Carmen Buckingham, from Bruneau, Idaho, was on the winning team at the first Women’s Ranch Rodeo team at the Western States Ranch Rodeo in 2013. That team, representing Outback Stallion Station, included Katie McFarlane, Kim Grubbs, Carmen Buckingham, and Marcia Eiguren. Her team won again in 2016 representing Miller Livestock from Nevada and included Carmen Buckingham, Katie McFarlane, Kayla Tiegs and Bailey Bachman. In between, she rode the 2014 and 2015 WSRRA National Finals Women’s All-Around Horse and was named the 2016 WSRRA National Finals Women’s Top Hand and was on the 2016 WSRRA Women’s National finals champion team. “I am very proud to win this year because this event is usually for men and there are a lot of really handy women and it really shows that. It is very tough competition and I am very lucky to have such a great team,” she said.
Ranch horse – Sandy Black Images
Carmen and her husband Tom – Sandy Black Images
Steer stopping – Sandy Black Images
Carmen grew up on a ranch in Mountain Home, Idaho. That’s where she learned her grit and the ways of ranch life. “My parents, Felipe and Mary Fran Aguirre, taught myself, my brothers- Richard and Felipe and my sister-Jeannie to do well, work hard and achieve our goals. I was on the swim team in high school, where my mom was the swim coach but I really like 4-H, riding horses and roping better than I did swimming. I decided to work at a feedlot in Grand View, Idaho during my high school days. This is where I really caught the “cowgirl bug,” Carmen states. “I loved working at the feedlot in high school. I learned how to look for sick cattle and how to treat them; I just loved every bit of the feedlot job. This is where I also started riding colts.”
In 1992, when she was 18 years old, Carmen got a job offer in Sacramento, California where she worked on a ranch owned by Dwayne Martin. “I worked for Dwayne for year,” she states. The she moved to Eagleville, California, worked for a ranch owned by Simplot and there her daughters Bailey and Sami where born. After her daughters were born, Carmen moved back to Bruneau, Idaho, where she met Tom Buckingham. They will be celebrating 17 years of marriage this year.
Bailey manages a ranch in Bruneau, Idaho and was also on the 2016 WSRRA National Finals Women’s Champion team. Sami lives in Lucas, Kansas where she keeps busy ranch/farm wife and a new baby boy. “Both of the girls are good hands. They helped us on the ranch,” Carmen says about her two daughters.
Today Carmen and Tom, own a ranch in Bruneau, where they run mother cows and buy/sell horses. “We look for all-around Quarter Horses that are gentle,” she says. Carmen and Tom keep all their horses for a year just to see what they are like. “We like to know them before we sell them. We might event compete on them before we sell them.” A typical day for Tom and Carmen include riding horses, irrigating, hauling hay, branding calves, checking cows and roping. Achieving the balance of ranch life and ranch rodeo life is something that Carmen does very well. “Competing in ranch rodeos on sale horses is really good advertising for us and having a good horse to compete on is the key to success at the ranch rodeos.”
Carmen and her ranch rodeo team have qualified for the 2017 WSRRA National Finals in Winnemucca, Nevada, November 2-5. “We don’t practice together; we just have the same style. You can say we just fit,” Carmen states about her 2017 WSRRA National finals qualified Women’s ranch rodeo team. Carmen also believe that it takes a mental and physical stagey to win such a big event. “We get together before each event and make a plan.”
Author’s Note: I have learned a couple of really important lessons from Carmen. Cowgirls have a different touch of nature, you see, it’s a fact that cowgirls aren’t as strong as men but their finesse and teamwork is really inspiring to me. Watching Carmen and her team compete at a national level is a real example of team work; they know what to do and where to be. They finesse their horses and roping abilities to get the job done in fast times. Another thing that I have discovered is that these cowgirls are a true testament to sportsmanship. They are humble and efficient. They encourage each other. They all have class.
Katie McFarlane, Kim Grubbs, Carmen Buckingham, and Marcia Eiguren
There is a special group of cowgirls that aim to empower women who believe in showcasing their skills and determination in the arena and out.
The world doesn’t seem to know these cowgirls but the ladies that compete in ranch rodeos are changing all of that. You see, these cowgirls have grit and know how to get a job done. They have no problem sorting and roping cattle, they can doctor sick animals, they can load and tie a calf, they can rope and brand calves and can put a handle on a ranch horse. They also have no problem pulling a rig down the highway, pulling a calf, and working right along with cowboys, they include mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmas, and wives who raise families, hold day jobs and help run ranches. They will do whatever it takes to get the ranch work done. The start of their day usually starts at the break of dawn. Whether it’s branding in the spring or fall roundup, these ladies know cattle. On the weekends, your will find them, competing in ranch rodeos-a true western sport that starting in 1900’s, and one that is preserving the heritage of the West.
Women that compete in ranch rodeos have to have strength, good roping and riding skills, and raw courage. The secret of success is the bond that these ladies develop working together. Many of these cowgirls, either come from the same ranch, or neighboring ranches, have known each other for years, through marriage and friends. They trust each. They believe in each other. Take their cowgirl attitude and put it to work on top of a good, athletic horse in an action-packed timed event and you have an event that is worth watching.
The 2017 WSSRA Women’s Ranch Rodeo Team Champions competing at the WSRRA Finals
– Mary Williams Hyde
“Ranch rodeo really promotes team spirt because if you don’t work together you probably won’t do good.” Carmen, her team and all of the contestants will get to showcase their talents and abilities in authentic ranch events replicated in a competition setting.
Ranch rodeos are team affairs for working cowboys and/or cowgirls, who compete in events that mirror the daily activities of ranch life. These outstanding women are a shining example of the fact that the women’s division of the WSRRA can compete in and expand the sport of ranch rodeo.
The WSRRA National Finals in Winnemucca, Nevada is an entertaining demonstration of traditional cowgirl skills. The contestants showcase their talents and abilities and those of their horses in authentic ranch events replicated in a competition setting. “Ranch rodeo really promotes team spirt because if you don’t work together you probably won’t do good,” stated Carmen.
Fifteen outstanding ladies will be competing in the women’s division of the WSRRA National Finals in Winnemucca, Nevada, November 2 -5. These 4 days will showcase cowboys and cowgirls from across the western states and Canada.
story by Steve Alexander, Blaine County Journal; PRCA, and Siri Stevens
Bob Ragsdale was an all-around Montana cowboy, competing in steer wrestling, as well as calf roping and team roping. He qualified for the National Finals Rodeo on 22 separate occasions. Bob never won a world title, but his impact on rodeo has been profound.
He was the Montana High School All-Around Champion in 1956, and became an official member of the PRCA in 1961. He was one of only six left-handed tie-down ropers to qualify for the NFR, and he did so for 15 consecutive years from 1961-75. In that 15-year span, he finished as high as fourth in the world, and never lower than ninth. He competed at the NFR in steer wrestling five times, with two qualifications in team roping as well. Bob earned nine Top 10 finishes at the NFR in the all-around, including a second-place standing in 1972. He continued his support of rodeo by serving as the Vice President (1971-72) and President (1973-75) of the Rodeo Cowboys Association, and is credited as the one to propose the association include “Professional” to the organization’s formal title in 1975. – courtesy of PRCA
Bob was born October 23, 1936 in Harlem, Montana. His father, Slim, always had horses and the family split their time between farming and living in town. “Wherever we were living dad would have horses and they would wander from north of Harlem to the Canadian border.” Bob’s mom told a story about a man coming to the house to see if Bob would round up some horses for him. When the man was introduced to Bob, and saw that he was just a little kid, the man said, “those horses are big,” to which Bob replied, “I’ll take a big rope.”
Bob competed in the Montana High School rodeo. “Back then there was no divisional or regional rodeos, you went to state for a tournament that anyone could enter so long as you preregistered. I won Montana All Around and went on to the high school Nationals in Reno. I placed in a couple of events, but no wins.”
In October, right out of high school, Bob went to the Toots Mansfield Roping School in Texas. “He was a great guy; he showed me how to ‘flank’ a calf. At the time most professional ropers were legging calves. That immediately took a couple of seconds off my time.” To cover the expenses of getting to Texas and paying for the roping school Bob and his dad went to the bank in Harlem and borrowed $300 for the month-long school.
Bob met his wife, Ree, through high school. “We both went to the high school rodeos.” Ree and Bob married in December 29, 1956, after he completed the roping school and returned to Montana. “It was a pretty busy year.” He worked in the oil fields in the winter and that next summer, in 1957, went back into rodeo, working in Yellowstone Park and the following summer at the Cody Night Rodeo. “It was a rodeo,” Bob said, “but it was really a tourist show. We would work maintenance on the grounds for half the day, then do the rodeo show. They were looking for a calf roper, bulldogger and bareback bronc rider. That was 1957 and it was the last time I ever got on rough stock in the rodeo.”
Steer wrestling at Cow Palace, 1973 – Foxie Photo
Bob meeting Ronald Regan – courtesy of Bob
Tie-Down Roping – courtesy of Bob
Bob was inducted into the Hall of Fame, 2017
– Rodeo News
Ben C Reynolds and Bob team tie-down roping in Pheonix, Arizona, 1972
– Gustafson Photo
In 1958 the couple welcomed twin girls, Cathy and Cindy; then another girl, Jamie, in 1961.
“With plans to ‘fill my permit’ with the RCA (becoming a member of the Rodeo Cowboys Association, later the PRCA) at the end of the rodeo season in 1961,” Bob said, “I won big at a rodeo in Caldwell, Idaho. The RCA representative for that region was waiting for me and said, “You had better have your permit before you show up at the next RCA rodeo.” Members of the RCA resented non-members winning and reducing members’ chances to go to the year-end national rodeo.”
