By Merri Melde-Endurance.net
December 27 2025
Podcast link: https://youtu.be/uI2P8eIy5ko?si=KKtYm3JTU2BU0JHu
Idaho’s Old Selam Endurance ride near Centerville, Idaho, has been in existence 1979. The name Old Selam comes from the Idaho Penitentiary’s most famous horse, Selam, who was used by two prison inmates to escape the prison in 1901. Bob Meeks was recaptured, but Sam Bruner never was. Selam was discovered wandering near the Snake River 6 months later. (See full story below.)
The Old Selam trails may retrace some of the escape routes, who knows, and previous ridecamps were at or near the Idaho Penitentiary.
Samuel Anderson, Research and Education Coordinator for the Old Idaho Penitentiary, visited the 2025 Old Selam Endurance ride, captivating listeners at Saturday’s ride meeting with the story of Old Selam and the hopeful prison escapees. He also interviewed numerous riders during the weekend about the sport of endurance and their experiences, for the podcast, Behind Gray Walls.
Featured in the podcast are veterinarian Robert Washington, endurance riders Carolyn Roberts, Suzanne Hayes, Suzanne Ford-Huff, Christoph Schork, Karen Steenhof, Tani Bates, and LuAnn DeYoung.
The episode is now available on YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, and the podcast app. Here is the link to the YouTube version:
https://youtu.be/uI2P8eIy5ko?si=KKtYm3JTU2BU0JHu
And here’s the full story of Old Selam, from
http://www.endurance.net/switdr/storyindex.html
The Old Selam Endurance ride is named after a horse used in two different escapes from the Old Idaho State Penitentiary on Warm Springs Avenue in Boise. Selam was reported to be one of the best horses in Idaho and had been used for both riding and driving.
On December 24th, 1901, Henry "Bob" Meeks, who was serving a 35-year sentence for a robbery in Montpelier and supposedly a pal of Butch Cassidy, was working around the hog pens in the prison complex when he unhitched Selam, then an old horse, from the front of a wagon, jumped astride, and gave the horse his head without removing the harness. About a mile from the pen, he cut the harness and left it on the road. According to prison records, he “went up the hill road by the reservoir and, turning to the left, ‘lit’ out for the mountains.” The trail went up what was known as the Hillman Trail to the Boise Ridge, 2 miles west of the Delphi mine. From there he turned east and south back to the Boise River. Tracks showed that Meeks had gotten off Selam and walked alongside him as they climbed the steep hillsides.
Trackers caught up with Meeks on December 25 at his camp along the Boise River 10 miles above Mores Creek. Selam recognized the guards who captured Meeks and nodded and neighed to them. They attached him to the buckboard that carried Meeks back to town. Prisoners were said to be glad to see Selam when he returned to the prison. The warden was glad too and said it would have been a pity to have such a noble horse “knocking around” with people who didn’t appreciate his worth. He acknowledged that Meeks had taken care of the “thoroughbred” but nevertheless threatened to charge him with horse-stealing.
A few days later, on December 30, 1901, Sam Bruner, who was serving a term for stealing sheep, escaped through the main gate on Warm Springs Avenue. The lights in the prison began to dim at 2 am that morning. Investigation showed that trusted prisoner Sam Bruner was not at his duty station in the power plant. A check of the prison revealed that Old Selam, as well as a saddle and bridle, were missing. Bruner was spotted at 2:30 am traveling southwest of Boise as fast as the horse could carry him. In January, the warden got word that Bruner had turned Selam loose with his saddle on and that Selam was wandering in the Bernard’s Ferry area along the Snake River. Bruner stole a horse from a man named Harberg. He then hung out with friends at Cow Creek and left on one of McKenzie’s horses, never to be re-captured. Prison officials thought Selam would find his way home soon, but he didn’t. In February 1902 the warden offered a reward for Selam’s return. In early June 1902, Selam was found grazing and “taken up” six miles above Swan Falls.
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Photo by: MTN NEWS
