Description
In 1893 the Horsemen from Georgia, Caucasus, went to the United States where for more than 30 years they performed under the name of “Russian Cossacks” in the American circuses and shows. The Georgian riders were called “Cossacks” for different reasons, perhaps, the most important of which was the fact that Georgia was part of the Russian empire at that time and so each Georgian was referred to as Russian. This is the true story of people who arrived in America in search of financial support for their poor families back in Georgia and, at the same time without knowing it had influenced the riding technique of many participants in the most popular shows of that time. Dee Brown, the noted western historian wrote, “Trick riding came to rodeo by way of a troupe of Cossack daredevils imported by the 101 Ranch. Intrigued by the Cossacks stunts on their galloping horses, western cowboys soon introduced variations to American rodeo”. The connection between Buffalo Bill and Georgian trick riders represents one of the oldest known relationships between Georgia and the United States of America.