He moved his family to Chowchilla, California, in 1961 at the invitation of a farmer/rancher who also was a roper. “Dan Branco had a place where we could keep horses and practice roping.” They saved enough money rodeoing to buy a place there and that was home until just a few years ago when they retired. They now spend winters in Bakersfield, California and summers at their place in Landusky, Montana.
Beginning in 1961, for the next fifteen years, Bob made his living roping calves, steer wrestling and team roping. “I followed the money to choose rodeos. In the 1960-70’s I’d go to 90-100 rodeos a year. If I got into a slump I’d do a small rodeo to earn some money and get back on the RCA (PRCA) tour for the bigger rodeos.” He drove a station wagon and it was equipped with a grub box. “We’d camp out – the twins were small enough they could sleep in the front seat and Ree and I slept in the back.”
Because Bob roped left handed, he had to have horses that were comfortable seeing the rope on their left side. “A horse could be startled if it wasn’t used to a left-handed roper, which meant I had to have my own horse, sometimes more than one horse to keep up with the rodeo schedule.” He said often Ree and the kids would be driving one rig, pulling a horse trailer toward an upcoming rodeo, and he would be pulling a different horse to another rodeo on his schedule.
He not only competed, he gave back to the industry through his service as an office holder and active volunteer in a number of rodeo associated groups and as a spokesperson for rodeo. After that, he continued competing in the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association, winning three All Around titles, four calf roping titles and one ribbon roping title.
In 1983 Mac Baldrige, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Ronald Reagan, organized an ‘exhibition’ rodeo for the President and selected guests. He asked Bob to rope in the exhibition which was staged in an arena just outside Washington, DC. Bob also helped create Friends of Rodeo (FoR), a non-partisan group that responded to animal rights issues. “Through FoR we did a better job of telling our side to the media and even instituted ‘chute tours’ so critics and media personnel could see reality about animal treatment.” Bob served as President of FoR and was on governing boards of several other rodeo related organizations, including the Senior Pro Rodeo executive board, during the 1990’s.
From 1973 to 1981 Bob worked for Sears as a consultant for the company’s western wear brand of clothing. “There were several professional cowboys interviewed and I was chosen to help Sears with their western wear line of clothing.” He described his role as “helping Sears clothing buyers and designers meet with rodeo fans and cowboys to see what kinds of clothing they were wearing or would like to see available. I even went to some of the markets with the Sears buyers to help choose the clothing for the next year’s catalog.” Bob often was photographed in Sears western wear for their catalogs and in 1973 was on the cover of the annual western wear catalog.
In the last two decades he’s been recognized with a number of inductions into rodeo related organizations: the St. Paul Rodeo Hall of Fame, St. Paul, Oregon (2001); the Senior Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame (2001); the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City (2003) and The Montana Pro Rodeo Hall and Wall of Fame in Billings. His latest accomplishment happened a few weeks ago in Colorado Springs, where he was inducted into the PRCA ProRodeo Hall of Fame. “It was a great event. I had no idea what to expect – I’ve never been to one before. This was the best one – it was developed by the professional cowboy.”
Bob and Ree saw the world through his rodeo career. Cathy Watkins, one of their twin daughters remembers going to Hawaii with her parents as a result of Bob’s rodeo career. “After Denny (Cathy’s husband and a professional team roper) and I were married we were visiting mom and dad and a guy drove up into the yard. He was from Hawaii and wanted dad to come to Hawaii and teach a roping school. We all went to Hawaii and while dad taught ropers the rest of us were treated to the sites of the islands. I think it was at that point I realized just how special my dad’s role was in rodeo-he was known all over the world. My sisters and I got to see a lot of things and meet a lot of interesting people because of his career choice.” As to interesting people, Cathy told about meeting a fellow teenager she and her sister met while traveling with their dad. The teenager played the guitar and the girls all sang together. The guitar player was Reba McEntire, whose dad and older brother were both accomplished ropers. “Of course none of us kids, at that time, had any idea of how Reba would develop into a famous singer and actress.”
For Bob, the biggest change in rodeo is in the rodeo competitors and the amount of money they make. “When I first got into professional rodeo, most of us were cowboys. The competitors now are truly athletes, devoting their lives to the sport and continually doing things to improve their ability to compete.” In the old days, “We often had to work other jobs between rodeos to keep our families going.”
And the winnings have increased. “When I was RCA All Around runner up at the NFR in 1972, I think first place for All Around paid about $40,000. That number now is in the neighborhood of $300,000-400,000.
“Whatever I’ve been able to accomplish has been through rodeo. I tore my knee up in 1976, and started looking for other things to do. But I had put enough away and then I got into the construction business. Everything I was able to do was because of rodeo.”
In 1957, Ken Adams was the year-end NIRA Bull Riding Champion. The Arizona cowboy qualified four times for the CNFR and competed there twice when it was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As a college student on a shoestring budget, he used his winnings to buy books while attending Arizona State University, and his experiences inspired him to start a scholarship for the NIRA Bull Riding Rookie of the Year four years ago. Since then, the NIRA Alumni have created a scholarship for the rookie of the year in each event, and in 2017 alone, they contributed $10,500 in scholarships to the CNFR.
Born in 1933 to Kenneth and Gladys Adams, Ken was the second of three boys. His parents had moved from Missouri during the Great Depression, and while en route to California, Ken’s dad was offered a job driving delivery trucks in Arizona. The family stayed and made their home near Phoenix, and Ken got his first job riding horses with a girl his age at a livestock auction nearby when he was 11 or 12. “I hadn’t ridden at all to speak of – we just started riding whatever horse we could a hold of,” Ken recalls. “We got a dollar apiece riding horses for them back in the ‘40s. I guess people thought it was a pretty good horse if a couple of kids could ride it, but anyone could ride in that ring.”
1956 Arizona State College Rodeo Team Fred Hannum, Billy Neal, Jon Nickerson, Terry Jensen, Ken Adams and Buddy Martin – Courtesy of the family
Current photo of Ken – Rodeo News
Not long after that, Ken started riding calves and cows in junior rodeos around the area, catching a ride with anyone who had a car. “I think the first time I ever won money, I was riding cows. The horses didn’t show up to the rodeo, so I got into cow riding. Someone would give you tips, but mostly they just let you get on and learn. There were no schools, and I didn’t have anybody I traveled with that was older, so all of us were pretty much in the same boat. I think the opportunities to learn are much improved now, and the biggest thing to me is videotaping performances to watch them and learn.”
Ken continued riding roughstock in the bareback and bull riding, though he won the most riding bulls. “I think at the time I had really good balance, and it was easier to find bull ridings than anything else.” Ken also worked on two or three ranches during high school, including the Boquillas Ranch, which now belongs to the Navajo Nation and is in the top 25 of the largest working cattle ranches in the United States. “I gathered horses for them, and then I’d enter rodeos and hope I learned something every time. The Palace Bar in Prescott was like an employment agency. Ranchers who needed a cowboy would go in there, or if you needed a job you went in there,” says Ken. He also worked at the copper mine in Baghdad, Arizona, for several months, living on site and hauling debris from the mill, but he hadn’t been there long when he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. Although the cease-fire was signed by the time Ken finished basic training, he still shipped to South Korea where he drove supply trucks. “There was not much glamour in our jobs, unless you wanted to eat! Seoul was pretty much a mess – it had changed hands four times, but those trucks we had could go pretty much anywhere. All the roads were narrow and dirt, and in the summer they were very dusty. They had huge trucks, but the ones I was driving were three axles.”
Ken was discharged from the Army in 1955, and he enrolled at Arizona State University in 1956, majoring in animal science. Though he had dropped out of high school, he finished his GED in the Army, and he joined the rodeo team and competed in the West Coast Region. He even tried his hand at steer wrestling. “I wasn’t too good in timed events. I told everybody I had a record in the bulldogging – I was in the bulldogging seven or eight times and never got a flag,” Ken says with a laugh. He was helped along the way by college teammates John Fincher and Jon Nickerson. Ken enjoyed rodeoing in California and as far north as Klamath, Oregon. He was also a member of the RCA when a membership cost $10, and on summer breaks, he competed in Colorado, Utah, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri, though many of his favorites were in Arizona, such as Phoenix, Prescott, and Tucson. “Some of the little towns didn’t have anything (like motels) to sleep in, so we’d sleep in the back of a car. You stayed in rooms when you were prosperous, and we’d split rooms with three or four people usually.”
Ken bull riding in Tuscon – DeVere
Ken wrote and published a book of short stories called ‘Rodeos, Pig Races & Other Cowboy Stories.” – Courtesy of the family
1957 College National Champions. Left to Right: Jack Burkholder, Ken Adams, Bill Duffy, Grady Allen, Clyde May, Dave Hopper, Monty Roberts, Betty Sims Solt, Teresa Sully Humphries – Courtesy of the family
Ken met his wife, Sharon, at school, and they were married after he graduated and she finished her teaching certificate. “We got married in July of 1960. I’d been teaching school for a year, and Ken won second in the bull riding at Prescott, so we had enough money to get married,” says Sharon. After he finished college, Ken was a brand inspector for several sale barns, then went into the crop spraying business with his brother-in-law before finding his niche in the animal health business selling medicine. Though Ken quit rodeoing not long after they were married, he stayed involved with rodeo by judging several of the law enforcement rodeos a college friend of his organized, along with jackpot bull ridings. In the late 1970s, one of Ken’s friends Stan Harter, a college champion tie-down roper, asked Ken to be the manager of the PRCA Turquoise Circuit when the circuit system was just getting started. Ken served on the board for three or four years and helped put on the finals, along with soliciting saddle donations. “The Turquoise Circuit Finals Rodeo was in Phoenix at the fairgrounds, and for some reason, there was a mix-up one year and all of the trophy saddles got shipped to our house!” says Sharon. “Each saddle came in a big box, and we had them everywhere in the house because we couldn’t leave them outdoors.”
