SCOUTING YESTERDAY | South Dakota’s ‘Buffalo Buster’ takes storied ride to presidential duty, White House
This week in South Dakota history: Aug. 22-29
A century ago this week, readers of the Rapid City Journal learned that “the only known ‘buffalo buster’ in the wide world” would be performing at the Alfalfa Palace Fair.
What they didn’t know on that Aug. 28, 1925, morning was that the legend of world champion rider and longtime Custer State Park hand Clyde Jones was only beginning. In the years ahead, Jones would become known nationwide as “Dakota,” an American icon whose horsemanship reached all the way to the White House.
Jones had already built a name for himself across the Midwest as an expert rider and trainer, regularly showcasing his skills in exhibitions. But in 1927, when President Calvin Coolidge’s Secret Service detail tapped him for help while the commander in chief spent the summer in the Black Hills, Jones’ reputation soared.
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