Daughter’s biography of Dad

Sammie Rude Compton is an Oklahoma Native who shares a story as big as the western sky in her book The Cowboy Ike Rude Riding into the Wind.

The book is a biography of her father, Ike Rude.

An attempt was made to publish a book about Ike in the 1950’s, but it was turned down because the publisher felt the story was too unbelievable to sell as non-fiction.

Sammie’s mother, Cleo Rude (Couch), pleaded with her for years to write a book about her dad.

Sammie put it off, saying “I am not a writer, I wouldn’t know where to begin”.

During COVID, Sammie started gathering stories about her father’s life for her family.

Five years later, she has published the beautifully written and remarkable story of the first living inductee into the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Sammie has written the captivating story of her father’s fascinating life in such a way that readers are left feeling as if they are sitting around a campfire listening to Sammie tell the stories in person.

You don’t have to be a cowboy to appreciate the colorful stories that unfold in this book but you might find yourself wishing you were one.

Ike was born in 1894 and served in World War 1.

Whether he was working on a ranch or rodeoing, he made his living on the back of a horse with a rope in his hand.

Sammie’s book is full of historical context and insight into ranch life and cowboy culture.

She shares stories of his time working on the Matador and JA Ranches of West Texas as well as other ranches between Oklahoma and California.

Sammie tells a story of the time her father quit a ranch because he was reprimanded for “roping too much”.

Some of the historical information comes from contributions to the book from Michael R. Grauer, McCasland Chair of Cowboy Culture/Curator of Cowboy Collections and Western Art at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. 

Michael helped Sammie get her father’s story published by Texas A&M University Press.

Michael explained while anyone can self-publish a book, Sammie’s book needed the backing of a publishing company.

He said, “Ike’s story is so compelling I felt it needed to be published by a university press.”

Sammie writes of her childhood as a “travelling Gypsy family” while they were on the rodeo road.

Her mother was the first to set up a tent and camp on the rodeo grounds at Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Her father won the steer-roping championship in Cheyenne in 1956 at 62.

This is one championship on a very long list of Ike’s rodeo accomplishments.

Charles “Bud” Townsend was a history professor at West Texas A&M University and rodeo announcer for 52 years. He recorded an interview with Ike at the Akron, Colorado Rodeo in 1969.

In the foreword of Sammie’s book, he writes “Ike Rude’s life bridged two centuries of cowboy life; he saw rodeo develop from its infancy in the 19th century to its maturity in the twentieth century.”

He also writes that Ike was “true to the cowboy credo: “Never walk where you can ride a horse.”

Ike showcased his exceptional skill from Madison Square Gardens to Pendleton, Oregon.

And practically every rodeo in between.

He even roped for the Queen of England, per Her Majesties request.

Ike and others like him laid the foundation for modern rodeo in almost every aspect. From the type and caliber of rope horses to the trailer they are hauled down the road in, every cowboy has Ike Rude to thank for his hand in it.

Sammie wants the world to know her father’s story.

She has written, oftentimes painfully, not just his story, but her entire family story as well.

With her finely crafted words she tells this real, raw, and incredibly true story.

Sammie is an accomplished horsewoman in her own right.

She proudly rode in the saddle that her dad won at the Matador Ranch Rodeo.

She trained and showed pleasure horses alongside her husband, Theron, until his untimely death in an accident on his way to the Denver Stock Show.

Sammie continued to train and show with her son. She had some Superior Halter and Pleasure horses over the years, as a single mother, she had to make a living to support her family and could only show on the weekends.

She said, “There was a lot of things I would have liked to do but circumstances of life didn’t allow for that.”

Sammie now lives in Purcell near her son, Troy Compton who is a living legend in the horse industry as well. Troy won almost every pleasure championship across all breeds, then trained many all-around horses. His current endeavor is training reining horses.