War Paint (c. 1945 – 1975) was a saddle bronc who was a three-time Rodeo Cowboys Association Bucking Horse of the Year.

War Paint was known for his bucking ability and his buck-off record, which was close to 90 percent.

[2] Sommers gave the foal a Klamath name that means "painted horse".

[8] Christensen Brothers first tried out War Paint, who weighed 1,400 pounds (640 kg), in bareback bronc riding competition.

There was a certain rodeo historian who wrote that many bronc riders would say after "seeing the paint go was–'That spotted horse is the one I want'–but generally, after a seat on him, they'd be out there checking their eyesight the next time they got a chance to see him go"!

War Paint performed many times at the Ellensburg Rodeo, where the crowd always appreciated him.

[4] World champion saddle bronc rider and hall of famer Deb Copenhaver[12] elaborated, "That pinto is a sure day-money horse.

"[4] In 1956, saddle bronc world champion and hall of famer Casey Tibbs[13] suggested an award for bucking horses.

[14] War Paint was voted the inaugural RCA "Bucking Horse of the Year" in 1956.

[5] The award presentation took place at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, in January, 1957.

The Rodeo Sports News presented the winner with a silver mounted bucking horse halter, which was decorative but also functional.

The Christensen Brothers still brought War Paint to the ceremony to be presented for the award.

The Rodeo Sports News attempted to cover over Nelson's reputation by printing a story several months later that claimed War Paint had also bucked off Tibbs in the same manner.

[17] In 1958 War Paint and a horse named Joker, owned by Harry Knight & Company, tied for the award.

Enos, for example, rode War Paint for a qualified ride in Prineville, Oregon, in 1955 and once in Redmond, California, in 1959.

McKenna in Red Bluff, California, in 1957; Ted Tufares in Lebanon, Oregon, in 1958; Dean Reeves at the Pendleton Round-Up in 1959; Tom Tescher at Red Bluff, California, in 1959, Don L. Jackson in Porterville, California, in 1964; Gene McBeth in St. Paul, Oregon, in 1966; Jim Bothum in Eugene, Oregon, in 1966; Casey Tibbs, and Deb Copenhaver.

[6] In 1966, at the Emerald Empire RoundUp, in Eugene, Oregon, War Paint bucked off Jim Botham.

When War Paint became very old and his health was declining, the stock contractors made the decision to euthanize him so he would not have to endure another hard winter.

[6] War Paint's preserved body is on display at the museum in the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame in Oregon.