RODEO RIDERS
Connected only by the theme of the rodeo, Rodeo Riders was a paperback original series cobbled together and packaged by Signet. In 1996, author Mike Flanagan wrote what is essentially the first Rodeo Riders novel, The Broncbuster. While only unofficially part of the series, the same characters and 1872 Texas setting appear again in Rodeo Riders #5 Busted Ride.
If you include The Broncbuster, Flanagan wrote a total of five Rodeo Riders novels, with beloved Western wordslinger Dusty Richards providing the fourth book in the official series (and quite possibly the best), The Natural—a modern day rodeo tale featuring not a bronc—busting cowboy as the hero, but a famed rodeo announcer traveling the circuit.
Nicely packaged, the series is worth owning for its excellent cover art...
THE BRONCBUSTER (1996)
MIKE FLANAGAN
On His way to manhood, Will Paxton learned a bronc doesn't care if you're young or old when you climb on its back, and a man set on killing you doesn't care if you're old enough to wear the gun strapped on your hip...
RODEO RIDERS #1
COWBOY UP (1999)
MIKE FLANAGAN
Life can be a wild ride... Sometimes all you can do is keep hanging on...The Old Bull... Ex-rodeo champ Jack Lomas is a stubborn old rancher of the ornery sort. He does things only one way... his. A lifetime of hard work and regret has taught him some tough lessons. But is it too late for this old dog to learn some new tricks? The Young Buck... Clay Tory is a fiery young ne'er-do-well with a taste for trouble and who's just fought the law for the last time. Given a choice between juvenile hall and working for Jack, he chooses the ranch...and finds something inside of himself that's worth fighting for. And when a pack of cattle rustlers sweep through the area, Jack and Clay find out that sometimes the only way to stay on your feet is to have someone to lean on....
RODEO RIDERS #3
FINAL RIDE (2001)
MIKE FLANAGAN
It's all about holding on... For two years, Clay Tory has been tearing up the rodeo circuit under the guidance of veteran rancher Jack Lomas. Unfortunately, things aren't going so well back home at the ranch. Years of hard work and stress have taken...
THE NATURAL (2002)
DUSTY RICHARDS
There's a lot of tough competition in the rodeo arena-from the man behind the microphone to the cowboys and cowgirls that ride, rope, and climb on the bucking stock. The Natural puts you in the boots of famed rodeo announcer Brad Turner, racing his horse Golden Boy into the arena and welcoming the crowd to a pro rodeo performance in Jackson, Mississippi. You'll hit the road with Brad as he criss-crosses the country struggling with life, love, and business on the pro rodeo circuit. You'll meet Zola Johns, the rebellious, barrel racing beauty with her eye on the prize of winning a national championship, and Shoat Krammer, the young rough-and-tumble rookie that's the real natural coming up the hard way. Tough, gritty, and written with the authenticity of a lifelong rodeo veteran, two-time Spur Award-winning author Dusty Richards tells a tale so real, you'll be dusting the dirt from the arena off your Wranglers before you're done.
BUSTED RIDE (2002)
MIKE FLANAGAN
Texas, 1872. Looking to make enough money to start his own ranch, Will rode wild horses until they were fit for sale. But when folks started placing bets on who would be tamed-man or beast, Will discovered a gold mine that would become an American institution—the rodeo.
I can’t seem to access podcast episode #211 anywhere on the site.
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