The film has two characters from Robbins' western ballads – Felina from El Paso, and Secora from San Angelo.
[1] As an orchestra plays the melody of El Paso Marty rides his white horse over rugged terrain.
A stagecoach comes by, Marty jumps onto the roof of the vehicle and has the driver throw a strongbox onto the ground.
Marty rides into the town of San Angelo, Texas and a small boy named Miguelito rushes up to him and offers to tend to his tired horse.
When they reach the river Secora begins undressing to go swimming, but Marty stops her, and tells her she should be ashamed for removing clothing in front of a man.
Marty brings more presents for the girls at the cantina, and Secora is given a swimming garment with a knee-length skirt.
Then she changes her mind, and sends a man to find Marty and tell him to come back to San Angelo.
Stuntman and horse trainer Bill Ward wanted to make his own film.
He owned a trained white horse named Traveler, who had been a stunt double for Silver on The Lone Ranger television series.
Ward gave Traveler second billing on The Ballad of a Gunfighter, which was the last film the horse was in.