EVENTS
Bronc Rider
Samuel Thomas “Booger Red” Privett was an early-day bronc rider and Wild West Show performer. A man of extraordinary ability, he became known as the hand who couldn’t be thrown. With fans screaming themselves hoarse, five-foot-four, bowlegged Booger Red would “stick to the back of a bronc like a tick to a longhorn.”
A native of Williamson County, Texas, Privett was born in 1858. The red-haired ranch boy grew up breaking wild horses, and by age 12 he had established a reputation as a bronc rider. After winning prizes in all the regular Texas rodeos, in 1901 he started his own exhibition as “Booger Red’s Wild West and Vaudeville Shows.” He offered a $500 prize to anyone who could bring him a bronc that he couldn’t ride. He never had to pay off.
Later Privett sold his string to the Miller Brothers Show and went on the road with Buffalo Bill’s extravaganza. Booger Red Privett rode his last bronc in 1925 at Fort Worth. A year later he died at his ranch near Miami, Oklahoma.
