Understanding Bob Avila’s Role on ‘Yellowstone’ in Season 5, Episode 14’s Tribute Card

The recent season finale of Yellowstone on Paramount Network had many unforgettable moments. One particularly explosive event was the resolution of the ongoing conflict between siblings Beth (played by Kelly Reilly) and Jamie Dutton (played by Wes Bentley). The tension between them had been building up for a long time, making the payoff all the more satisfying. Even though Season 5, Episode 14 marked the conclusion of this chapter in Taylor Sheridan’s popular Western series, it was referred to as a “season” finale rather than a series finale.

News broke on December 11 that the Yellowstone universe will live on through a spinoff series featuring beloved characters Beth and Rip (played by Cole Hauser). Though specific details are still scarce, it’s likely that the new show will also feature other familiar faces from the original series.

In the first episode of the second part of Yellowstone Season 5, a tribute was paid to the late Billy Klapper, a legendary loriner who passed away at the age of 87 on September 10, 2024. The finale of the season also honored another notable figure, starting with a dedication to the renowned horseman Bob Avila.

Avila, who passed away on November 9, 2024, at 72 while attending the American Quarter Horse Association World Championship, briefly appeared on Yellowstone during the cold open for the Season 3 episode “I Killed a Man Today.” His cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.

One of the industry’s best-known horsemen, Avila was an American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Famer, two-time World’s Greatest Horseman, two-time AQHA Professional Horseman of the Year, a member of the National Reined Cow Horse Association’s Hall of Fame, and trained champions in AQHA, NRHA, NRCHA, NCHA, and various other associations.

“Horses have given me everything I have,” Avila said, per the American Quarter Horse Association. “Quarter Horses have helped make me what I am. They have been my life’s work and I owe them everything.”

“I saw the ‘Bob Avila Effect’ in action, not only at his barn where we conducted our annual shoots for his Winning Insights department that appeared in every issue of H&R since well before I joined the team, but in almost every Western trainer I encountered,” Jennifer Paulson wrote in an article titled “Remember Bob Avila” for Horse&Rider. “When I boil down what I learned from Bob and what I’ve heard other horsemen and horsewomen, both professional and non pro, say about Bob, it comes down to four traits: Commitment to excellence, expert care of his stock, shrewd business sense, and willingness to share his knowledge. These things will forever cement his legacy and continue to shape the horse world.”

RIP to a legend. See you down the dusty trail, Amigo.

Season 5, Part 2 episodes of Yellowstone are available on-demand on Philo. Season 1 of 1923 is streaming on Paramount+ and airs Sunday nights on Paramount Network. The second season of 1923 premieres February 23, 2025, on Paramount+.