Ken became involved in the NIRA Alumni when he attended the NIRA reunion in Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1997, the 40th anniversary of his NIRA bull riding championship. The following year, his friend Stan Harter was waiting for a kidney transplant, and he asked Ken to represent him on the NIRA Alumni board during the annual meeting. Together, Ken and NIRA founder, Evelyn Bruce Kingsbery, put together the 50th Anniversary Reunion of the NIRA in 1999, and Ken was president of the NIRA Alumni from 1999-2001. Sharon served as the NIRA Alumni secretary for 12 years, and Ken continues to serve on the board of directors. He hasn’t missed a performance of the CNFR since he started attending 20 years ago. When he started raising money for his bull riding rookie of the year scholarship, his plan was to ask former champions to donate $100 each, and by the next year, donations were coming in to provide scholarships for all nine college rodeo events, including team roping header and heeler. “I never had a scholarship, and even the year I won, I was never offered a scholarship,” Ken explains. “They’re giving quite a few scholarships now, but I just thought the rookie scholarship was something somebody wasn’t already covering.”
When they’re not off to the next CNFR, Ken and Sharon make their home in Phoenix, not far from where Ken grew up. They have a son, Ira Adams, and daughter, Adrienne Schiele, and her husband, Mark Schiele, while Ken and Sharon’s two grandsons, Mike and Matt Schiele, live in California. Ken stays current with rodeo via television and never misses a rodeo or bull riding, while he wrote and published a book of short stories about rodeo called “Rodeos, Pig Races & Other Cowboy Stories.” He and Sharon continue their passion of supporting the NIRA and alumni, and they are searching for all NIRA champions, top finishers, faculty, and board members from years ending in eight to join them for the 2018 Annual Reunion.
With the flick of a wrist and the twirl of an arm, Cooper Nastri has entertained scores of rodeo audiences up and down the East Coast in the last six years. The 17-year-old trick roper, who alternately makes his home in Ballston Spa, New York, and Screven, Georgia, became one of rodeo’s youngest trick ropers in the country when he started performing at 11. Yet he was no stranger to the roping world before that. Cooper had already been competing in rodeos for several years, and is even named after the Super Looper himself, Roy Cooper, but his decision to become an entertainer was a surprise to his parents, Carmine and Sheri Nastri. “Cooper was real shy when he was little, and when he said he wanted to trick rope, I was impressed that he wanted to get in front of an audience and do something like that,” says Carmine. “His work ethic has always been really good, and when he decided he wanted to trick rope, he practiced seven days a week for hours. It turned him right out of his shell, and he’s not very shy anymore.”
Cooper performing at the Wantage, NJ rodeo – Casey Martin
Carmine tie-down roping at the APRA Augusta, NJ rodeo. Carmen is a six time APRA Champion in tie-down roping, team roping and the all around – Casey Martin
Sheri, Carmine, Shelby and Cooper Nastri – Courtesy of the family
Cooper originally wanted to be a rodeo clown and worked with Dusty Barrett as a rodeo clown and helped Hollywood Harris a couple times but he first saw trick roping when Mark Madden came to the Natri’s home and showed him several tricks. He’s also met professional trick ropers including Anthony Lucia, who performed on America’s Got Talent, and Austin Stewart, who also performed on America’s Got Talent, and at Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede. “Mark Madden helped me a lot with my trick roping. A lot of people don’t understand that it’s very easy once you figure it out, but it takes a lot of time to learn,” explains Cooper. “I was really impressed by it, and you get paid every rodeo. I try to get one of my family members to video me every time I perform so I can watch and see if there’s anything I need to improve. I watch a lot of horse training videos, too.”
Cooper started by performing at open rodeos, then worked his way up to events like the Painted Pony Rodeo in Lake Luzerne, New York, and Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove, New Jersey, which his grandfather, Dusty Cleveland, has announced for many years. He also performs in Georgia, and was honored to trick rope at AFR 35 and AFR 39. The materials are simple enough – Cooper buys 100 feet of cotton spot cord and cuts it into the four different lengths he performs with. The shortest is 15 feet, and the longest is 50 feet, which he uses to perform a trick called the wedding ring. “The first trick I do is the butterfly, and some high spirals. The big trick I really like is the Texas Skip, which is the hardest trick in the book to do. That’s where the rope is on one side of you, and you jump back and forth through it. I feed off the crowd, so if I can tell the crowd doesn’t like something, I might stick something new in there. Keeping the tricks tuned up is probably the most challenging. I’m pretty busy riding horses every day, so I don’t get to practice as much as I’d like to. Once I get to a rodeo I might practice before the performance. I try to keep the tricks pretty snappy and tuned up.”
This year alone, Cooper will perform in 45 rodeos, many of which are APRA rodeos that he enters in the team roping with his dad or Robbie Erck. Cooper is also practicing his tie-down roping, but prefers to team rope in the USTRC and APRA. He changes footwear – going from sneakers to boots since sneakers allow him to jump higher during his performances – and often heels for his dad. Carmine is a 24-time PRCA First Frontier Circuit Finals Champion, and he’s won the APRA six times between team roping, tie-down roping, and the all-around. He’s competed in the APRA on and off since the 1980s, and his wife, Sheri, is also a First Frontier Circuit Champion in the barrel racing. She team ropes every October at the USTRC Cruel Girl Championships with her partner, Kim Breyo, and has competed in the APRA in the past. “She backs us 100%,” says Carmine. “She drives, rides horses, and helps keep this whole thing afloat. Whether it’s the four of us here or we have ten cowboys staying with us, she keeps everything going.”
Cooper Nastri trick roping at Wantage, NJ – Casey Martin
Young Cooper practicing his dummy roping – Courtesy of the family
Sheri barrel racing at the West Friendship, Maryland rodeo – Casey Martin
Sheri’s grandfather, Harry Cleveland, was the Painted Pony Champion Calf Roper in 1953 when it was part of the Cowboys’ Turtle Association, and he taught many of his generation in the Northeast how to rope. Her dad, Dusty Cleveland, taught her how to rope, and he comes to several Painted Pony Rodeos a year to watch Cooper and his sister, Shelby, compete. Shelby is also an APRA member, competing in breakaway roping and barrel racing, and her senior year of high school, she was the NYSHSRA barrel racing and all-around cowgirl champion. She holds her WPRA card, but primarily competes in the APRA, and her goal is to qualify for the association’s finals in the next few years.
The Nastris put on several roping schools each year with ropers including Speed Williams, Roy Cooper, and Rich Skelton, all friends of Carmine. They also hold weekly roping lessons, and Carmine takes in outside horses to train, along with buying young horses he turns into rope horses. “One of the head horses I made and sold was voted Head Horse of the Bob Feist Invitational this year,” says Carmine. Cooper, who is homeschooled, helps with all of the training and riding, and has become especially passionate about the horsemanship side of roping. “When people come for lessons and have horsemanship questions, Cooper’s a fanatic about it – he’ll spend 15 minutes answering the question.”
Cooper helped finish his own roping horse, Shorty, a bay gelding that stands 14.1 hands high. “He’s a pretty cool little dude. He’s really stout, so I can head on him, heel on him, and rope calves on him,” says Cooper. “He’s got a lot of grit.” Every year since 1987, the Nastris load all of their animals and spend their winters in the southeast corner of Georgia. “We’ve got a pretty good routine, and we know how to get things packed in a hurry and get the trailers organized,” says Carmine. “My mom, Patricia, spends the winter months with us. She’s been a big supporter all my life and pushed us to do whatever our dreams are.
“The nice thing about the summer rodeos up here is that they’re all really close,” Carmine adds. “Painted Pony Ranch does two rodeos a week, and they’re only 27 miles away. My daughter, Shelby, works at a western store in town, and she can come home, practice a little, and go to the rodeo. We live right next to Saratoga, where the big thoroughbred race track is. For Shelby’s birthday, we went to the Saratoga Race Track and took the day off riding and roping.” Sheri adds, “We’re usually all in the arena, but every now and then we take a day off to go to the movies. Our vacation every year is to go to the US Finals, and go to Rich Skelton’s and see Speed Williams.” Cooper plans to continue trick roping, but he has a growing passion for horse training. “One of the biggest things I want to do is go work for a top horse trainer like Bob Avila, Jay Holmes, or other AQHA people,” he finishes. “I’ll still trick rope now and again, but that’s the biggest thing I’m working on.”
Stars converged at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame Saturday as a new class was enshrined into the prestigious Hall.
Randy Corley, a 12-time PRCA Announcer of the Year, joined five world champions to headline the 12-member 2017 induction class.
12-time PRCA Announcer of the Year Randy Corley with Stace Smith
Corley, along with gold buckle winners including the late Buck Rutherford (all-around, 1954), Enoch Walker (saddle bronc riding, 1960), Tommy Puryear (steer wrestling, 1974), Mike Beers (team roping, 1984) and Cody Custer (bull riding, 1992), were enshrined with rodeo notable Bob Ragsdale, a 22-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier in three events.
Also inducted into the Hall were four-time bareback horse of the year, Christensen Bros.’ Smith & Velvet, and the committee for the Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days.
For the first time in the history of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, barrel racers from the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) were amongst the class of inductees. Their inaugural class was comprised of Wanda Harper Bush, Charmayne James and a joint PRCA/WPRA equine inductee – Star Plaudit “Red.”
Corley’s résumé is ProRodeo Hall of Fame worthy. He has been selected PRCA Announcer of the Year 12 times (1984, 1990-96, 1998, 2003, 2011 and 2015). He also has been an announcer at the National Finals Rodeo 16 times (1985-86, 1992, 1994-96, 2007-2016).
