FROM STAFF REPORTS
The name of one of Apple Valley’s famous cowboys, Earl Bascom, has been placed in the national spotlight.
Out of the many great cowboys and cowgirls from across the country, Bascom was honored as part of the National Day of the Cowboy on Saturday.
The National Day of the Cowboy has been celebrated for the past 10 years throughout North America.
The annual commemoration is held on the fourth Saturday of July in honor of the cowboy, cowboy culture and the cowboy way of life.
At the Valley Museum in Chatsworth, family members representing Earl Bascom received the prestigious 2014 Cowboy Keeper Award in honor of his unique contributions in the promotion and preservation of the pioneer and cowboy culture.
Bascom was born in Utah but raised in Canada.
He became a champion rodeo cowboy, competing in the three rough stock events of bull riding, saddle bronc and bareback at rodeos across the west.
In rodeo history, Bascom is known as the world’s greatest innovator of rodeo equipment for which he has been called the “Father of Modern Rodeo.”
In 1924, Bascom invented the one-hand bareback rigging used in rodeos to ride bareback bucking horses. In 1922, Bascom designed and made rodeo’s first hornless bronc saddle.
In 1919, Bascom designed and made rodeo’s first modern bucking chute. In 1926, he made the first modern rodeo riding chaps.
Nearly 80 years ago, he produced the first rodeo in history to be held outdoors at night under electric lights at Columbia, Mississippi.
All of Bascom’s rodeo innovations and inventions are still used today at rodeos around the world.
After graduating from the Brigham Young University with a degree in fine art, Bascom became a famous cowboy artist spending the last years of his life in the Victor Valley recording his many cowboy experiences in works of art.
Bascom was declared by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Artists Association to be the first professional rodeo cowboy to become a professional cowboy artist and sculptor.
During his art career, Bascom was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts of London, England, being the first cowboy to ever be so honored since the society’s beginning in 1754.
Earl Bascom even threw his hat into the Hollywood arena of film making as an actor in the Western movie, “The Lawless Rider,” and working alongside Roy Rogers.
For some years, he could be seen helping at the Roy Rogers Riding Stables and later the Apple Valley Stables.
Bascom even helped his nephew Billy Bascom teach horsemanship classes at the Victor Valley College.
The National Day of the Cowboy is a celebration for the heritage of the cowboy, promoted by a non-profit organization that works to preserve North America’s cowboy and pioneer heritage.