Herman Linder was a Canadian rancher, rodeo competitor, and rodeo promoter.
Linder was born in the United States in Darlington, Wisconsin on 5 August 1907 to a circus performer who had emigrated from Switzerland. The family later moved to Cardston, Alberta, Canada, where the young Linder began to ride young steers and unbroken horses for amusement. He and his brother, Warner, soon took to rodeoing. The first time he competed at the Calgary Stampede, Linder won the Canadian championships for both the saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding. He soon began to dominate the sport, becoming known as "King of the Cowboys" in the 1930s, winning the Canadian all-round championship seven times, and the North American championship five times in a row.
In 1936, Linder joined 60 other cowboys in staging a rodeo cowboy strike at the Boston Garden. This action led to the birth of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Later, he was involved in the foundation of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. Following his retirement as a competing cowboy, Linder produced rodeo competitions, including one presented at Expo 67 in Montréal, Quebec.
Linder became a member of the (American) National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1980. He was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1955 when it opened. [1] He was made an honorary chief of the Blood Indians. In 1982, he was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. [2]
He died in Cardston, Alberta, on 18 January 2001.
Peter Charles Knight was a Canadian and World Champion Rodeo Bronc Rider. Knight was the acclaimed "King of the Cowboys" of the 1930s, and held the Rodeo Association of America title "World Champion Bronc Rider" for 1932, 1933, 1935, and 1936. The Rodeo Hall of Fame in the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum inducted Knight in 1958. The Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 1998. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, inducted Knight in the Saddle Bronc Riding category when it opened its doors in 1979.
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, present and future." It is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and only inducts Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women's Professional Rodeo Association members. It is the "only museum in the world devoted exclusively to the sport of professional rodeo."
Earl Wesley Bascom was an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, cowboy, rodeo performer, inventor, and Hollywood actor. Raised in Canada, he portrayed in works of fine art his own experiences of cowboying and rodeoing across the American and Canadian West. Bascom was awarded the Pioneer Award by the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2016 and inducted into several halls of fame including the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1984. Bascom was called the "Cowboy of Cowboy Artists," the "Dean of Rodeo Cowboy Sculpture" and the "Father of Modern Rodeo." He was a participant member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
James A. Shoulders, also known as Jim Shoulders, was an American professional rodeo cowboy and rancher. He is commemorated at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. At the time of his death, he was one of the most successful contestants in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), having won 16 World Championships, which was the most of any performer at that time. He was known as the 'Babe Ruth of rodeo'.
Lewis Feild was an American professional rodeo cowboy. He specialized in bareback bronc riding and saddle bronc riding and competed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit. He was the World All-Around Cowboy Champion from 1985 to 1987 at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). He was also the World Bareback Riding Champion from 1985 to 1986. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 1992 in the all-around category.
Billy Etbauer is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in saddle bronc riding. He competed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit along with his two brothers, Robert and Dan. He won the PRCA saddle bronc riding world championship five times.
DonaldGay is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He won eight Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championships, a record as of 2022. His father, Neal Gay, was a well-known rodeo competitor and later rodeo producer and stock contractor. Don was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979; Neal was inducted in 1993, becoming the only father and son to receive that honor. In 2015, Don was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.
Reg Kesler began his rodeo career at the age of 14 at the Raymond Stampede, competing in the boys steer riding. At the time, it was common for cowboys to compete in many or even all the rodeo events, and Kesler was no exception as he grew into his rodeo career. He participated in all five major rodeo events of the time: saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, bull riding, tie-down roping and steer decorating, a precursor to steer wrestling. Kesler especially excelled in the roughstock events, namely saddle bronc riding and bareback riding, appearing in the top four in the Canadian standings in those events six times. He was also a successful competitor in the wild cow milking and wild horse racing, an outrider in the chuckwagon racing, and a well-known pick-up man. Kesler was a ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee.
Daniel Earl Mortensen is an American six-time World Champion saddle bronc rider, and a one-time World Champion all-around cowboy. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) where he won those championships at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 2009.
Martin Roy Wood was a rodeo cowboy from Bowness, Calgary, in the province of Alberta, Canada. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted Wood in 1991. He was also inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1994. Wood died on August 10, 2019, in Pendleton, Oregon.
A stock contractor is an individual or business that provides animals for rodeo competition. Stock contractors supply roughstock - horses for saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding and bulls for the bull riding event, plus steers for steer wrestling and team roping, plus calves for calf roping events. Use of stock contractors who specialize in providing these animals has produced a more uniform range of bucking stock which are also quieter to handle.
Warren Granger "Freckles" Brown was a hall of fame American rodeo cowboy from Wheatland, Wyoming. His career spanned from 1937 to 1974, competing in bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, team roping, and steer wrestling. He was the World Bull Riding Champion in 1962. Brown was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for bull riding in 1979. He was also inducted into the inaugural class of the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2015. Brown was most famous for riding Tornado, who had an undefeated record of 220 riders. Brown was also a close friend and mentor of Lane Frost.
Clay Carr was an American rodeo cowboy who competed in the 1930s and 1940s. He was a two-time All-Around Cowboy champion in the Rodeo Association of America (RAA), and won three season discipline titles: two in steer roping and one in saddle bronc riding. In 1930, he won the All-Around Cowboy title and two season discipline championships to become the first Triple Crown winner in rodeo history. Carr's championships are recognized by the modern Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).
Phil Lyne is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who competed in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA)/Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Lyne was the RCA Rookie of the Year in 1969. Two seasons later at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), in 1971, he won the all-around cowboy world championship and the tie-down roping world championship. At the NFR in 1972, he repeated as the all-around world champion cowboy and added a second tie-down roping world championship. Lyne won his first and only steer roping world championship at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) in 1990. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.
Gene Rambo was an American rodeo cowboy who competed in International Rodeo Association (IRA) events in the 1940s and 1950s. Rambo won the IRA's all-around cowboy season championship four times between 1946 and 1950. He took part in numerous disciplines, including saddle bronc riding, steer roping, steer wrestling, and tie-down roping. Rambo was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1989.
Louis Lee Brooks was an American rodeo cowboy who competed in Rodeo Association of America (RAA) events in the 1940s. During a brief career, Brooks was a two-time All-Around Cowboy champion, winning the honor in consecutive years in 1943 and 1944. In addition, he won four season discipline championships. After his retirement following his second All-Around title, he went into ranching. Brooks was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1991.
Tom Three Persons was a Niitsitapi rodeo athlete and rancher and a member of the Kainai Nation (Blood). Best known for winning the saddle bronc competition at the inaugural Calgary Stampede in 1912. An Indigenous athlete, he was the only Canadian to win a championship at this historic rodeo competition.
Alice Greenough Orr, was an internationally known rodeo performer and rodeo organizer who was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame. She has been described as "hands down the first rodeo queen."
Grated Coconut #G-65 is a Canadian former rodeo bucking horse that was specialized in bareback bronc riding. He was a six-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Bareback Horse of the Year. He was also a six-time Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) Bareback Horse of the Year from. He has been inducted into three halls of fame, including the ProRodeo Hall of Fame of the PRCA, the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame of the CPRA, and the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame of the PRCA-sanctioned Ellensburg Rodeo.
The George Paul Memorial Bull Riding is an annual bull riding event held every spring at the Val Verde County Fairgrounds in Del Rio, Texas, United States. It is held in honor of George Paul, the 1968 Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) World Champion bull rider.