Cecil Cornish, 94; Rodeo Trick Rider in Cowboy Hall of Fame

Cecil Cornish, 94, a rodeo trick rider who was known as “Mr. Rodeo” and inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and ProRodeo Hall of Fame, died Thursday of natural causes associated with aging in a nursing home in Enid, Okla.

Over the years, he had suffered a heart attack and many broken bones, including a broken neck in 1962.

A rancher who grew wheat and raised horses, Cornish was known as an exceptional animal trainer.

His 35-year rodeo career took off after the horse Smokey was born on his ranch in 1934.

Cornish began training the animal when it was 2 weeks old, and developed a pantomime in which Smokey pretended to suffer a broken leg.

Cornish would act as if he were going to shoot the lame horse, until the horse indicated it could make it home. The two would exit, horse limping, to thunderous applause.

Smokey, whose appearance could command $1,500 at New York’s Madison Square Garden and San Francisco’s Cow Palace, also was trained to dance to music and play dead.

For another act, Cornish trained his Brahma bull named Danger to jump over a car or through fire, lie down, sit up and crawl on its knees.

He also trained six matched golden palominos to perform in a ring, without a harness, as he directed them to dance, walk, kneel, lie down and rear.

For a trick-riding act, Cornish rode a matched pair of horses, one foot on the back of each, at full gallop and put them through several jumps.