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Steamboat Springs — Brought up on vast ranches in Montana and Wyoming, Buck Brannaman was out of his element at all of the red carpet affairs, movie premieres and national TV appearances throughout the past year. But the soft-spoken cowboy wasn’t ever uncomfortable with the promotional efforts for the documentary “Buck,” the story of his life that screened this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Through it all, he did what he’s always done: calmly observe and soak up the messages about the human condition that surround him.

“It was a different world I was visiting,” Brannaman said in a Thursday interview with Explore Steamboat. “But I was pleased to find out even in the middle of New York City, I was accepted there. When I showed up for the screenings, it was like I was family.

“All around the world, we may be interested in different things, but we’re not all that different. There’s a kinship among all of us.”

Brannaman has been traveling the world for 29 years, giving clinics on natural horsemanship, teaching others to connect with their animals through kindness, compassion and understanding, and recognizing the horse as a mirror to one’s soul.

He’s been doing clinics in Steamboat Springs for 16 years, and he returns this weekend.

Barb Shipley, a local resident and horsewoman who sponsors Brannaman’s clinics here, also secured the critically acclaimed film to screen this week at the Chief Plaza Theater downtown.

“I would like to encourage that anyone who has anything to do with mental health or Partners in Routt County, or Advocates (Building Peaceful Communities), teachers … that everyone should try and see this show,” she said. “It touches on all of that. The reality, the bottom line, is it’s all about relationships. And that’s what people are getting from this movie.”

The film will be a part of the theater’s regular schedule, with a special Sunday evening showing at 7 p.m. followed by a Q-and-A session with Brannaman.

The horse clinics will take place today through Monday at the Routt County Fairgrounds in Hayden. The clinics are full, but spectators are welcome to attend and listen to Brannaman’s horse wisdom, which will be amplified over the loud speakers. The cost to attend is $25.

“Buck” is the second film that has been made about his life. Almost 15 years ago, Brannaman was the inspiration for the novel “The Horse Whisperer” and the movie by the same name that was released in 1998.

On the silver screen, Robert Redford portrayed the ranch-raised horseman with a troubled past.

But it was one of Brannaman’s own horse clients that wanted to tell the true story of his life.

Although Cindy Meehl had never made a documentary before, Brannaman entrusted his story to the first-time director. The film won an audience award at Sundance and has grossed about $4 million.

Despite all that, Brannaman knows that when all the buzz quiets, he’ll be back to traveling and teaching his clinics because he feels it’s his purpose in life.

“We didn’t do the film to change me, we did the film to change other people,” Brannaman said. “It isn’t glossed over, it isn’t made up. It’s real life and some of the lessons are hard.”

Brannaman was a young boy with a talent for trick roping, but he lost his mother and was taken out of his abusive father’s care when he was 12. When he entered foster care, he was broken, but he took refuge in connecting with horses.

“I really wanted it to be a story that was encouraging to people, that maybe if they came from a dark background, it’s not a guarantee you’re going to follow in the same path,” he said.

Shipley said it’s Brannaman’s conscious dedication to fostering relationships that makes his story one that transcends the ranching world and reaches to audiences of all walks of life.

“One of his greatest attributes is he understands what kindness is and he understands compassion,” she said. “I believe he never forgets who and what brought him to this dance.”

— To reach Nicole Inglis, call 970-871-4204 or email ninglis@SteamboatToday.com.