If you caught the heartbreaking return of “Yellowstone” this past Sunday, then you were likely wondering what became of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton. Well, the episode wastes no time giving us an answer before pivoting back to Rip Wheeler’s (Cole Hauser) time at the Four Sixes Ranch (sometimes known as 6666 Ranch) down in Texas. While there, Rip travels to Pampa to retrieve a bit order for Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) from an aged cowboy named Billy Klapper, a Texas-based loriner (a bit and spur maker) who is well known throughout the cowboy community. There, Klapper gifts Rip a beautifully hand-crafted set of spurs, the sort that the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch wagon boss hasn’t seen in about 30 years. 

But who is this Billy Klapper? Well, for starters, he’s a very real cowboy. Klapper began making spurs back in the mid-1960s, and continued his practice until his death in September 2024. The cowboy legend passed away months before “Yellowstone” returned to television, making this tribute a particularly meaningful one. It’s no wonder that “Desire Is All You Need” is also dedicated in Klapper’s memory. Of course, his time on the show is terribly brief, but it leaves a lasting impact on Rip as he meditates on the cowboy legacy. “When he’s gone, we’re all out of legends,” Four Sixes cowboy Dusty Burson tells him. “There’s nobody trying to be the next one.”

According to his obituary, Klapper made an impressive number of 682 spur patterns and 816 bit patterns, each different than the next, over the course of his lifetime. As one of the few remaining loriners trained by fellow Texas native and cowboy legend Adolph Bayers, Klapper quickly rose to prominence worldwide, known for his impressive craftsmanship and decades-spanning career.

If you’ve watched “Yellowstone” for any length of time, then you know that Taylor Sheridan has a way of peppering in living Western icons in his work. One of the show’s longest cast members, Forrie J. Smith, is a lifelong Montanan who was known for his work on the rodeo circuit and as a wrangler. In Hollywood, he appeared in productions like “Tombstone” and “Gunsmoke: One Man’s Justice” before ever stepping foot on the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. But beyond the show’s main cast, Sheridan continues to rope older cowboys into the Paramount Network drama, even if just for a scene or two.

On Season 4’s “Under a Blanket of Red,” while Jimmy (Jefferson White) is banished to the Four Sixes down in Texas, he meets an aged cowboy named Buster Welch. Welch was a legendary horseman and National Cutting Horse Association Hall of Famer who is considered something of a “god” to cowboys everywhere. The way it’s put to Jimmy on “Yellowstone,” “there are three Gods in Texas: the Almighty himself, Buster Welch, and George Strait. You just met one of them.” Texas Hall of Famer Barry Corbin — who is not Wilford Brimley — won cutting-horse competitions himself, and likewise appeared on this episode as the Four Sixes ranch hand Ross. An actor himself, Corbin played parts on “Lonesome Dove,” “Dallas,” and “Northern Exposure.”

Additionally, cast members Ryan Bingham (Walker), Jake Ream (Jake), Ethan Lee (Ethan), and even Sheridan himself, who plays Travis Wheatley as well as helming the series, all have rodeo or ranching backgrounds. In Sheridan’s case, he actually bought the historic Four Sixes Ranch back in 2022, and continues to operate it as a working ranch. He also owns and operates Bosque Ranch, which is more than just one of the production companies behind “Yellowstone.”