TY MURRAY
In the early ’90s, and by happenstance, “King of the Cowboys” Ty Murray relocated two elderly bucking horses — Rusty, one of “the coolest bucking horses I had ever ridden,” and bareback champion Hermes Worm, “who I also had a lot of luck riding” — to his ranch in Stephenville, Texas, to live out their retirement in peaceful tranquility. That number eventually grew to 12, and over the next 25-plus years, Murray has laid to rest some of the most famous bucking horses in history on the banks of the Bosque River that runs through his ranch.
“I love horses and have always loved horses and believe that they are the sweetest, most magnificent and misunderstood creatures on the planet,” Murray says. “All the horses retired here are very decorated, top-tiered horses and ones that I have either ridden or been bucked off of. Stock contractors started sending me older horses, and this became a project that I have really enjoyed. These horses have been everywhere, with different personalities, and most have lived out here to be 30 years old or older.”
When most babies are just learning how to walk, Murray was riding calves in
