Congratulations Class of 2014!!

ProRodeo Hall of Fame Inductees

The ProRodeo Hall of Fame ( website / Facebook ) and Museum of the American Cowboy exists to educate the public about rodeo, its history, and its impact on Western American culture. The Hall of Fame will also provide recognition to rodeo notables of the past, present, and serve as an inspiration for the future.

"ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees are selected by a committee of former contestants and rodeo experts. More than 100 individuals are nominated each year and selection is based on contributions to the sport of professional rodeo in any one of seven categories: contestant, stock contractor, contract personnel, rodeo committees, livestock, media and notables/lifetime achievement.  Including this year’s inductees, 236 people, 28 animals and 22 rodeo committees have been selected for enshrinement in Colorado Springs since the Hall opened in 1979." (Information courtesy of ProRodeo Hall of Fame)

On August 9, 2014, at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, induction ceremonies were held enshrining 10 inductees into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.  Please join us as we congratulate all enshrined:  (To learn more about each of the inductees, please click the link - it will take you directly to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame Website - and to each inductee's story.)

Pete Grubb - World Champion Cowboy ( link )
Wayne Herman - World Champion Cowboy ( link )
Glen O'Neill - World Champion Cowboy ( link )
Byron Walker - World Champion Cowboy ( link )
Miles Hare - Two-Time World Champion Bullfighter ( link )
Spring Fling - Bareback/Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year ( link )
Rodeo Committee - Greeley Stampede (Colorado) ( link )
Rodeo Committee - Snake River Stampede (Idaho) ( link )

Now you may have noticed there are only 8 inductees listed above.  The reason for that is because we want to send out extra special "Congratulations" to the remaining two!  Both of these inductees are Rodeo Committees who are made up of very special people, and the rodeos they produce, are rodeos which are part of the PRCA California Circuit.

Rodeo Fans across our great State of California and across our Nation, look forward to attending these rodeos year after year. Their successes in bringing the best of the best to their rodeos, and to their communities, is to be applauded and celebrated.  We join all of their friends, families, volunteers, sponsors, and fans, in sharing the pride and excitement of this great honor which has been bestowed upon these two outstanding Rodeo Committees.

Congratulations to Clovis Rodeo and Rowell Ranch Pro Rodeo!

Clovis Rodeo:   

(From our friends at ProRodeo Hall of Fame)

"In the spring of 1914, the Clovis (Calif.) Women’s Club held a fundraiser which featured food and games. Ranchers and farmers effected a temporary arena by circling their wagons in a vacant lot for competition in mule riding and calf roping.

That was the start of a tradition that continues to this day to embrace the Western lifestyle and civic pride of the Central Valley community. The all-volunteer, not-for-profit Clovis Rodeo Association now has 700 members and works tirelessly year-round to raise money for area charities.

When it was determined, back in 1936, that a permanent rodeo grounds was needed, a group of ranching families pooled their resources and bought a property just south of downtown, donating half of the land for construction of a school.

“It was the right thing to do,” former CRA President Mark Thompson said, and that has always been the group’s guiding principle, to make things better in the community while fostering Western Heritage through producing a quality rodeo each year.

The Clovis Rodeo was selected for inclusion in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in its centennial year, following California Rodeo Salinas as the second rodeo in the state to reach 100 years. It marked the occasion by commissioning a statue of Lane Frost riding Red Rock that stands at the entrance of the grounds."   Link to ProRodeo Hall of Fame - Link  to Youtube Video about Clovis Rodeo.

For more information about the Clovis Rodeo, please visit their website and Facebook.

 Rowell Ranch Pro Rodeo

(From our friends at ProRodeo Hall of Fame)

"Harry Rowell, a rancher, businessman and philanthropist, brought the sport of rodeo to the athletic fields of the Burbank School in downtown Hayward, Calif., in 1921 and then moved it to his Dublin Canyon Ranch four years later, where it has been a fixture on the professional rodeo calendar ever since.

Crowned the “Rodeo King of the West” for his contributions to the sport, Rowell – part of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame’s inaugural class of 1979 – was a stock producer for 25 rodeos throughout the West, including the Grand National Rodeo in San Francisco. But it was his own home rodeo that held a special place in his heart.

Upon Rowell’s death in 1969, his wife, Maggie, kept the rodeo going with help from Art Palmer and Cecil Jones, and she had it written into her will that the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District could purchase the rodeo site as long as city officials promised that the grounds would be made available for free each year to continue the Rowell Ranch Rodeo and a junior rodeo.

In 1977, a local non-profit organization was formed in compliance with Maggie’s wishes to assure the continuation of the rodeo as a traditional historical community event, a fundraiser for local charities – and a lasting tribute to her British-born husband’s love of the West.

The rodeo begins each year with a lone rider galloping down “Harry’s Hill,” carrying the American flag into the arena."  Link to ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

For more information about the Rowell Ranch Pro Rodeo, please visit their website and their Facebook.

Again, Congratulations to all and Congratulations to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame on their 35 Year Anniversary!  Thank you for all you do!