistreated them they'll remember."
Inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 2017.
Thirty years protecting cowboys from bulls. A buffalo that jumped through fire on national television. A chicken that beat casino patrons at Tic-Tac-Toe. An Arkansas boy who showed up at a Wyoming ranch at age six and never stopped being exactly the cowboy he promised himself he would be.
That was Bunky Boger. 🤠🐃🎪

The Wright Brothers brought the energy to Parsons Stadium 🤠🔥

From the moment they entered the arena, they reminded us what rodeo is all about; grit, family, and traditions that keep rodeo alive. We can't wait to see who'll take the spotlight at the 83rd Rodeo of the Ozarks in 2027!

Who's on your must-see list for next year's rodeo? 👇

Since 1944, the Rodeo of the Ozarks has thrilled four generations of families in the same grandstand. An Arkansas institution! 🇺🇸