From the moment Rip shows up at his door, it’s clear that Billy Klapper is the real deal; we see his workshop, along with everything he works on, and his slow, old-fashioned style stands out in our current world where everything and everyone moves so quickly. Rip and Billy have a heartfelt moment talking about Billy’s work, and how it’s rare to see such craftsmanship. Rip notes how he makes his tracks from a single piece of steel. “I think there might be a few, but very few,” Billy tells him.

Billy eventually not only gives Rip the pair of spurs that Lloyd ordered (15 years ago, as Billy makes clear!), but also lets Rip take his own pair of spurs – for free. It’s a beautiful moment made even richer by the fact that this is a real, revered figure of the modern West. Rip leaves and brings this new experience back to ranch 6666, where he quickly meets the hand named Dusty and tells him about his encounter with Billy.

Rip, clearly affected by the encounter, strikes up a brief conversation, before Dusty tells him his opinion of Billy: “If he’s gone, we won’t have legends anymore,” he says. “Without no one trying to be next.”

Considering the episode started with the (off-screen) death of Yellowstone‘s own legend in John Dutton – and the way the show has always put the spotlight on Rip, his behavior and his way of life – we have no choice but to look at that moment and Dusty’s quote as a way to put Rip on to be informed Yellowstone‘s next legend. Now, will we see that in the final episodes of Season 5, continuing into Season 6, in another spin-off show, or something completely different? Well, that much remains to be seen. But that’s clear Yellowstone uses his real-life cowboy credits to build his own mythological Western figures.

Who is Billy Klapper and why? Yellowstone pay him tribute?

Season 5, episode 9 of Yellowstone concludes with a card that reads “In Loving Memory of Billy Klapper.” Klapper, who appeared in a cameo as himself earlier in the episode, died on September 10, 2024, after filming his scene but before the episode debuted.

As we mentioned above, Klapper is a real, old-fashioned cowboy. Klapper had been making cowboy gear full-time since 1968 – both in functionality and style – and, as in the episode, worked exclusively from his own workshop in Pampa, Texas. He made as many as 200 spurs a year and knew how to make them in more than 680 different patterns (and was also willing to make custom pairs upon request). Spurs are an extra piece of metal that cowboys wear on their boots while riding and provide extra communication and control between themselves and the horse.

Taylor Sheridan has included tributes to real-life cowboys and Western figures in the show in the past, but interestingly, Klapper’s cameo was used for even more thematic purposes; his meeting with Rip and the events of the episode in general seem to mark a passing of the torch of sorts, and an indicator for viewers as to who the show’s hero is for sure at this point.