“It was the worst night of sleep I had (Friday night) in 45 years,” Corley said. “I just think it was nerves. There are 259 people in the Hall and that’s not a huge number for a Hall that opened in 1979. I’m in a pretty select group and I’m so honored. My whole thing is cowboys are the stars. When they are nodding their head, you’ve already told everyone who they are.
“That’s what I strive for, and have forever, and to be a good person to everybody, inside the arena and outside the arena. Those are the deals that I think make you a better announcer because then you’re true, and true is the best way to announce.”
Puryear qualified for the NFR nine times, eight of which were consecutive, from 1971-78, and then again in 1983. The Texas bulldogger also won the gold buckle in 1974 and the NFR average title in 1976.
“This day is something that you never plan for when you’re out rodeoing. I’ve been ready for this to happen so I can stop thinking about it – it’s something you think about every day since the call that you’re in the Hall of Fame,” Puryear said. “One of the main reasons I’m here today is because of the people I had around me who supported and helped me. So many friends and family contributed to this. I never owned my own horse – I always traveled with horsemen and stayed in a positive rig. We’d go to 120 rodeos a year, and we loved every second of it.”
Charmayne James
Puryear first joined the PRCA in 1970, and now, 47 years later, he’s recognized as one of the best steer wrestlers in PRCA history.
“Leon (Bauerle) and I rode up to Colorado Springs together – we didn’t fly, we drove up in the truck from Texas together just like we used to,” Puryear said. “It was one for the road and to relive the old times, and we still get along really well. Leon was always easy to travel with, as long as you agreed with him. But a great deal of the credit for me being here is due to Leon and his horses.”
Rutherford was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame more than half a century after he was topping the world standings across four events – bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling and bull riding.
The Oklahoma cowboy was in the Top 5 of the world standings 11 times between 1949-57, and was the 1954 all-around world champion and the first cowboy to ever win more than $40,000 in a single year (approximately $362,235 in 2017 dollars, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
“It’s quite an honor, and he’s a part of history,” said Claudine Rutherford, Buck’s sister-in-law. “He could do anything.”
Becky Raetzsch, Rutherford’s daughter, also was thrilled about the honor bestowed on her father.
“It’s exciting, and it gives us a chance to learn more about the history of him,” she said. “It really is quite an honor. I have his grandchildren here, all of his great-grandchildren are here, so it’s really exciting for all of them.”
Although he never won an individual event championship, he placed second in the bareback riding standings the same year he won the all-around title.
Rutherford twice finished third in the bull riding world standings (1951 and 1954).
His rodeo earnings fell flat after a bad spill slipped a disk in his back in November 1958. He then retired from rodeo and resumed ranching in his hometown until his death at 58 years old on April 28, 1988.
Walker, who won both the 1960 saddle bronc riding world championship and NFR average title, took to the skies in his ascent to ProRodeo fame – qualifying for 10 NFRs during his 20-year tenure with the Rodeo Cowboys Association.
“It’s a pretty cool deal and pretty humbling to be around the guys who are world champs. I knew a lot of them like Cody Custer and Mike Beers, and you look up to a lot of those guys. My father would have been humbled to be with them,” said Jack Walker, one of Enoch’s sons.
In 1960, the 28-year-old Walker had been knocking on the door of a gold buckle for years, placing third in 1957, second in 1958 and third again in 1959.
Walker entered the 1960 season with a plan for earning the gold buckle that literally took flight. He teamed up with Paul Templeton, who flew him from one rodeo to the next when his rodeo road trips got too hectic.
Walker arrived at the NFR in Dallas, Texas, leading the pack with $20,832 earned that season by placing 126 times at 56 rodeos and winning 21 rodeos throughout 1960, including Salinas, Calif., and Fort Worth, Texas.
He rode all 10 horses at the NFR in Dallas, placing on five of them – winning the NFR and the world title.
“I think it would have been great if he could have been here,” Jack Walker said. “It would have meant everything to him because of the caliber of people in the (ProRodeo) Hall of Fame; he would have thought it was really cool. These guys were all top of the world in their day, and I was on the bottom looking up, so it’s humbling for me to be here, but it would have been special for him to have seen it.”
Beers, a heeler, won his world championship while roping with header Dee Pickett, who was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2003. Beers qualified for the NFR 23 times in team roping (1980-95, 1997-98, 2000-03, 2007). He also qualified for the NFR in tie-down roping in 1981, 1983 and 1985 and for the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping in 1992.
“I’m going into rodeo immortality and 50 years from now, they are still going to remember my name,” Beers said. “That’s something you never think about when you’re a kid growing up rodeoing. You want to win a championship or make the Finals, but it is never a thought of being in the Hall of Fame. There’s three things I guess in my career I really remember. One was winning the world championship with Dee Pickett, the second one was making the Finals with my son, Brandon, in 2007, and now being inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. This is the icing on the cake.”
Custer’s eight trips to the NFR and 1992 bull riding world championship win landed him in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
1992 bull riding world champion Cody Custer
“I found out that my permanent position will be next to John Quintana, and that’s a big deal because he was my hero as a kid,” Custer said. “It’s one of those deals where I’ve looked at the stuff here (at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame) and to see it next to a guy like that and then Ronnie Rossen and Charlie Sampson, it’s a cool deal. I took a picture of it, and I’ll send it to his (Quintana’s) son. I never met John as an adult, but I knew him as a kid and he made me feel like I belonged. I remember how he made me feel as a kid, and I try do that for kids now.”
Custer first joined the PRCA in 1985 and went on to qualify for the NFR from 1987-92, and again in 1998-99. He remained an active competitor through 2002.
“The people that have come here to be with me – everyone has a piece of this and it’s not just mine,” Custer said. “Corey Navarre is here too, I rodeoed with him and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have gone to the NFR in 1999 because I had wanted to go home.
“I told everyone here with me that this is theirs too – everyone from my mom and dad to the guys I rodeoed with, it’s an awesome thing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, everything I accomplished in the arena was because of my hard work and some talent. Being inducted is just a gift in my book.”
Ragsdale, for most of his adult life, has served the sport of rodeo as a competitor and as an ambassador. On Saturday, the cowboy they call “Rags” added “Hall of Famer” to his one-of-a-kind résumé.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Ragsdale said. “It’s just been a great experience. Kind of the last of the big events probably, for me. I’m not rodeoing anymore, so I’m reminiscing like we used to in the old days.”
Ragsdale, a 22-time NFR qualifier in steer wrestling, team roping and tie-down roping, recognized he will forever be cemented into history among the legends of the sport he holds so dear.
“Going through the Hall, that’s what’s amazing,” he said. “I know so many of them, and I can remember stories, and when I see someone, a story will pop up in my head or some event that happened. It’s neat. Even though they’re gone, I relive that in my mind.”
Ragsdale became the first and only left-handed roper to qualify for the NFR for 15 consecutive years from 1961-75. He also served as both the Vice President and President of the Rodeo Cowboys Association in the early ‘70s, and is credited as the one to propose the association include “Professional” to the organization’s formal title.
Bobby Christensen accepting the hall of fame induction award for his late horse, Smith & Velvet
Smith & Velvet was the definition of a late bloomer.
The horse, which was honored as the PRCA’s top bareback horse four times (1977, as Mr. Smith, and then 1979-80 and 1982, as Smith & Velvet), didn’t become an award-winning bucker until he was into his 20s.
This is Bobby Christensen’s third horse to be inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Christensen also has saddle bronc horses Miss Klamath (1998) and War Paint (2011) in the Hall, but Smith & Velvet is his first bareback horse to be enshrined.
“Early on, I never would’ve believed that he’d be in the Hall of Fame, but after he won horse of the year a few times I was thinking it would happen. It’s been 34 years since the horse died – I think the best way to describe this is late in coming, but well-deserved.
“When Smith & Velvet was in his prime, everybody wanted to see him and everybody wanted him at their rodeo. I could go to a committee and say, ‘Hey, I have the bareback horse of the year if you want to hire me to bring stock to your rodeo.’ That worked a lot of places.
“Smith & Velvet knew what he was doing, and liked what he was doing. He was even-tempered, and I rode him in his early years. But I wouldn’t have wanted to ride him in his later years, that’s for sure.”
Smith & Velvet died in 1983 in a tragic car accident that killed many of Christensen’s prized NFR horses. He says the horse was the pride and joy of his rodeo company.
The Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days celebrated its 83rd year of existence July 20-24.
The event has come a long way since its inception in 1934, when Ogden City Mayor Harman W. Peery organized a Western festival to boost the spirits of the locals and entice tourists to visit the city.
“We just got done with this year’s rodeo, and it really settled in with the community and the rodeo and the committee,” said Dave Halverson, the rodeo’s director. “We have had honors and people have shed tears of joy. People have been outstanding, and we are humbly honored to be recognized.”
The Ogden Pioneer Days is more than just a rodeo, it’s an event. It includes concerts, parades, farmer’s markets, and, of course, the rodeo at historic Ogden Pioneer Stadium.
“When you look at the community of Ogden – this is one of the biggest awards this city will receive, and so on behalf of the committee and the city, we’re honored and delighted to be so recognized,” said Alan Hall, chairman of the Ogden Pioneer Foundation. “We appreciate the (ProRodeo) Hall of Fame and the committee for the selection and all those who make this organization world class.”
Bush was multi-talented, becoming the most decorated cowgirl in the history of the WPRA (formerly the Girls Rodeo Association).
When the GRA first formed in 1948, Bush was one of the first to sign-up. All totaled, she won 32 world titles – nine all-around (1952, 1957-58, 1962-65, 1968-69), two barrel racing (1952-53), two cutting (1966, 1969), one flag race (1969), 11 calf roping (1951-56, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966-67) and seven ribbon roping titles (1951, 1953-54, 1956-59). She finished as reserve world champion in barrel racing three separate times.
