Clinic In Poplar Professional Bronc Rider Likes Teaching Others

As part of Poplar’s Indian Days, Spotted Bull Recovery reached out to professional bronc rider Phillip “Smiley” Whiteman to conduct a bronc riding clinic at the Poplar Rodeo Grounds on Friday, Aug. 29.

The Ashland native said he has led such clinics in Poplar about four times and has held similar events in Hardin and Lame Deer. Whiteman has been a professional rider for eight years and has qualified for the Indian National Finals in Las Vegas many times including being a reserve champion one year.

Whiteman said the bronc riding clinics cover the basics such as fundamentals and body positioning. He stresses safety and having the proper equipment.

“Riding bucking horses is dangerous. Being around horses can be dangerous,” Whiteman noted.

He said the Poplar clinic usually attracts about 15 participants.

He has worked with riders as young as 7 years old. The clinic always begins with a prayer.

“It helps bring people to a somber, clean environment,” Whiteman said of the clinics. “I like teaching the younger people.”

Part of the attraction for Whiteman coming to eastern Montana is working with Dale Four Bear’s horses.

“He has his own unique bucking horses,” Whiteman explained.

He added that Four Bear’s horses can also be found at rodeos in Arizona and New Mexico. “It’s just the way he breeds them. They all have good hips and muscles.”

Whiteman rodo one of the horses, a blue roan stud, to win $7,000 at a rodeo in Parshall, N.D. “Dale’s bucking horses have treated me pretty good,” he said.

At one time, Whiteman also rode bulls but decided to retire from that fierce ride.“It got hard on the body after a while,” Whiteman explained. “Broncs are more forgiving on a guy.”

He grew around the sport, as his father, Phillip Whiteman, was a two-time world champion.

The younger Whiteman received the nickname “Smiley” from his grandmother at a very young age.

“I was a day old, and just smiling away,” he laughed.