Smoky the Cowhorse

By: Will James

Narrated by: Wayne Evans

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Smoky the Cowhorse is one of the most famous and beloved horse stories told. Will James writes in 1920s cowboy vernacular and tells the life of the horse Smoky in the Western United States from his birth to eventual return to his home range. Smoky is born in the wild, captured, and trained by Clint and becomes known as the best cow horse. Then a horse thief steals Smoky and beats him repeatedly. Smoky eventually attacks and escapes from the abusive thief. When Smoky is eventually captured, his new violent demeanor results in him being used as a bucking bronco in rodeos as “The Cougar”. Years of bucking take their toll. “The Cougar” becomes “Cloudy” the riding horse, and eventually he is sold to an abusive man who starves him. It would be the end, but Clint happens to find him. With careful treatment, Smoky recovers while back on his home range.

Smoky the Cowhorse won the 1927 Newbery Award and was adapted to the screen three times as Smoky.

©1926 Will James (P)2021 Wayne Evans LLC

Smokey the Cowhorse: 10 for story, 1 for performance

Smokey the Cowhorse is an award-winning book that is a classic, beloved novel of the love between a man and horse and later with the trials that Smokey endures after being stolen. It deserves an award-winning cowboy storyteller who knows and understands the life and culture of old cowboys, cow horses, the range, our language and values in order to perform this tale so that the listener feels the pull on his or her heartstrings. It is easily seen by the “reader” that while this narrator does a fair job of phonetically reading the words, that he understands nothing, does not evoke any deep feelings, mispronounces and doesn’t understand many words. Listen because of the story but pray that Brookstone Publishers finds the right performer and re-records Smokey. I’ve read this book countless times over the years and it always brings tears to my eyes— some happy, some sad, some wanting to treat his abusers with the same that they dish out. One of my favorite books.

Good reader, bad dialect.

His pronunciation of Mexican words, is hilarious. The pronunciation of Pecos, Ladigo, Segundo, Makes a westerner cringe. His enthusiasm makes up for it.

great book wrong reader

Will James is an excellent author. because he was the real deal when it came to cowboyin.
Consequently his books like Smoky the Cowhorse are good books!
But the reader they chose to read this book was a terrible choice. Enthusiastic and good at reading he may be he knows nothing of horses or cattle or cowboys, given that he couldn't even pronounce most of the vernacular correctly.
even though I've read
this book before and loved it I couldn't finish listening.

Loved it

First read the book in 1950 along with the rest of Will Jame's books, loved it then and now.

Just a little dull for me now.

I read this book 25 years ago and liked it . Some how it didn't seem as good.

terrible narrator

The guy reading might have ruined the whole book. He sounded like he had never read the book out loud before and the cadence was awkward. Plus his lack of accent to match the style of the writing made it horrible to listen to. I can appreciate a story written in a different dialect but when it is read by someone who clearly doesn't speak that dialect, it's painful to listen to.