While Bush’s barrel racing world titles came before the NFR began, she qualified seven times (1959-60, 1962-65, and 1974) for the NFR during her career.
“I’m honored to accept this honor for my mom, a famous legend, an icon, and my very best friend,” said Shanna Bush, Wanda’s daughter, who qualified for the NFR in 1984. “For my dear uncle, A.C. Harper, who said my mom was a world champion sister. How deserving to be the first woman inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. History is made today, and she did it by being just Wanda.”
Bush was inducted posthumously, having passed away Dec. 29, 2015.
Bob Ragsdale
“She was one to shy away from publicity, interviews and pictures,” Shanna said. “Material things just didn’t mean much to mom. She taught many movie stars, singers, governors, vice presidents and their kids to ride, or they bought horses from us. But no one ever knew when they came or went from our ranch, that’s just how our family was. She was a really appreciative person always content with just what she had.”
James may have had to wait 22 years to join her legendary horse, Scamper, in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, but was ecstatic to be a part of this historic class.
“I finally get to join him (Scamper), and that’s emotional,” said James, who now makes her home in Boerne, Texas. “Today is really a big deal, not only for me, my family, but I think for all the barrel racers of the WPRA. I couldn’t be more proud and humbled to be one of the first inductees as one of the barrel racers.”
James, who grew up in Clayton, N.M., the home of the very first barrel racing National Finals Rodeo in 1959, won the first of 10 consecutive world titles at the youthful age of 14 in 1984.
James was the first WPRA member to wear the coveted No. 1 back number in 1987, and became the first barrel racer to cross the $1 million mark in career earnings. In addition to the 10 consecutive world titles (1984-1993), James and Scamper won the NFR average title six times (1984, 1986-87, 1989-90 and 1993). In 1996, Scamper became the first and only barrel horse (until 2017) to be inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
James would add a cherry on top of her illustrious career, returning to the top of the sport aboard Cruiser (Cruisin on Six) in 2002, winning her 11th world title and seventh NFR average title.
“My mom traveled a million miles with me and my whole family sacrificed, so this induction is not just about me, but also your family and friends,” James said. “The horses along the way, I couldn’t have been here without the great horses. Obviously, Scamper was a godsend. This is just like icing on the cake getting up here today and accepting this honor.”
Star Plaudit “Red” holds a very unique record in the world of professional rodeo, one that is not likely to ever be duplicated. The bay gelding won two world championships in the sport in a single year and contributed to a third, at the age of 12.
In 1962, Red, as he was affectionately known, carried his owner Sherry (Combs) Johnson to the GRA world title in the barrel racing. The horse also helped close family friend Tom Nesmith to the RCA world title in the steer wrestling, as well as the RCA all-around championship.
Johnson credits the steer wrestling with teaching Red how to run hard through the pattern.
“He (Red) was such a special, special horse,” Johnson said. “He was a really good bulldogging horse. We went to Denver, his first rodeo, and we won the go and I found out that day what run meant. He always ran his hardest. He was the best horse. I never had a horse like him, and he had heart. I believe that a barrel racer better know her barrel horse better than her husband, and I think we do.”
Red passed away at the age of 22.
With the 2017 class, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame now has enshrined 259 people, 33 animals and 28 rodeo committees.
Jordan with all of her 2016 champion saddles and trophies – Amy Niehues, Captured Moments
Jordan Driver is the product of seven generations of cattle ranching and rodeo heritage. Jordan is involved in basketball, track, cross country, hunting, fishing, competitive light rifle shooting, and 4-H. However, the majority of her time is split between ranching, rodeo, and school.
Another day’s work on The Driver Ranch – Courtesy of the family
“It gets hectic sometimes but it is really how we live. There are busy times like branding season that we don’t get to practice as much and I have to do my school work late at night,” Jordan said. “Sometimes we have to drive all night to get to a rodeo and drive all night to get back to school. It all kinda equals out, we do what needs to be done.”
Her parents, Dane and Jennifer Driver, both come from ranching backgrounds and continue the family traditions. “The Driver Ranch was homesteaded in 1878 in West Texas, so Jordan’s dad is a sixth generation rancher on his families working cattle ranch,” Jennifer said. “My family’s cattle ranch in located in Central Texas, where I am the fourth generation. So to say that the western way of life is what we know would be a very true statement.”
“This ranch has been in the family for close to 140 years,” Dane said. The Driver Ranch runs around 1000 head of cattle, depending on the yearly rainfall. Jennifer and Dane pass down their family history and tradition to Jordan, in the hopes that she will continue the western lifestyle.
“Hard work, dedication, and responsibility is something that is learned and cherished in living the western lifestyle,” Jennifer said, “Having Jordan learn and appreciate her family’s history and hoping she will continue to carry on the traditions is something that her father and I truly hope she will want to do.”
This deep appreciation also comes with a set of responsibilities, which Jordan does with pride. “Some of my responsibilities on the ranch or at the barn include getting home from school every day and riding all of my competition horses,” Jordan said. “I make sure everything has blankets, feed, and that [they are] sound before I head to the house.”
Jordan, who started rodeoing at just five years old, is a member of the American Junior Rodeo Association, and the Texas Junior High Rodeo Association Region 2.
Jordan and her horse Ever Sozippy (aka. Sergio) just won the AQHYA WORLD in the Barrel Racing – courtesy of the family
This year she won the All-Around Cowgirl title in both associations as well as then taking home that coveted title at the Texas Junior High Rodeo Association State Finals where she qualified in six events; barrel racing, pole bending, breakaway roping, ribbon roping, goat tying and team roping. Jordan took home the World Champion Barrel racing title at the 2016 American Quarter Horse Youth World Show on Honors Past Due, then came back in 2017 and defended that title on her horse Ever SoZippy (aka. Sergio). She also qualified two horses last year for the 2017 American Semifinals and has already qualified one so far for the 2018 American Semifinals. Competing in The American as an eighth grader can be a daunting task, “It was overwhelming,” Jordan said of last year’s semi finals. “It wasn’t the best runs I’ve made but I was proud of my horses and myself at the end.”
Jordan barrel racing at the 2016 AJRA Finals – JenningsRodeoPhotography.com
She qualified with her best friend, Karsyn Daniels, last year and this year as well. Jordan and Karsyn met through barrel racing, and became friends while competing. “Since we live a long ways apart we don’t get to see each other unless we are at a rodeo,” Jordan said. “But sometimes Karsyn gets to come out to our ranch, and we hang out and go hunting.”
Jordan attributes a lot of her success to her biggest supporters, her parents.
“My parents have listened to me and know what I like to ride, and they found me some of the toughest rodeo horses,” Jordan said. “I appreciate them taking me to all of my rodeos and helping me succeed more and more as I grow as a competitor.”
Jordan and her family train some of their own horses, although they find most of their horses through other rodeo contestants.These tough horses include; Ever So Zippy “Sergio”, TK Judges Easy Money aka “Price”, VF The Final Design “Final”, and May B Noble “Missy”.
“Finding the right horse is hard. Trying horses is exciting and makes me nervous. My parents know a lot of people because they rodeoed as well, [so] we look for horses all over,” Jordan said. “My mom found Sergio and got to know Billie Ann Harmon, she was showing him for a friend of hers. Angela and Jackie Ganter have helped us find some of our horses and Price was the latest they help us find.”
It takes a team to keep Jordan’s horses ready for competition, but she’s got plenty of help. “I am lucky to get to spend some time with some barrel racing greats Talmadge Green and Dena Kirkpatrick,” Jordan said. Talmadge also helped the Drivers find Final, who is one of Jordan’s barrel horses.
Jennifer and Dane both come from rodeo backgrounds, and rodeoed for Tarleton State University. “Dane qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo five times and was the Student Director for the Southwest Region; he roped calves, team roped, and bulldogged,” Jennifer said. “I went to the College National Finals Rodeo all four years and was the 1999 CNFR Champion Barrel Racer and the 1999 CNFR All-Around Cowgirl.”
Jordan hungting at age 7 – Courtesy of the family
Jennifer was also inducted into the Tarleton State University Hall of Fame in 2015, and continues to show horses. However, she also enjoys helping Jordan prepare for her competitions, and cheering her on.
“We have a daily schedule for all the horses, as far as what they need, how they need to be worked and when they need to be practiced on. But in addition to the horses, her dad and I split duties in helping Jordan practice,” Jennifer said. “I try to be her number one supporter on and off the road. Keeping everything on track and on schedule helps keep Jordan focused on her event and allows her to be a kid.”
“It has been a true blessing to watch her grow and become the competitor and horseman she is,” Jennifer said. “With her dad and I both being from ranching and rodeo backgrounds, having her to continue the family heritage is a dream come true.”
Jordan and her horses have big goals for the coming years, and she has faith that they will accomplish great things together. “I completed one of my goals this year – competing at the national level in my last year of junior high.” She not only competed, she and her ribbon roping partner, Jacob Walters, won the National title. “Texas is expected to do good – and the second round was a muddy mess – it was a mental game.” They duct taped their boots on so they wouldn’t come off.
Later in her career, she wants to rodeo in college and hopefully pursue her goal of winning the rookie of the year in the WPRA, and then also making a trip to compete in Las Vegas at the WNFR.
Jordan with her horse, Honors Past Due, or “Robin,” they won the AQHYA World Champion Barrel Racing – Amy Niehues, Captured Moments
Along with all of her rodeo dreams, Jordan also plans to stay involved with the family cattle ranch. “I love it! Being a seventh generation Driver is definitely in my blood,” Jordan said.
