W
hen I asked him, who gave him his nickname, Smurf, he quickly replied, “Charlotte Mann and her sisters Cheryl Lynn and Clara Lou (Carter) just wouldn’t let it go, so it stuck”, which made me chuckle. Growing up around the funloving Mann sisters, their tongue in cheek humor is always good for a laugh. It made complete sense that they would give him such a fitting moniker. At a stature of 5’5”, Horton became known for his darting by and sometimes over bulls in an old straw hat, red and white face and vibrant colorful shirts, most adorned with long fringe that would fly in wind.
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Smurf quickly became well-known on the rodeo circuit and by ’84 he was touring with stock contractor Mack Altizer and Bad Company Rodeo on the Wrangler Bull Fighting Tour. In June of ’87 he received an ankle injury that could’ve sidelined even the toughest of cowboys. He then went onto Wolf Point, MT where a bull busted his lip and chin. He was in bad shape and thought it might be the right time to go home and heal. “I’m sure glad that I didn’t,” he said. Horton