News & Notes from the Rodeo Trail, July 7
by ProRodeo.com | Jul 07, 2014
Four individuals were inducted in to the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame during a June 27 ceremony held at the Texas & Pacific Railroad Depot, now the home of the Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce. Only two surviving inductees were on hand, with two relatives picking up the awards and gifts for those who were inducted. Pictured left to right are: Olie Smith, the son of inductee Blanche Altizer Smith; Tommy Owens, accepting the award for Margaret Owens Montgomery; Bill Teague, inductee; Father Joseph Thomas, who gave the benediction during the ceremony; emcee Doug Miller and inductee Eva Mae Williams Holleyman. Every year the group inducts members to the hall of fame and their accomplishments and pictures can be viewed at the depot and at the West of the Pecos Museum.
ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Lewis Feild and John W. Jones Jr. joined rodeo queen Jenna Smeenk and Atlanta Falcons tight end Bear Pascoe on the American300 Wrangler Western National Patriot July 4 Tour, spending time with the families and community that supports the USMC Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif. They even joined in on the fun at the annual Bridgeport Centennial Livestock Ranch Rodeo (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItFdWEE34Ms&list=PL1D3881520D80113D&feature=share).
Dean Smith, an inductee in the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame, is on the road promoting his book, From Olympic Gold to the Silver Screen: Cowboy Stuntman, and on July 5 was presented with the Working Ranch Cowboy and Stunt Man Award for his lifelong promotion of Westerns, the Western way of life and the Texas Cowboy Reunion Rodeo. Smith won a gold medal in the 400 meter relay at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, and then built a career as a Hollywood stuntman, appearing in such films as The Alamo, El Dorado, How the West Was Won and Big Jake.
Eva Mae Wilken Holleyman, Margaret Owens Montgomery, Blanche Altizer Smith and Bill Teague were inducted into the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame last week, during a ceremony at the Texas & Pacific Railroad Depot, the new home of both the Hall and the Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce. All four inductees competed in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, with Teague competing until 1970. “The first time I attended the West of the Pecos Rodeo,” said Teague, 82, “the sun was quite small and there was no moon at all.”
As a tribute to the late bull rider Lane Frost on the 25th anniversary of his death, the Wrangler Network will be honoring Frost with “Remembering Lane, 25 years in 25 days.” The tribute commenced Sunday, July 6, and will conclude on the 25th anniversary of Lane’s death – July 30. Each day, the Wrangler Network will post a tribute piece in honor of Frost at www.WranglerNetwork.com.
Eight-time World Champion Larry Mahan will be joining forces with Estes Park (Colo.) Medical Center Foundation and the Estes Park Western Heritage to help raise research money on “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” night at the Rooftop Rodeo July 9.
During the July 1 performance of the World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz., the organizers paid tribute to the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters who died one year earlier in nearby Yarnell. A moment of silence was observed at the rodeo while the men were individually named on the display board. Brendan McDonough, the lone surviving Granite Mountain Hotshot member, and Amanda Marsh, the widow of Eric Marsh were guests in the Diamond Z English Shire Horses wagon.
Clay Collins, a PRCA bullfighter since 1998 and a three-time selection to work the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (2007-09), retired July 5, effective with the last performance of the Rodeo of the Ozarks, his hometown rodeo in Springdale, Ark. Collins, 41, was nominated for the PRCA Bullfighter of the Year Award in 2007 and 2011.
Bar T Rodeo of Chester, Utah, and veteran PRCA photographer Jim Fain will be inducted into the Utah Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame July 11 in ceremonies on the plaza of Union Station in Ogden, Utah. They are joined in this induction class by Ron and Ginger Brown, Dale Pendleton, James B. Smith and Grant Speed.
The organizers at the Rodeo of the Ozarks in Springdale, Ark., are working on a $13-15 million expansion project that would double the seating capacity at Parsons Stadium to 18,000, while adding a roof and food venues. “We want the facility to reflect our support for the community, for downtown, and for the city of Springdale,” said Jerry Biazo, president of the Rodeo of the Ozarks committee.
Prime Hollywood real estate: Actor Wilford Brimley has listed his 276-acre ranch in Greybull, Wyo. – where he sometimes hosted rodeo events – for $1.25 million and Jane Fonda has put her Forked Lightning Ranch, just south of Santa Fe, N.M., up for sale for $19.5 million. The Forked Lightning property was created in 1925 after the iconic rodeo promoter John “Tex” Austin purchased a series of parcels from the Pecos (N.M.) Pueblo Grant.
Courtesy of PRCA