Gary Mefford found his vocation as a sophomore in high school in 1974, working part time at King Ropes in Sheridan, Wyoming. He started out tying knots and rapidly expanded to tying burners and picking up orders. Nearly 43 years later, he knows the shop like one of his favorite four strand ropes, and co-manages it with Dan Morales. “My brother grew up with Bob King, and they got me the job here,” says Gary. “It was just going to be part time while I was going to school, but I went to college in Sheridan and kept working here. I got my degree in mine maintenance – hydraulics and welding – but by that time, I was close enough friends with Bobby that if I needed some extra time off to go down the road, I could get my work done ahead of time and then take off. There’s not a lot of jobs in this world that allow you to do that. You get to enjoy what you do, and you’re working with the public a lot. We get a lot of walk-in trade here, especially in the summer months. We get Europeans in here all the time, and a lot of Argentines, Canadians, and South Africans. We ship ropes all over the world, like Brazil, Australia, and Europe. It’s a world-wide operation, but percentage-wise, the majority of our business is in the states.”
An average day for Gary at King Ropes starts with picking out ropes for the latest orders, giving the knot tyers ropes to work on, tying hondos, pulling grass ropes down, and working on stock. From June through August, they’re stocking trailers for 3 – 4 weeks to go to the NHSFR and Cheyenne Frontier Days, followed by the WNFR in December. “I’ll start working on trailer ropes 6 to 8 weeks before they leave for Vegas,” says Gary. “We take 1,500 to 2,000 ropes and we might sell 700 to 800, but we’ve figured out over the years what we sell a lot of. When we have 500 variations of ropes, you never know what people will ask for, between different sizes and materials and stiffnesses and lengths. It’s such personal preference on what people like in a rope. Team ropers are always looking for the new fix, but the rope only does what the hand tells it to, and the hand only does what the mind tells it to. We’ve stayed pretty much with the old style ropes we’ve had for fifty years.”
The YouTube television series How It’s Made created a documentary four years ago on how ropes are made, featuring King Ropes. “I like the four strand ropes. We buy all our four strands in bodies and put them through our stretching process, and they feel quite different when they’ve gone through the stretching process,” Gary explains. “The rope is stretched at a field outside of town. The rope comes in 600 feet coils and we tie it off at the end of the field and roll it with the tractor and pull it to the other end. It might take several days or three weeks or three months before they’re straight. The poly grass ropes that calf ropers like to use we do in a hot room in the basement that’s 130 degrees. But the Nylon comes out better if it’s stretched outside in the natural cooling and heating – the whole process makes them better than if we were doing them in the hot room.”
While Gary grew up in town in Sheridan, his grandparents homesteaded on the Montana/Wyoming border in the early 1900s. His dad worked on ranches and later did highway construction. Gary was given an old rope horse by his older brother Dick when he was 9 or 10. “I high school rodeoed my junior and senior year, and college rodeoed locally. I jackpotted and team roped after that,” says Gary, who prefers to heel. “It’s such a challenge to do it well.” He competes in mixed team roping with Miff Koltiska, and competed several times with Mark Moreland at the Reno Invitational. He’s also roped at the WSTR Finale in Las Vegas at least eight times. “I cut my thumb off at the Reno Invitational in 2011 – I did it on the biggest stage,” says Gary. “They tried putting it back on, but it didn’t take. I just reach for stuff differently – I don’t even think about it. That was in the spring and I’d only won a few hundred dollars at some winter and spring ropings. After losing my thumb, I won $3,800 and three buckles. I’d been in a slump, and after that happened, I relaxed and things fell in place. I guess my thumb was just getting in the way.”
Gary also puts on roping jackpots and contracts roping steers to high school, college, and cowgirl rodeos. He has 100 head of longhorn cows and raises his own roping steers at his home outside of Sheridan. His wife, Sara, helps put on the jackpots, works as secretary, runs chutes, and moves steers. She worked at King Ropes for several years, and enjoys team sorting and team roping. Their four-year-old daughter, Londyn, competes on her pony in barrel racing, pole bending, and goat tail untying.
“My mind is always working on what I have to do after work,” says Gary, who works six days a week at King Ropes, along with hauling steers and putting on jackpots and team sortings. “I just make sure everything is prearranged in my brain on what I need to do. This doesn’t leave me very much time to practice. While working at King’s Saddlery over the years, I have met a lot of team ropers and have become friends with several them such as Bobby Harris, Rich Skelton, Mike Beers who are some of the best heelers in the world. They all have offered me a chance to go rope with them. I just don’t know how I would ever fit it in, without my wife having to do all the work at home. But there would be nothing better than to take the time and go rope with them for a month.”
Rylee Jo Maryman spends her summer days roping the dummy and tying goats. Sometimes she goes swimming, but practice comes first. “I practice to increase how I run when I’m at a rodeo. That’s my favorite sport,” said the 9-year-old National Little Britches World All Around Champion Little Wrangler. She also holds the World Champion title in the Pole Bending, and Flag Racing. Her favorite event is pole bending. “I have an awesome horse and he always does what I ask him – I think I’m very athletic in that event and it’s very challenging and I like challenges. It makes me work harder and improve.”
Rylee and her two horses named Coco and Pistol- 3 Lazy J Photography
Rylee Jo knows how hard it is to win, and she feels like she’s got the horse to do it. “If I didn’t have Pistol, I don’t think I would have won so much.” Pistol is a 21-year-old gelding. “You can do anything on him – I use him for poles, barrels, and flags.” Pistol used to be her uncle’s team roping horse and won the Purina Super Horse this year. “He is not the fastest, and he’s not a bucking horse, but if I’m having problems in anything, I go back to him to help me fix it.” She also rides Dally. “She’s fast, but not as fast as my new horse, Smurf. Smurf runs really fast and I’m trying to get him back in my hands.”
She has been in the NLBRA for three years. “I didn’t place at all my first year, and then I got a little better last year and I finally won the world this year. It feels good. I competed against a lot of good kids and good horses,” said the St. Francisville, Louisiana, native. She lives ten minutes out of town with her mother, Casey, and father, Joe and their 10 horses, four dogs, 18 goats, five cats, 6 chickens, and cattle.
She spends her summers at her grandmother’s house while her parents work, but as soon as they get home; it’s off to the arena. “It hasn’t been dry enough lately to do anything, but I still rope the dummy and tie goats under the barn.”
Her mom and dad help her the most with her rodeo. “Now we rodeo for her,” said her mom, Casey. “At about 2 ½ we put her on a horse and we turned her loose by herself. She had it – squeezing with her legs and riding on her own. Since then, she’s ridden every day. Her focus 24/7 is the arena. We go every day. We competed in two different associations last year since it was her last year in Little Wranglers. She went into the finals winning the barrels and poles and in the top four of all the rest – goat tail untying and flag racing.” Casey, who works during the day as an educator in the prison, started rodeoing when she was young. “We didn’t go as hard as she does when we were young.” She roped – team rope and breakaway. Her husband, Joe, who is a biologist for the Wildlife Fisheries in Louisiana, college rodeoed, calf roped and team roped. “We’re going to do whatever we can to give her what she needs. Right now she has two new horses she’s trying to get with.”
Rylee Jo with her calf named Tiger
Rylee Jo has also gone to three of Martha Josey’s clinics as well as Stacy Martin with Next Level Goat Tying. “When I first went to the goat tying school I was tying in 18, now I’m tying in 11s,” she said. The Josey clinics have helped her figure out the first barrel. “I’m still trying to figure that out. When I pull, I give back. When I do that, my horse runs by. I’m still working on that.” What the clinics have done for this young lady is give her confidence to figure out how to fix her problems in the arena. “I can try to figure it out on my own from going to the schools.” The other thing she is figuring out is how to manage her own money. She has a bank account and she pays for part of her entry fees.
When she grows up, she wants to rodeo full time. That’s what she’s doing now – she’s rodeoeing all weekend and if she’s not, she’s in the arena at home practicing.”
“Keep your dreams and one day they will come true. But you have to work on them or they won’t come true.”
Her rodeo idol is Mary Burger. “She always tries to do better.”
Sammy Castaneda loves a challenge. For the Cargill Animal Nutrition Consultant from San Antonio, Texas, improving everything from the size of deer antlers to the stamina of a rodeo horse is what makes him tick. “It is very satisfying finding solutions for new and current customers and building long lasting relationships along the way,” says Sammy, who started working for Cargill in their cattle feed division 10 years ago. “Helping people reach their goals and implement a sound nutritional program long-term is success to me. Some days I am working to figure out how to help a cow/calf operation increase conception rates and increase weaning weights, or feedlots looking to improve costs and increase average daily gain (ADG). The next day I’m on a deer ranch discussing body condition and growing big healthy deer with antlers that stop you in your tracks.” Sammy also works with rodeo and performance horse owners to maintain healthy toplines and energy. “In the nutrition business the needs of customers are always changing. It is important to stay informed and understand markets and trends, as well as environmental changes that affect feed consumption, gain, and performance.”
Sammy has always been interested in the field of animal science. Many generations of his family have lived and worked on ranches throughout South Texas including the King Ranch, home of the “Running W” brand. “They were the true cowboys called vaqueros and roped wild cows in the brush, trained horses, and worked cattle with the best of them. It was their life and they were good at it. This is where some of my roots come from and I can certainly appreciate their hard work, dedication, and love for the cowboy way,” says Sammy. Growing up, Sammy worked on feedlots and ranches and took every chance he could to work cattle, rope, and be around that lifestyle. Sammy’s interest in animal nutrition led him to achieve an associate’s degree in agriculture and a welding certificate, while he finished with a bachelors in animal science from Texas A&M Kingsville.
