John P. Gammon was born in Buffalo and grew up on the Gammon Ranch (also known as the historic TA Ranch from the Johnson County Cattle War) approximately 13 miles south of Buffalo. At a very young age, John started riding and driving horses, along with caring for the cattle on the ranch. During his youth and early adult years, he helped break and train both the saddle and Percheron draft horses for use on the ranch, and to sell to local ranchers. Draft horses were used on the ranch to farm the fields, harvest hay, thresh grain, and feed livestock until after World War II, when tractors became available. John was also a farrier and was often tasked with shoeing both the saddle and draft horses. From about the age of eight until he retired at age 63, John spent many days each year on horseback while calving, branding, shipping, and trailing cattle to different ranch units and seasonal pastures. During his junior high and early high school years, John also cowboyed and trained racehorses for Ralph Robinson. He jockeyed some of these racehorses at race contests throughout the region. He always felt privileged to be able to jockey on Ralph’s famous racehorse, “Wartime,” and they won several races together. He also rodeoed, competing in all the rough stock events. He preferred saddle bronc and bull riding. John was on the University of Wyoming’s first rodeo team that participated in the very first College National Finals Rodeo in 1949 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, where UW brought back a third-place trophy. John’s only hiatus from ranching and cowboying was during the Korean War years when he served in the Marine Corps. When released from his military service he resumed ranching and cowboying in Johnson County, where it all started.
John P. Gammon
