CHEYENNE - The decision to put Wyoming's trademark bucking horse and rider image on the state quarter has been described as a "no-brainer" by some. In other words: Duh.

But the discussions, and debates, generated by the lengthy design process were anything but simple minded.

Supporters of the iconic image, who were in the overwhelming majority, said it illustrates the state's heritage and the independent spirit of the few souls who choose to live here.

Critics, meanwhile, complained that it excludes other, perhaps more important, aspects of the state, and perpetuates an inaccurate and dangerous myth about Wyoming.

On the lighter side, the debate rekindled age-old arguments over which cowboy and horse inspired the design.

Asked by a reporter to take sides on the touchy issue Friday, Gov. Dave Freudenthal explained that he has friends with opposing opinions, and he plans to remain on speaking terms with all of them.

"I dodged that one, didn't I?" Freudenthal said with a chuckle.

In the end, the dialogue spawned by the design process provided a forum in which to re-examine Wyoming's history, and, perhaps, to consider the future, said Phil Roberts, University of Wyoming historian and a member of the committee that helped select the design.

"In some respects I'm surprised at the huge amount of interest that the whole issue of Wyoming's quarter has generated," Roberts said. "I don't know that such a conversation has occurred in any of the other states."

The bucking horse and rider symbol is everywhere in Wyoming, having been displayed prominently on state license plates since 1935 and on University of Wyoming football helmets since 1964.

So for most state residents it seemed only natural - some would say inevitable - for the state to represent itself in the same way on the quarter, which was released recently as the 44th in the U.S. Mint's 50 States Quarter Program.

That sense of inevitability stems from a wide variety of feelings, attitudes and beliefs - probably the same sentiments that have allowed the image to endure today as one of the most recognizable state and university logos in the nation.

Freudenthal, in announcing the final design, said the cowboy and bucking horse represents "our proud Western heritage."

The U.S. Mint, in its explanation of the choice, described the bucking horse and rider as symbolic of Wyoming's "Wild West heritage."

Beverly Paddleford, an artist in Lander, said the image is "just so us" - beautiful and simplistic.

Another reason for the selection, said coinage advisory committee member Jim Helzer, is that nearly everyone in the state can relate to the image.

Unlike images of the Tetons and Devils Tower, which are seen as regional landmarks, the bucking horse and rider is all embracing, he said.

"It was such a no-brainer," Roberts added. "We looked at different ideas, but we always came back to the horse and rider."

Iconic image

But how did the image get so popular?

Roberts said the endurance of the symbol, despite the loss of the open-range cowboy that spawned it, can be attributed to a number of factors.

Nostalgia for simpler times is probably one. So are the roots that many Wyoming natives and others have in agriculture, especially ranching.

"I think there is a segment of the population that has real nostalgia going back to family members who had roots in agriculture," Roberts said.

Other reasons for the image's popularity rely less on a literal interpretation of the image.

For example, the bucking horse and rider also symbolizes the concepts of rugged individualism and freedom.

That's one reason, Roberts said, the image remains popular even in parts of state that have relied on industries other than agriculture, such as coal mining or railroads, for their economic well-being.

"Maybe the sense of freedom that's shown by a rider on a bucking horse is something that a worker going into an underground coal mine or spending long days laying rail or replacing track might aspire to mentally," Roberts said.

Milward Simpson, director of the state Department of Parks and Cultural Resources, agreed that the image, when interpreted less literally, captures an abstract sense of the state's spirit.

"I suppose one way to look at it is the indomitable spirit and sense of independence, and I guess wildness, that the spirit of the bucking bronco kind of encapsulates," Simpson said.

But the explicit content of the image has consequences, perhaps negative, according to critics of the quarter design.

For one thing, former longtime Wyoming newspaperman Dave Perry said, the selection of the horse and rider means that other important aspects of the state were excluded.

Wyoming, like many other states, could have displayed more than one identifying image on its quarter, he said.

"I believe that Wyoming has so many wonderful qualities that could be artistically captured on a coin that we should have taken advantage of them," said Perry, who editorialized about the design as publisher of the Rawlins Daily Times.

"I think people will pick up the bucking horse quarter and say, 'Cowboys,' when really there is so much more to Wyoming," added Perry, who suggested Old Faithful, the Tetons, Devils Tower and the Indian paintbrush as possibilities.

"The list just goes on and on," he said.

Living in the past?

Sheridan-based writer and author Sam Western, who has criticized what he sees as Wyoming's blind embrace of its cowboy mythology, said the bucking horse and rider portrays an inaccurate and idealized vision of the state and perpetuates a myth about the cowboy culture that holds the state back.

He noted that while agriculture, especially cattle ranching, played a role in Wyoming's effort to become a state, it comprises a minuscule slice of the state economy today.

To the extent that Wyoming insists on embracing an image from its cowboy past, Western said, the state excludes other industries and opportunities that could move the state into the future.

"I want an image that includes our past but also helps us get to the future," said Western, adding that the state must embrace diversity to thrive.

Members of the Wyoming Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee said they wrestled with all of those arguments in their deliberations. They eventually concluded that the bucking bronco and rider image is not a hindrance, nor necessarily an agricultural symbol.

"If it ever had that kind of (agricultural) designation or symbolism, it's long outgrown it," Roberts said. "You see it more in terms of how it unifies the state. It's the one symbol that all of us can agree on in essence because its a rather ubiquitous symbol."

"It does not say we are backward looking, that we are old fashioned," added Helzer. "I don't think it means that we're all cowboys. We never were all cowboys."

The small size of the quarter also helped swing support in favor of a single, simple image on the coin, Helzer said.

"You're dealing with something very, very small," he said. "You can't tell the whole history of Wyoming. So you have to come up with a very focused symbol."

Nickname offers balance

Another reason the design worked, commission members said, is because it also included the state nickname - "The Equality State" - to the right of the bucking horse.

Simpson said the two elements are complementary: One illustrates the state's spirit, and the other speaks to the achievements of women.

Roberts offered a slightly different take. He said the bucking horse and rider highlights the state's past, while the state nickname pushes people to consider whether the state is living up to its progressive pedigree.

"There are the aspirational aspects in one and the retrospective aspects of the other," he said. "Or perhaps the legend in one case and the harsh realities that go with the other."

In the end, coinage commission Chairman Jack Rosenthal said, it wasn't the group's function to argue with the public.

Roughly 3,200 Wyomingites submitted designs to the commission, with all but a small fraction incorporating the bucking horse and rider.

"For us to be elitist and impose our will over that of the public I think would have been a mistake," Rosenthal said.

One of the strengths of the bucking horse and rider image, Roberts said, is its ability to represent a wide range of ideas and meanings.

For example, one person might see a depiction of the state's ranching industry, while to another it represents freedom or individualism.

"In some respects, you can make the symbol say what you want it to say," Roberts said.

Reach capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at jared.miller@casperstartribune.net.

To view a slideshow of all the state quarters, please <<A rel="external" href="http://casperstartribune.net/shared-content/story_tools/slideshow/?type=newsmaker&id">http://casperstartribune.net/shared-content/story_tools/slideshow/?type=newsmaker&id=24> ">click here. To view a timeline of the events leading up to the minting of the quarter, please <<A rel="external" href="http://casperstartribune.net/shared-content/story_tools/timeline/?id=9">http://casperstartribune.net/shared-content/story_tools/timeline/?id=9> ">click here.