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Remembering George Defender, the Lakota Rodeo Pioneer

  • Writer: MIP Author
    MIP Author
  • Dec 30, 2021
  • 3 min read

Updated: Aug 17

George Defender rides a wild horse at the Mandan Round Up on July 2, 1923. The handwritten photograph identifies him as “Geo. Defender.
George Defender at the Mandan Round Up, 1923

George Defender knew how to stay with a horse that wanted no part of being ridden. One newspaper described him as “a cowboy who straddled the hurricane deck of many an outlaw without pulling leather.” The language is colorful, but it captures what made the Lakota rider so respected: balance, courage and a calm seat on some of the toughest horses of the early rodeo circuit.


In anticipation of the Museum of Indigenous People’s upcoming special exhibit, Indian Cowboys, the museum remembers a cowhand, rancher and rodeo pioneer whose life carried him from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation to major rodeo arenas across North America.


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Learning to Ride the Rough String


George Defender was born in 1891 at Kenel, South Dakota, on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. At 16, he went to work for the Dye and Zimmerman Ranch, commonly known as the DZ. Its horses had a reputation for being difficult buckers, and George was assigned to ride the “rough string,” the group considered too unruly for ordinary ranch work.


That was demanding work for any rider, especially a teenager. Day after day, he learned how to read a horse’s movement, keep his balance and remain composed when an animal twisted, kicked or tried to throw him. Those years helped prepare him for the rodeo career that followed.


A Name Known Across the Rodeo Circuit


By 1914, George was competing in local rodeos throughout North Dakota and South Dakota. That year, he took first place at the Miles City Roundup in Montana, one of the largest rodeos on the circuit. The win established him as a leading bronc rider and opened the way to competitions far beyond the northern plains.


His travels eventually took him to the Pendleton Round Up, Madison Square Garden and the Calgary Stampede. Between 1918 and 1923, he competed widely and became a contender for world championship honors as an all around cowboy.


Bronc riders depended on more than strength. They had to anticipate the horse beneath them, adjust in an instant and hold their seat without reaching for the saddle with their free hand, an action known as pulling leather. George became known for doing all of this with unusual control.

The horses were remembered too. Among the broncs associated with him were Spinning Boy, Sky Rocket, Grand River Blue, Heart River Croppy, Z Horse, Black Diamond, Leave Me with a Smile, Golden Rule and Tipperary. Their names offer a glimpse into an era when an exceptional bucking horse could become nearly as famous as the person attempting to ride it.

George was not limited to bronc riding. He entered wild horse races, bulldogging, wild cow milking, bareback riding, calf roping, relay races and even buffalo riding. The variety of events reflected his experience as a working cowhand as much as his ability in the arena.



Ranching, George Defenders Family and His Final Years


Away from competition, George built a life on Standing Rock. He married Lucille Two Lance of Promise, South Dakota, in 1915, and they had two children. He later married Helen Sees the Bear of Breien, North Dakota. Together, they had six children and established a ranch on the reservation.


Tuberculosis changed the course of his life in 1928. Hoping the drier climate would help his health, he took a job with the CA Cattle outfit in Arizona. A serious injury during a 1932 roundup, combined with the effects of tuberculosis, left him severely weakened.


George Defender died at Fort Yates, North Dakota, on January 14, 1933. He was buried in Kenel, the Standing Rock community where his story began. In 2001, the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame inducted him in recognition of his place in early rodeo history.



Remembering the Indigenous Cowboys of the West


George Defender’s career belongs to a much broader history. Indigenous cowhands rode difficult horses, managed livestock, competed in rodeos and maintained ranches throughout the West and northern plains. Yet their work has too often been left outside the familiar image of the American cowboy.


The Museum of Indigenous People’s special exhibit, Indian Cowboys, January 8, 2022. Through stories such as George Defender’s, the exhibit recognizes the skill, labor and determination of the Indigenous people who helped shape ranching and rodeo history.


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