But Above Everything Else, Bev Walters Is A Cowboy

More at home on the range than anywhere else, this septuagenarian is a hallmark of the Valley. Santa Ynez local Bev Walter celebrates her 77th birthday the day this story appears in print, which, by extension is a celebration of her long life as an artist, actress, rodeo rider, show rider and, beyond everything else, a cowboy. “I’m a cowboy, not a cowgirl,” Walter states emphatically. “Cowboying is a profession.” In conversation, it is evident this is a mistake many have made before, but Walter is unafraid to correct it. She has always worked on a ranch, she says, and, up until a riding accident in 2000, she’s done the work male cowboys do, including building fences, branding, castrating, roping and hauling horses and cattle. Cowgirls are more about the riding, she says, although Walter has certainly done her fair share of that as well. For years, Walter and her two sisters rode off and on with famed trick rider and performer Montie Montana in his traveling show. “Montie was a dear, dear friend and a mentor,” Walter says. “He taught me a lot about breaking horses and a repertoire of the horse tricks for making children laugh. We used to go to the hospitals and perform for the children with the horses.” She didn’t like traveling, though, and always found herself back on a ranch...SantaYnezValleyJournal