“My dad always said that hard work and smart work will lead you there and it is up to you to figure out what “there” is. I graduated and then started working for Cargill in 2007. I worked at a few feedlots in the Panhandle as a feed and cattle manager, and my wife worked with me as the office manager. Taking care of over eighty-five thousand head of cattle, I gained large scale production knowledge and eventually ventured into the position I am in now. I’ve always loved the nutrition side of things. Most days I am visiting ranches, feed dealers and different breeders including cattle deer and equine. South Texas is home to millions of acres of brush country and prairie, providing habitat for lots of wildlife – white tailed deer in particular – which is a big part of my business today,” says Sammy. Nutrena and Record Rack are two of the major brands that he represents. They have a team of research scientists, specialists and consultants who work together and strive to be the leaders in providing innovative solutions to their animal feed customers worldwide. “Our customers rely on us to help them, so we have to be very effective in what we recommend, and we take it very seriously. Sometimes we’ll formulate a specific feed depending on that customer’s needs.”
Sammy is also involved with organizations like the Texas Deer Association and is part of the committee that recently put on the Texas Deer Association’s first annual Ropin’ & Smokin’, sponsored in part by Record Rack and Nutrena. “Deer breeders are such a big part of our business, and I want to bring some of my knowledge to the table,” he says. In the last year, Sammy partnered with BXB Productions, a rodeo production company, in putting on ranch rodeos and team ropings. “We do one to two ropings a week around San Antonio and take the ropings on the road every other month or so throughout South and Central Texas. It’s helped me grow and meet new people, and it’s really cool to put something like that on. We also do some charity events to help local causes. At our first annual Nutrena Roping, we had over eight hundred teams and we gave lots of custom prizes and cash. We have also partnered with Sosa Buckers, owners Shiloh and Shane Sosa, and do different segments with bulls. There’s a huge link between rodeo and hunting. A lot of the contestants are ranch managers or avid hunters and they rodeo for fun, and these ropings are a very good way to interact and meet new people.”
Every chance he gets, Sammy takes part in the hunting and team roping lifestyle he promotes. He’s also an avid fisherman and enjoys team roping locally, while his two children, Delina, 8, and Samuel, 5, ride and work cattle with him and have started rodeoing. His wife, Fela, works for Animal Health International Inc., and even shares some of the same clients with Sammy. “We have cows, and it’s not a big operation, but enough for the family to get together and work. I do things so I’m a role model for my kids and youth in general,” says Sammy. “I try and lead them in the right direction and strongly support them in activities such as sports, rodeo and FFA. I believe teaching those hands-on skills, discipline, hard work, and dedication will help them achieve what they set out to accomplish. I want to help my kids grow and rodeo and hopefully they can lead successful lives.
“I’d like to continue doing these rodeo events and making them better, and get Nutrena’s name out there,” he finishes. “I also want to keep growing my business and helping these ranchers meet their goals, which is something I take a lot of pride in.”
Roscoe Jarboe is “the Rock.” Or at least, that’s what his dad used to call him. When the number five bull rider in the PRCA’s world standings was a little boy, his favorite WWE wrestler was the Rock. His dad would walk through the house, asking if anybody could smell what the Rock was cookin’. And he’s cooked himself up a great start to a rodeo career.
The New Plymouth, Idaho bull rider won the 2016 Resistol Rookie of the Year award, plus qualified for his first Wrangler NFR last year.
He’s been preparing to ride bulls since he was a kid, traveling with his dad, Bo Jarboe, as Bo rode bulls in the Columbia Circuit.
“He cut his teeth (on bull riding) when he was a baby,” Bo said. “I used to load him up in the pickup when I went to rodeos, and it’d be just me and him. Well before he knew what was going on, he was at rodeos.”
Roscoe at age 4 behind the chutes with his dad, Bo in 2000 – WT Bruce
Bo rode bulls till about 2000, when Roscoe was four years old, and then he and his then-wife Miss (short for Melissa) built an arena and bucking chutes on his place outside of New Plymouth. They made sure their son had whatever he needed: first calves, then steers, mini-bulls, and bulls.
At New Plymouth High School, Roscoe was in FFA and 4-H and showed pigs. He wrestled and rodeoed, competing in the Idaho High School Rodeo Association his freshman year, and then in the Oregon High School Association his sophomore and junior years. He finished as reserve state champion bull rider in 2012 and 2013, his sophomore and junior years, winning the average his junior year and finishing eleventh in the nation at the National High School Finals Rodeo in 2013.
His senior year Roscoe went pro, getting his PRCA permit that year. He turned 18 in April of 2014, but chose to spend two years as a permit holder before he got his card and entered his rookie year. “I wanted to get the experience, to figure out the rough patches, what rodeos to go to, and what rodeos not to go to,” he said.
For him, rodeo is not just the eight seconds on a bull. The sport is ninety percent mental, Jarboe believes. “Most of us are in good shape to ride bulls, and we work out, but mainly we’re working on our minds.” Riding bulls is like riding a bike; a person doesn’t forget how to, Jarboe said, but staying confident is important. “We just have to keep our minds positive; it’s a mind game. We read books (about mental psychology), and all we have to do is stay positive.”
His traveling partners help. He travels with Dallee Mason, Brady Portenier, and Chase Robbins, and the four keep each other going. “It’s cool because we’re all really good friends, and say we get bucked off,” said Portenier, who is from Caldwell, Idaho. “We don’t talk about it till we get in the car, then we have our words, and everybody has their own opinions, and we usually get something productive out of our conversations. There’s no negativity in the car.”
Roscoe and Brady have known each other since they were kids; their dads rodeoed together, and Brady remembers going to the practice pen with Roscoe. “We picked up horn tips, and thought we were cool,” he said.
This year has been Roscoe’s best year of rodeo. As of press time, he was ranked fifth in the world standings and had $87, 455 won. After competing at his first WNFR and finishing his first year of pro rodeo, his maturity and confidence shows. “I’m just having fun this year,” he said.
Roscoe at the 2016 WNFR, his first year qualifiing – Hubbell
Part of that fun is being more relaxed on the road. With his paycheck from the WNFR, he bought a motorhome. He and his buddies are “taking it easy this year, and having fun with what we do.” They sightsee when they have time, taking in Mt. Rushmore and other places, and they bowl and golf. “We’re being kids,” he said. Golfing is big for him and his buddies. “We golf all the time. That’s like another job for me. It’s so relaxing to just get out there and hit some balls.”
His biggest win this year was at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, where he won the finals on D&H Cattle Company’s Sweet Pro Bruiser, scoring 91 on the bull. It was a bull he would love to get on again. “He’d be good to get on any time. You don’t want to miss the opportunity to get on that bull.”
Last year, Roscoe’s biggest win was Cheyenne Frontier Days, when he covered all three of his bulls, won the second round, finished fourth in the finals, and won the average with 246 points on three head.
Jarboe didn’t let nerves get to him at his first WNFR, even though it was everything and more than he expected. “Everybody tells you it’s just another rodeo,” he said. “When you get there, it’s a lot bigger than that. But once you get behind the bucking chutes, you can’t see the crowd and the lights aren’t too bright, and it’s just another rodeo. You focus on riding your bull.” He covered his first two bulls, but regretted not riding more. When the WNFR was over, he wished there were more bulls to ride. “I could have gone a couple more rounds, but that’s because I was disappointed in how I finished.”
He has several nice buckles, including one from his Cheyenne Frontier Days win in 2016 and one from round two of the WNFR, but he wears a buckle he won in 2011 showing pigs at the Payette County Fair. He was grand champion two years in a row, and loved showing pigs. “It was a good experience because you had to raise an animal and treat them as you want to be treated. Pigs have a personality of their own. They’re probably one of my favorite animals.” He doesn’t wear his good buckles, not wanting to scratch them.
Roscoe’s younger sister, Harli Jo, is the pig showing expert in the family. She’s won grand champion several years in a row. The 16-year-old is graduating from high school a year early to move on to college. “My kids achieve what they set out to do,” Miss said. “They work very hard for their goals. The best thing is they are very humble about it.”
Roscoe has his own style of bull riding. “Everyone likes to talk about how he’s got some crazy wild style,” Portenier said, “but when you break it down, he does the basics better than a lot of guys, and does them well. When he gets into those wild positions, he’s able to fall back to the basics, and go to home base, and doggone ride them.”
His buddies have named it “the noodle.” “He noodles them,” Portenier said. “He can get into a really bad position, to where most guys would quit or plain not have the ability to get back in the middle. But Roscoe seems to do it more than not. Everybody has that one time when they’re hanging off to the side and can wiggle back, but I’ve seen Roscoe do that quite a bit.”
His dad Bo, and his mom, Miss, divorced when he was 16. His dad travels for his job, and if the rodeo is close, will drive seven or eight hours to watch him ride. Roscoe’s style of riding isn’t like his dad’s. “He’s got his own style,” Bo said. “It’s a really strange style that works for him. I wish he would change it up just a little bit so his body lasts for a while. But the more time goes, he may change it up.”
He and fellow bull rider Garrett Tribbles were neck and neck for the Resistol Rookie race all year. Both qualified for the Wrangler National Finals, but Roscoe edged out Garrett at the end of the season by over $20,000. Robbins, Roscoe’s traveling partner, finished third in the Resistol race.
He’s ready for this year’s Wrangler NFR. Last year didn’t go as he wanted. “I started getting down on myself, and that’s the worst place to do it, at the (National) Finals.” This year he’ll know what to expect. “It’s still nerve-wracking when you get there, but I’ll feel like I’ve been there and done that.”
Roscoe has qualified for and competed at the Columbia River Circuit Finals twice and competed at the PBRs early in his career.
He’s ready to repeat what he did last year, when he was on a roll. “It’s hard not to win when you can’t fall off. There are ups and downs (in bull riding), but when you get one rode, you just roll with it, and let it happen till it starts not happening anymore.
