EVENTS
Rodeo Trick Rider
Rodeo Entertainer
A native Oklahoman who grew up on his father’s ranch near Waukomis, Cecil Cornish was raised a cowboy. He began working with animals at a young age, and soon he was roping calves and goats and riding bareback broncs and bulls.
A distinguished trick rider and rodeo performer for 36 years, Cecil Cornish dazzled fans with spectacular acts from 1935 to the 1970s. A Cornish trademark was Roman jumping, in which he rode two horses at full gallop, with one foot on each one’s back, taking the team through a ring of fire. His most famous mount was “Smokey, the Wonder Horse,” an amazing animal that could untie knots, play dead, and stand on a pedestal and wave a flag. Cornish’s trained Brahma bull, Danger, added extra excitement to his performances.
Cecil Cornish’s biography, titled Mr. Rodeo, Himself, appeared in 1990. Acknowledged as a great rodeo showman, he lived in Enid, Oklahoma, and raised purebred Brahmas on his ranch near Orlando. Cecil passed away in 2003.
