"The Sheriff Traeger Rodeo"
by Pablo Capra
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| Dolores Steelman. Photo: unknown. |
The Topango Ranch’s first official rodeo was thrown on August 27, 1922 by Archie Cooper, in honor of Sheriff William Traeger (1880-1935), and attended by 1,500 people.
Three world champions performed: trick rider Buff “Big Buffalo” Brady Sr., bronco rider Hank Potts, and Roman rider Benny Crawford.
Two 10-year-old children also performed: “Dolores Steelman, a small deaf and dumb girl who gave an exhibition of trick riding, and Newton House, who rode a calf.”
Dolores (1912-1940), a fearless rodeo prodigy despite her handicap, was the youngest of 10 equestrian siblings.
Her father, actor Hosea Steelman Sr. (1876-1953), had a business supplying cowboys, horses, and props to Westerns. He worked on the first feature film ever made in Hollywood, The Squaw Man (1914), which was also director Cecil B. DeMille’s first film. The two friends ended up working on 20 films together.
A barbecue featured goat and steer meat, and Archie contributed vegetables from his garden.
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This is an excerpt from the book Topanga Beach: A History, 1820s-1920s. Author Pablo Capra is a former Lower Topanga resident, and continues to preserve the history of that neighborhood on his website, www.brasstackspress.com, and as a board member of the Topanga Historical Society, www.topangahistoricalsociety.org.
