Cowboy Tired of Barn : Montana Ready to End Dispute Over Divorce

Western film and rodeo star Montie Montana apparently is getting tired of sleeping in the barn.

Montana, 75, said Wednesday that he is ready to end

the nearly two-year-long divorce settlement dispute that has landed him in the barn of his 15-acre Agua Dulce ranch.

Attorneys for Montana and his wife of 12 years, Eleanor, are expected either to reach a property settlement or start trial today in the fight over a $700,000 estate, including Larry, a 12-year-old pinto that has become a major issue in the negotiations.

“They’re still trading horses,” Montie Montana said of the attorneys trying to divide the Montie Montana Rodeo Ranch, horse equipment, a stagecoach and horse-drawn buggies used in his rodeo show.

Both Montanas say they still live at the ranch--Eleanor in the house and Montie in the barn. Montie said his accommodations consist of a 12-by-20-foot tack room, with an outside toilet and shower.

Eleanor Montana, 67, complained that her husband keeps her from using Larry, one of eight horses that perform in the show, an animal she said is “just like a member of my family.”

But Montie contends that he never gave Larry to Eleanor.

“In all my life, I never gave a horse away,” he said. “Even my kids just rode the horses we had, they never owned them.”