SADDLE OF HONOR AWARD PROGRAM

~ 2024 ~

Outstanding Past Inductee Tribute  

Epitomizing the Soul of the American West

The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that 2018 inductee Lester “Bud” Griffith, Montana Gentleman Cowboy, of Roberts, Montana has been chosen as the MCHF 2024 Saddle of Honor recipient. The Saddle of Honor presentation will be held February 10, 2024 at the MCHF Annual Induction & Western Heritage Gathering. 

With a shared passion for upholding the ethical values of Montana’s iconic cowboy culture, the idea of the Saddle of Honor, a collaborative undertaking between the C. M. Russell Museum and the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, was born from a conversation between Tom Petrie, Past President of the C. M. Russell Museum Board, Jim Peterson current CMRM and MCHF Board Director, and Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame Past President, Bill Galt.

The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame was founded on the vision of Montanans with a strong desire to honor, preserve and pass forward the values and culture of those who have made a meaningful impact to our state’s western heritage. The MCHF fulfills this duty by recognizing the notable contributions, in part, of our Montana cowboys, cowgirls, American Indians, and settlers. To enhance these standards and principles our goal is to bring new opportunity in which to pay tribute, with a prestigious award, to past inductees of the MCHF who epitomize the soul of the American West. 

Bud will join 2018 MCHF Saddle of Honor foundational member Charles M. “Charlie” Russell – America’s Cowboy Artist, 2019 member Jay Joseph Contway – Montana’s Storyteller in Bronze and 2023 recipient Wally Badgett – Montana Cowboy Cartoonist.  

Bud Griffith will receive a bronze sculpture of Charlie Russell’s saddle; the last new bronze created by Jay Contway.

The replica of Russell’s historic saddle serves as a symbol for the extraordinary contributions Russell made in preserving the “Art and Soul of the American West”.