Buck and Silver Cloud - Ardmore, OK - Animal Memorials on Waymarking.com

Hardy Murphy was a rodeo showman in the 1930s and 1940s. He performed in all the well known rodeos nationwide, with his trusty pals, Buck and Silver Cloud.

Excerpt from the Hardy Murphy Coliseum Museum:
"At about the same time that Hardy gave his name to the coliseum, his two partners, show horses Buck and Silver Cloud, were buried at the coliseum’s grounds. The city closed its schools for the funeral and both the governor and longtime friend Gene Autry were among the 10,000 admirers of Hardy and his horses that attended.

"During his career as a rodeo showman during the 1930’s and 1940’s, Hardy astounded audiences with his pantomimes of scenes depicted in works of art by well-known Western painters and sculptors. His reenactments were so moving that two western balladeers acknowledged Hardy and his horse, Buck, as inspiration for their songs, “Gold Mine in the Sky” and “A Cowboy’s Best Friend”. Hardy and Buck were featured on the cover of “The New Yorker” in October of 1944."

On the grounds in front of the hardy Murphy Coliseum is a granite headstone monument to these two beloved horses. It reads:

"BUCK - greatest of all Liberty High School horses -Died at the age of 34 March 4, 1957

"SILVER CLOUD - Buck's understudy died in October of 1959 at the age of 34.

"Buck and Silver Cloud with their master and trainer, Hardy Murphy, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, gained national and international fame for their pantomimes of the tragedies of the range. Their reign of popularity was from 1930 to 1943."

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Type of Memorial: other Type of Animal: other

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