Other editions of book SMOKY - The Cowhorse

Smoky, the Cowhorse is the story of a horse--from his first hours on the prairie sod to his final years out to pasture. Smoky grows up wild and wise to the ways to the range, fighting wolves and braving stiff winds. Clint, a bronco-busting cowboy on the Rocking R Ranch, spots the spirited four-year-old and thinks it is the finest little horse he ever saw. After many adventurous years on the Rocking R, Smoky mysteriously disappears, only to turn up later as an outlaw bucking horse on the rodeo circuit. The reader follows the story--from range to ranch to rodeo--through Smoky's eyes. We feel his terror of man, his struggle against the rope, his growing love for turning cows, and his anger when mistreated. First published in 1926, Smoky, the Cowhorse is for anyone who loves horses the way Will James did. As James writes in the preface, "Smoky is just a horse, but all horse, and that I think is enough said."

The 1927 Newbery Award, Smoky, the Cow Horse, is narrated in the cowboy vernacular of the 1920’s. It details the life of a horse in the western United States from his birth to his eventual decline. Smoky is born in the wild, captured and trained and becomes known as the best cowhorse around. However, Smoky is stolen by a horse thief, beaten repeatedly as punishment, and eventually attacks and kills the thief.When Smoky is eventually captured, his violent and aggressive demeanor prompts his use as a bucking bronco at a rodeo under the moniker of “The Cougar”. Years of performing take their toll on his body and spirit. He is renamed “Cloudy” and used as a riding horse and sold to an abusive man who starves him. During this time, he is reunited with his original owner and taken home. With careful treatment, Smoky recovers his former health and personality.Illustrated by the author and adapted to the screen three times as Smoky. Will James narrates the 1933 version.