He joined the pro rodeo circuit in the 1920s: historian Michael Allen wrote that he started in 1924,[3] while the Associated Press gave his debut year as 1925.
[8] Bowman won a third Ellensburg Rodeo steer wrestling title in 1932,[3] and earned an all-around victory at the Frontier Day event in Prescott, Arizona.
In 1938, he won his eighth and final discipline title in steer wrestling, which was his fourth in that category;[3] Bowman finished second in the All-Around Cowboy standings, trailing Burel Mulkey at the end of the season by 87 points.
[3] Bowman won rodeo's Triple Crown (three season championships in one year) twice; Trevor Brazile and Jim Shoulders are the only other cowboys to achieve this feat more than once.
"[4] In November 1936, a rodeo was scheduled to be held in Boston, but cowboys were displeased with their lack of authority in organizing the event.
[3] The group was initially named the United Cowboys' Turtle Association and was founded on November 6, 1936; the first word of their title was later removed.
[1][15] He did announce his resignation in July 1939 when a group of cowboys refused to pay $500 fines for strikebreaking,[16] but Bowman was reelected in February 1940 and nobody else was named to the position before then.
[20] In 1937, the group participated in a national strike which affected events including the Ellensburg Rodeo and Pendleton Round-Up, forcing the use of cowboys who were not part of the CTA's membership.
"[23] The strong-minded personality he had has been the subject of criticism; author Joel H. Bernstein wrote of Bowman that he "was not the best of diplomats and there was no way to change his mind when he felt he was right.
Historian Willard Porter said that, while in Wickenburg, he "held dances, taught horsemanship and talked rodeo to anyone who happened by.
He was the Grand Marshal of a parade held in connection to Prescott's Frontier Days rodeo in 1966,[27] and in 1969 accepted a movie role as a pastor in The Great White Hope.