The Greats

Welcome back!

 

I appreciate you stopping by again! I talked to you about the timed events in rodeo in my last blog post. This week, I’m going to tell you a little bit about some of the most famous faces in the rodeo industry. I would need to write a book or two to include all of the wonderful people who have made an impact on the sport, so for time’s sake I’m only going to go into detail about a few. Some of the people who have made history include Billy Etbauer, Charmayne James, and Joe Beaver.
 

 

On the roughstock side of rodeo, Billy Etbauer is one of the greatest saddle bronc riders of all time. Known for his unending humility, Etbauer first qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in 1989 and went on to qualify for a consecutive 21 years (“Billy Etbauer,” Prorodeohalloffame.com). He was the first competitor to ever earn more than $3 million career earnings in a single event. Not only was he an extremely successful saddle bronc rider, he won his final World Championship just one month shy of 42 years old. Etbauer holds the record for the oldest roughstock champion and the National Finals Rodeo record of a 93 point ride in 2003 (“BillyEtbauer,” Prorodeohalloffame.com).

 

 

 

If you know anything about barrel racing, then you know the name Charmayne James. It’s the equivalent of saying names like “Michael Jordan” or “Babe Ruth.” Her professional barrel racing career began at the young age of 14 when she won her first World Championship in 1984 (“AboutCharmayne,” Charmaynejames.com). 9 consecutive World Championships followed this initial success along with her 11^th and final win in 2002. James’ Hall of Fame horse, Scamper, carried her for her first 10 wins. James herself was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1992. She was the first $1 million earner and she remains the sport’s all-time leading money earner (“About Charmayne,” Charmaynejames.com).

 

 

 

And lastly, tie-down roper Joe Beaver was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2000. Beaver’s love of roping started 30 years prior when he was merely 5 years old roping goats from the back of a Shetland pony. His talent and determination brought him to the top of the roping industry very quickly. In 1985, Beaver won his first World Champion title at 20 years old setting the record as the youngest tie-down roper to ever win. An injury halted his career in 1999, but not before he won 4 more World Championships and 3 all-around titles (“Joe Beaver,” Prorodeohalloffame.com). He continues to be a fixture in the rodeo world commentating at the National Finals Rodeo every year.

If you would like to know more about the people who have done amazing things in the sport of rodeo, you can visit the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame online.

See you next time!

 

Emily Engelhard