April 15, 1945 – June 25, 2026 ______________________________________________________________________________________
Blaine Nordvold, 81, of Eagle Butte passed away June 25, 2026 at the Cheyenne River Health Center in Eagle Butte.
A celebration of life was held July 9 at his home in rural Eagle Butte.
Homer Blaine Nordvold was born at the Cheyenne River Agency on April 15, 1945 to Syd and Rose Nordvold and grew up along the river breaks in Armstrong County.
Blaine was known for creating colorful poems about the cowboy way of life, extraordinary people or animals, and heartfelt poems for people’s loved ones. In 1989 and 1996 he was invited to participate in the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, NV. In 1990, SD Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) did a segment on cowboy poetry that he participated in. He was especially proud of the fact that a poem he wrote for the Burke Stampede Rodeo was still featured in their program going on 36 years. He wrote a column in the West River Eagle titled “Don’t Squat with Your Spurs On.”
In the 1970s, Blaine made his way to Arizona to rodeo with his younger brother, Jud. They participated in all rough stock events, but were renowned saddle bronc riders. Blaine was also pretty good at riding bulls until a shoulder injury took him out.
While in Arizona, Blaine met the love of his life, Linda. They began their married life in Arizona, but eventually moved back to Eagle Butte.
Some highlights of Blaine’s rodeo career include: 1968 5th place runner-up bull rider in the AAIAA; 1974 and 1976 5th place runner-up saddle bronc rider in the AIRCA; and 1975 2nd runner-up saddle bronc rider in the PRCA Turquoise Circuit. He rode his last saddle bronc at age 45. He was Casey Tibbs Match of Champions Honorary Chute Boss in 2016; Casey Tibbs Foundation Rodeo Promoter Honoree in 2016; and CRST Labor Day Rodeo Honorary Chute Boss in 2019.
Blaine was a jack of all trades. One of the jobs that he really enjoyed was working as a Detention Officer and Sergeant at the old jail and at Walter Miner Law Enforcement Center. Another was working for the Wolakota Horse Program in 1996 and as the CRST Horsemanship Program Coordinator.
Blaine’s life centered on horses and his ranch. In 1985, he decided to trail some wild horses from Eagle Butte to Mobridge to sell. This trail ride sparked a dream. His idea was that if kids had horses to ride and care for, they wouldn’t be so apt to get into trouble. This led him to establish the Fox Ridge Trail Ride, which ran from about 1987 to 1993. A portion of one of the trail rides was filmed at the Harlan Gunville Ranch and featured on a PBS segment.
Blaine participated in trail rides such as the Bigfoot Memorial Ride; the 1989 Centennial Trail Ride in Custer State Park; the 2008 Ft. Pierre to Deadwood trail ride; the 2009 Ft. Bennett to Ft. Pierre Casey Tibbs Memorial Ride; the 2010 Pony Express Ride from Ft. Pierre to Eagle Butte; and the 2011 Scotty Philip Memorial Trail Ride from Philip to Ft. Pierre. Blaine is featured in the 2013 Scotty Philip documentary, “The Buffalo King.”
In 1965, Blaine and his brother, Jud, helped Casey Tibbs trail horses from the Cheyenne River Reservation to Ft. Pierre from which the movie, “Born to Buck” derived. In 1971, Casey again trailed horses to Ft. Pierre and hired Blaine to break horses and be a stunt double for the movie, “Hard Rider,” which was filmed during this excursion. Blaine talked about these memories often and published an article in the 1982 February edition of the Western Horseman magazine detailing the 1971 experience.
Blaine is preceded in death by the love of his life, Linda Nordvold; his parents; his brother, Judson Dunn Nordvold; and a special nephew, Bud Longbrake.
He is survived by his children: Shane Thompson, Sabrena Goodrum, Lakota “Cody,” Wendell “Bobby,” Yura Lee Nordvold; and stepson Roland Halona; special niece and nephew Stacie and Kelcey Nordvold (Whitney); brother Jerry Nordvold; sisters Faye Longbrake, Nan Savoy, and Mary Jo Garreau; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and several adopted children/grands.
Luce Funeral Home of Gettysburg was in charge of arrangements.