“I try to keep my head focused and do what I’m supposed to do.”
On the wall in the meeting room at the Sisters, Ore., Pro Rodeo hangs a bull’s head, a testament to a man and his family’s way of life. That bull, Cuddles, was one of many bucking bulls and horses owned by Frank Beard, of Beard Rodeo Co.
Frank got his start in the bucking bull and horse business as a youngster. The son of Bill and Ruby Beard, the 89-year-old cowboy was born to a horse trader who also had race horses. Frank’s mother passed away when he was a baby, and by the time he was in his teens, he was riding bucking horses.
As a teenager, he began riding horses for Ruth Parton, Toppenish, Wash., a trick rider and girl bronc rider. When he was in his twenties, he was working for area ranchers and stock contractors, including Bob Nicholson and John Van Belle, and during the off-season, packed on bucking horses on hunting trips around Mt. Rainier. Frank also rode barebacks and saddle broncs and galloped race horses at local tracks in the Northwest.
Frank Beard on Widow Maker, Moses Lake, 1948 – Jim Chamberlain
It was while working for Van Belle that a rodeo queen caught his eye. It was Charlot Van Belle, the Toppenish, Wash. rodeo queen and John’s daughter, and they married in 1947. For their honeymoon, they went to the Moses Lake, Wash. rodeo, where Frank won second in the saddle bronc riding, and the next year, won the rodeo.
Frank and Charlot were both nineteen when they married, and the two made a home together. He continued working for his father-in-law, and together they welcomed “four studs and a filly,” as Frank likes to say: Casey, Tim, Kelly, who passed away four years ago, Pat, and Shannon, the daughter.
Frank added pickup man to his resume, picking up for Van Belle and Flying Five. He shod horses, and volunteered with his kids’ 4-H club and horse shows. The older boys showed horses more than they rodeoed, but when Pat came along, he wanted to ride broncs, so Frank made sure there were practice horses for the kids.
He and his father-in-law were providing stock for several amateur associations, including the Northwest Rodeo Association. In 1973, Beard Rodeo Co. was formed, and by the time the 1980’s rolled around, pro rodeo cowboys who got on his animals at amateur shows were urging him to get his Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association card.
Australian cowboy Dave Appleton told Frank to come to the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City, where Frank and his son Pat made the decision to go pro. The rule was that any new stock contractor had to bring five new rodeos to the PRCA, so Beard Rodeo Co. brought some of their amateur shows, , including Molalla and The Dalles, Ore., and Monroe, Wash. “Some of the better amateur rodeos we were doing at that time made the switch with us,” Frank said.
The year 1987 was when they became PRCA members, and their shows were nearly all family-run. Pat picked up, along with Shannon’s husband Don Stewart. Frank’s nephew Randy Allan would also pick up. Charlot’s sister Ellen Pederson and Shannon timed. Charlot cooked, and the family traveled in a fifth-wheel, with the grandkids tagging along. Edie Longfellow was rodeo secretary: Charlot said she wouldn’t do that job. “That was not in the discussion,” remembers Daniel Beard, Tim’s son and Frank’s grandson. “Anything else would be OK with grandma, but not that.”
The Beard Rodeo Co. had great bulls but even better horses. The most memorable was a saddle bronc named Profit Taker, a thoroughbred who had made $32,000 on the race track. Not only did he buck, but after each ride, Frank could get on him bareback and ride him around. At the rodeos, he was penned with the saddle horses, and he’d get washed and brushed just like them for the rodeo. Profit Taker bucked at the National Finals Rodeo when he was thirty years old.
Beard Rodeo also had a bareback horse-turned saddle bronc named Roan Ranger who went to the National Finals Rodeo eight times, before Frank switched him to the saddle bronc riding, where he was ridden only three times in three years.
Another outstanding horse was Heckle, a ten-time NFR bareback horse who was a thoroughbred/quarter horse cross. A bay, the horse was beautiful, confirmation-wise, “a gorgeous-made horse,” Frank said. “People would talk about what a good riding horse he would be, if they could break him, but he’d have been pretty cowboy-y. He was as hard muscled as he could be.”
Frank had begun a breeding program with his horses and some registered mares from Barb McLean, but in 1991, his first crop of colts came, along with the main herd sire 101 Home Grown.
50th wedding anniversary, 8/31/97. Back row, L to R: Tim, Shannon (Stewart), Kelly Front row, L to R: Pat, Frank, Charlot, Casey – courtesy of the family
Frank and Charlot lived in Sunnyside, Washington, and when the state highway came through their property, were forced to move, so they went to Outlook. When Interstate 82 came through their property in Outlook, they had to move to Ellensburg. They live north of town, on an irrigated farm with good grass. Their log home is full of artifacts, western and Native American: spurs, bits, saddles, Indian handiwork, and more. Frank is “a trader,” said Edie Longfellow. During down time at rodeos, Edie, Charlot and Ellen would visit antique and thrift stores, and Charlot would always say, as she considered buying something, “how will this look at my estate sale?” Edie laughed.
The Beards were the starting point for several contract acts. Rodeo clowns Flint Rasmussen and JJ Harrison got their starts with them, as did a young unknown name, Boyd Polhamus. “The promoter hired a kid right out of school named Boyd, to announce (a Beard rodeo), and he would have a hard time pronouncing those Indian names for towns. Everybody in the crowd would tease him,” Frank said. “You could tell pretty soon that he was pretty talented.”
Frank and Charlot sold Beard Rodeo Co. to Mike Corey in 2007. Health reasons precipitated the sale, and “it was the best decision for everybody,” said Daniel. The Beards had bucking stock at the Wrangler NFR every year of the company’s existence.
Frank and Charlot’s home is still open to traveling rodeo people, contestants and contractors, and they often stop by to visit.
And the Beard family is still involved in the sport. Casey is general manager of the Pendleton, Ore. Roundup and served on the PRCA Board of Directors. Pat, a former Wrangler NFR pickup man, is the tourism director for the city of Pendleton. Don, Shannon’s husband, was a pickup man, Shannon worked as a timer, and the couple raised bucking horses. Daniel, Tim’s son, is a partner in Summit Pro Rodeo.
And the bull on the wall in Sisters, Ore.? It’s Cuddles, a Beard bull, who cornered the Sisters rodeo president Jim Morris in a back pen and broke his wrist. Frank and his family provided stock in Sisters from 1990 till 2007.
Frank doesn’t regret a minute of his life. “I got to do a lot of things that nobody had a chance to do,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed life, I’ll say that.”
Dale can go “90 on anything that pitches,” even a unicorn!
“Of course I’ll talk to ya, I’m so honest you can shoot dice with me over the phone!” Dale Brisby is not afraid to wear his name on his hat. “I am the best there is, was, or ever will be! I’ve been to the winning circle so many times, it’d make a normal man dizzy!” boasts the Texas bull rider. His rodeo career began early. “Rodeo has been my life, I’ve been goin 90 since before the war!” He started riding sheep, then graduated to steers and bulls, and went on to college rodeo. Where he obtained an undergraduate and a graduate degree in – ag leadership and education. “I done been 90 in the rodeo arena and the classroom ol’ son!”
His dad was a hand at all things cowboy. Watching as his father shoes a horse. – Courtesy of the family
“I have a really good time rodeoing and I like to live that life through social media. I am grateful every day that anyone might find what I do entertaining enough to give me a second look. I thank God everyday that He blessed me with a path to salvation through His son, with living in this country, for making me a cowboy, and for making me the most humble bull riding legend ever to walk the earth. If there’s a better life, I don’t know it.”
“Whenever I get together with my camara man, Randy Quartieri, and Leroy Gibbons, we’re like a bunch of little kids giggling and building a tree house. It’s just fun. And that’s how life should be! Especially if you’re a cowboy, and especially if you’re a Christian. I want to live my life through social media in a way that people see that.”
“The Lord put me on this earth to spend time in the rodeo arena. I’ve competed and mastered all three rough stock events professionally and I have also fought bulls professionally. It was shortly after college rodeo that I decided to pursue one event and only enter the bull riding. As many goals as I have set and accomplished, it’s getting a bit mundane. So I am always looking for new horizons!”
Dale Brisby shows up to Justin Sports Medicine Fashion Show ready to handle a little ‘Risky Business’ – Rodeo News
He has mastered social media – his videos have been seen by millions. “I was always considered the class clown, but I think that was only because I was different than everyone else. I didn’t conform my personality to the status quo then, and I still don’t today. How many other people do you see walk into Cowboy Christmas in Las Vegas with mud boots, holes in their jeans, only a vest on, and their only concern is that everyone know it is ‘Rodeo Time’.”
Getting ready to ride – Randy Quartieri
He has brought his concept not only to social media, but to the retail market and motivational speaking engagements. He lives his ministry through focusing on his faith. “My business plan is prayer. I have some goals, but mainly, I want to please the Lord. That comes first. If that remains my priority then I will be at peace with whatever the outcome is.”
“I believe social media is merely a tool. A very powerful one that can be used for good or bad. For me, it is where I can hopefully give someone a break in their stressful day and make them laugh. Everyone of my videos may not quote scripture, but hopefully they can see Christ’s love through the way I live my life. Thank you to anyone who follows or subscribes to my shenanigans, you are why I do what I do. Hit me up in the DM’s!”
He partnered up with Fallon Taylor to create a series of videos poking fun at the barrel racing world. “We give barrel racers an inside look at bull riders and she gives bull riders and inside look at barrel racing. We do Snapchat takeovers where we run each others’ Snapchat.”
He has produced more than 100 videos and his goals for the future include more retail adventures. “I’d love to be the one spot people go for all things rodeo and obviously continue to rodeo.”
