Peter Charles Knight (May 5, 1903 – May 23, 1937) 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 The Rodeo Hall of Fame was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1955. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of cowboys and cowgirls from around the world. The h ...

in the

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Ame ...

inducted Knight in 1958. The

Ellensburg Rodeo The Ellensburg Rodeo opens every Labor Day weekend along with the Kittitas County Fair in Ellensburg, Washington. Started in 1923, the Ellensburg Rodeo has grown from a local competition among ranch hands to the Professional event of today with ...

Hall of Fame inducted Pete in 1998. The

ProRodeo Hall of Fame 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, pr ...

in Colorado Springs, Colorado, inducted Knight in the Saddle Bronc Riding category when it opened its doors in 1979.

Bronc Riding career

Knight won second in a bucking contest a few months after beginning training in 1918.

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

founder

Guy Weadick George Guy Weadick (February 23, 1885 – December 13, 1953) was an American cowboy, performer and promoter. Today, he is best known as the founder of the Calgary Stampede in Alberta, Canada. He was married to famed cowgirl, Florence LaDue. Wead ...

invited him to compete at the Stampede, which he did in 1924, winning second place in the Canadian Bucking Horse Championship event by 1/10 of a point. He toured with the Alberta Stampede Company, riding Midnight for the first time in October 1926 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. He won the 1927 Canadian and North American Open bucking championships and was awarded the Prince of Wales' Cup. At the 1930 Calgary Stampede, Knight won the Canadian Championship Bucking event for the second time, and weeks later, won the 1930 bucking event at the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

Frontier Days Rodeo. In 1931, Knight won the World Series Rodeo bucking event held in Madison Square Garden, New York City, and was chosen to compete against three other riders (the bucking event winners of the 1931 Rodeos at Calgary,

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Pendleton ...

, and Cheyenne) for the

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

Trophy, which Knight won at

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

in the Ride of Champions event held in June 1932. He went on to win the bucking event at the 1932

Pendleton Round-Up The Pendleton Round-Up is a major annual rodeo in the northwestern United States, at Pendleton in northeastern Oregon. Held at the Pendleton Round-Up Stadium during the second full week of September each year since 1910, the rodeo brings roug ...

in Pendleton, Oregon. Knight entered the Calgary Stampede in 1933, again winning both the North American Open Bucking Championship and the Canadian Championship Bucking event, and was presented with the Prince of Wales' Cup for perpetuity. Later in 1933, Knight won the bucking event held at the

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

Rodeo in Chicago. Later that year, Wilf Carter recorded "Pete Knight, The King of the Cowboys." The same year, Knight performed screen tests and rode bucking horses in movies for

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

at Los Angeles. In 1934, Knight was invited to ride in England with the

Tex Austin Tex may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tex (nickname), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname * Joe Tex (1933–1982), stage name of American soul singer Joseph Arrington Jr. Entertainment * ''Tex'', the Italian ...

Rodeo Troupe. Later in 1934, Knight was invited to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, where he rode in the Stewart McColl pageant with fellow rider

Yakima Canutt Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing t ...

. The

Rodeo Association of America Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaq ...

(RAA) named Knight the World Champion Bronc Rider for 1932, 1933, 1935, and 1936. At the Rodeo held in Boston Gardens in 1936, Knight helped organize the Cowboy strike, becoming a founding member of the Cowboys Turtle Association (CTA) in 1936. On May 23, 1937, Knight was trampled to death by a horse called "Duster", at the Hayward Rodeo in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He was buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview near Hayward; his remains were later reinterred in 1960 at the Greenwood cemetery in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

. Pete Knight's cups, trophies, saddles and buckles became a permanent fixture at the

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, US. In his hometown of Crossfield, Alberta, the town named its arena in honor of Pete Knight, and holds an annual "Pete Knight Days Rodeo".

Honors

* Cowboy Country Television Trailblazers * 1998

Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame The Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame is a cowboy hall of fame. The hall of fame for the Ellensburg Rodeo was established in 1997. The hall of fame writes a biography for each inductee in a permanent file. It also collects and stores inductee rodeo ...

* 1981

Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame The Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame (CPRHF) was founded in 1979 to honour and distinguish outstanding contestants, builders, and animals in the Canadian rodeo arena. Inductees are qualified by the Canadian Rodeo Historical Association. The C ...

* 1980

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, dedicated to the preservation and history of sports within the province. It was created in 1957 by the Alberta Amateur Athletic Union (AAAU). The museum ...

* 1979

* 1971

Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame The Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame, is a hall of fame located in Pendleton, Oregon, United States. Begun in 1969, it was the first hall of fame started by an individual show, the Pendleton Round-Up. Exhibits focus on show m ...

* 1958

- National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

References

* Faulknor, Cliff (1977) '' Turn Him Loose! '', Western Producer Prairie Books * Gunderson, Harald (1996) '' The Linder Legend '', Sagebrush Publishing, Calgary * Kennedy, Fred (1952) '' The Calgary Stampede Story '', T. Edward Thonger Publications, Calgary * Kennedy, Fred (1972) '' Alberta Was My Beat '', The Albertan Publishing Corp., Calgary * Knight, Darrell (2004) '' Pete Knight - The Cowboy King '', Deteselig Publishing, Calgary * Kroetsch, Robert (1986) '' Seed Catalogue '', Turnstone Press, Winnipeg * MacEwan, Grant (1952) '' Between the Red and the Rockies '', University of Toronto Press, Toronto {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Pete 1903 births 1937 deaths Burials at Lone Tree Cemetery (Fairview, California) Sportspeople from Alberta People from Rocky View County ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Saddle bronc riders Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductees Alberta Sports Hall of Fame inductees