News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, Jan. 11
by ProRodeo.com | Jan 11, 2016
The Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo Board recently elected Brett Wachsmith as the new board member to replace recently retired Ron Mitchell. Currently, Wachsmith serves as Kittitas County Treasurer after being elected to a four-year term that began Jan. 1, 2015.
The Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days General Committee has replaced their 2016 chairman of the CFD Rodeo. Mitch Carter will be taking the reins as chairman following the departure of Kevin Wells.
California Rodeo Salinas is seeking nominations for its Hall of Fame. Just six years after starting the Hall, the roster includes more than 40 legends of rodeo including Jack Roddy, Leo and Jerold Camarillo, Ty Murray and Wilbur Plaugher. Inductees consist of contestants, performers, committee members, staff, supporters/contributors, livestock and notables who have impacted the history of the California Rodeo over the past 105 years. Nomination forms for the 2016 induction are due by Feb. 29. Forms can be found at www.carodeo.com by clicking on ‘About Us’ and ‘History.’ Forms are also available at the California Rodeo office at 1034 N. Main St. in Salinas. Inductees will be honored at the Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon on Thursday July 21.
Elton “Dale” Sims, a former PRCA steer wrestler, passed away Nov. 21, 2015, in Childress, Texas. He was 86. In addition to competing in rodeo, Sims was a former contractor – he built several homes in Boulder (Colo.) County. Sims and his wife also owned the Oxbow Stables in Nederland (Colo.) and a working cattle ranch outside of Lakeview, Ore.
A book about the life of rodeo clown Lecile Harris entitled “Lecile: This isn’t my first rodeo,” has already found its way onto the Amazon best-seller list. The book is inspired by Harris’ career of more than 60 years in the rodeo industry, and took three years to write. The book is made up of short stories and is available here. Many men, and one bull, have been selected for induction into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. The list of bull riders includes Myrtis Dightman, John Quintana, Gary Leffew, Jim Sharp, Terry Don West, Jack Wiseman and Tuff Hedeman. In the “Legends” category, The Steiner Rodeo Company and Harry Vold are the two inductees. In the “Bulls” category, the legendary bucking bull Tornado, owned by Jim Shoulders, gets the induction. In the “Bullfighters” category, the inductee is the great Kajun Kidd (D.J. Gaudin). Details on the date of the induction ceremony have yet to be released.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We have to figure out how to fail 40 percent of the time and still be OK with that. Any time you think you are the biggest or baddest guy, (rodeo) will bring you down to size pretty quick.”
-Two-time World Champion Bull Rider Sage Kimzey telling the Odessa American about the ups and downs of bull riding
Courtesy of PRCA