# Rodeo rider's saddle gets taken? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 2, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361 "2026-07-02T17:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/1 "2026-07-02T17:24:58Z")
The song “Amarillo by Morning” has the line “they took my saddle in Houston.” I don’t understand – who took his saddle, how, and why? Is this something that really happens in the world of rodeo, or just a songwriter’s imagination? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/2 "2026-07-02T17:29:55Z")
I guess it happened enough to be a plot device on “Adam-12”. ETA: season 6, episode 3, “Foothill Division”. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/3 "2026-07-02T17:57:36Z")
I looked at a few different sources. It may be a poetic way to say he had to sell or pawn his saddle. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/4 "2026-07-02T19:18:36Z")
Maybe he just defaulted on some of his Student Loans… 🫣 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/5 "2026-07-02T19:21:53Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > I looked at a few different sources. It may be a poetic way to say he had to sell or pawn his saddle. Probably this. Or lost it in a card game. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/6 "2026-07-02T20:00:32Z")
If a bronc rider loses his stirrup from his foot or any part of the tack from the horse before the 8 second horn he’s disqualified. Per PBR rules. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/7 "2026-07-02T21:42:47Z")
Pabst Blue Ribbon makes the rules? That’s carrying sponsor control too far! Harumph, I say. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/8 "2026-07-02T22:00:37Z")
Professional Bronc Riders. Or Professional Bull Riders. Any way they are the association that over sees these contests and rodeos. And makes the rules. Or PRCA. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assc. George Strait was an actual competitive Rodeo cowboy. I assume he knows of what he speaks (sings). ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/9 "2026-07-02T22:27:48Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > [@saucywench](#): > > > > I looked at a few different sources. It may be a poetic way to say he had to sell or pawn his saddle. > > Probably this. Or lost it in a card game. I agree. The lyrics make it clear that the bronc-rider narrator is flat broke (_“Everything that I got is just what I’ve got on… I ain’t got a dime”_). He literally owns only the clothes he stands up in, so the saddle is probably one of the things that went to pay for necessities. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/10 "2026-07-03T01:55:33Z")
“Amarillo by Morning” was written by Terry Stafford and Paul Fraser, and originally recorded by Stafford as a single in 1973 to minor success. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QnwXzppMkac/hqdefault.jpg "TERRY STAFFORD - Amarillo By Morning (1973)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnwXzppMkac) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/11 "2026-07-03T02:02:38Z")
News Flash: cowboys are always broke. Two things they hang on to, their boots and their saddle. They might sell blood to get the rodeo entry fee. But they would not pawn the thing that gets them the ride in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/12 "2026-07-03T02:08:22Z")
He didn’t write this one, but here is Terry Stafford’s biggest hit. Released in 1964, “Suspicion” made it to No. 3 on the _Billboard_ Hot 100. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TUe7dMi2uLA/hqdefault.jpg "Terry Stafford - Suspicion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUe7dMi2uLA) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/13 "2026-07-03T02:13:17Z")
In April of 1964, “Suspicion” was in the No. 6 spot, and the Beatles occupied the top five spots. The following week “Suspicion” hit No. 3 breaking the Beatles monopoly on the top five spots. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/14 "2026-07-03T22:01:22Z")
I take it in the same sense as someone getting their car repossessed might say “they took my keys”. In other words it’s not that it was stolen. It’s that he could no longer afford to pay whatever money is required to participate in horse riding. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/15 "2026-07-03T23:21:49Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I guess it happened enough to be a plot device on “Adam-12”. > > ETA: season 6, episode 3, “Foothill Division”. It’s also a throwaway plot point in _Red Dead Redemption 2_. Hosea and Arthur discuss it towards the beginning of Chapter 2. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/16 "2026-07-03T23:26:52Z")
Really awful pun time (ahem) — The cowboy’s name is “Moon,” so now he’s a saddle light. I’m goin’, I’m goin’. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/17 "2026-07-03T23:49:48Z")
You so terrible, Burpo. 😂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/18 "2026-07-04T13:58:59Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > The cowboy’s name is “Moon,” so now he’s a saddle light. And now he’s free to moon as much as he wants! 😊 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/19 "2026-07-04T15:46:39Z")
You so bad! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361/20 "2026-07-04T23:08:59Z")
The line eymbolizes the financial ruin and sacrifice of a rodeo cowboy’s life. I’m voting pawned iETA: Suspicion was on a few K-tel collection albums. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodeo-riders-saddle-gets-taken/1031361.md?page=2)