John Grady

Nineteen years old, John Grady has a gift for working with horses. His best friend, Billy Parham, has nicknamed him "the all-American cowboy." He works as a cowboy for Mac McGovern, herding cattle and training horses. He has a knack for chess and speaks Spanish.

When the rest of the ranch hands go to La Venada, a small brothel in Mexican they are making bawdy jokes and laughing about what kind of girl they're going to get, but John Grady is quiet and watches Magdalena through the mirror behind the bar. He doesn't sleep with her, or any other woman even though they are available.

At the ranch he is trying to break stallion that is so wild it throws him three times in one day. John Grady is so stubborn that even when the horse falls on him and sprains his foot he wants to keep...