Ben Fancher passed away a few days ago. The west has lost one of the greatest cowboys in the country. There are a million stories about Ben, I have almost that many. Today I want to say how proud I am to have worked and played with Ben. We may have played too hard, but when there was work to do Ben was always there and able to make a hand. I saw Ben on quite a few horses that could BUCK. I never saw Ben throwed off outside. And rope? My God how he could rope. I worked with Ben and his dad Eph the most, but was around Sam Fancher some. I never had the pleasure of working with any of the rest if the Fancher family, but the reputation of being great cowboys follows all of them.
A friend told me once that being a cowboy was not genetic. Well, I am sure it is. We have bred the Quarter Horse to be a cow horse for 75 years or so. Hell, the Fanchers have been cowboying twice that long, they have married into other cowboy families and have practiced and refined the art of being top cowboys. And they are.
Ben, I loved you like a brother, and thank you for being my friend.