He broke a wild bronco when he was 11. As a 16-year-old, he started bronc riding at the Whitman County Fair in Colfax in 1912, and at 17 he won the title of World's Best Bronco Buster. Canutt started rodeo riding professionally and gained a reputation as a bronc rider, bulldogger and all-around cowboy. It was at the 1914 Pendleton Round-Up that he got the nickname "Yakima" when a newspaper caption misidentified him. "Yakima Canutt may be the most famous person NOT from Yakima, Washington" says Elizabeth Gibson, author of "Yakima, Washington". Winning second place at the 1915 Pendleton Round-Up brought attention from show promoters, who invited him to compete around the country.