Louis M. Pearce Jr. (February 17, 1917December 26, 2012) was an American businessman and rancher known for leading the

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG S ...

. Pearce attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

from 1936 to 1939 where he majored in

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. He was honored by the university in 1990 as a Distinguished Alumni. He was an avid

polo player Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

, and trained polo ponies at a ranch in New Mexico for a short time after college. In 1938, he began a commercial cattle operation on land he acquired in Brazoria, Atascosa and

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

Counties in Texas. He also bred 357 registered

Quarter Horses The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...

including AQHA Register of Merit earners, the AQHA Champion Stallion Especial, and 1975 AQHA World Champion Senior Cutting Horse Cricket's Dollye. When asked during an interview how he wanted to be remembered, he said "When it's all said and done, I want to be remembered as a cowboy." Pearce was inducted into both the

AQHA Hall of Fame The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum was created by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas. Ground breaking construction of the Hall of Fame Museum began in 1989. The distinction is earned by people and ...

and

NCHA Members Hall of Fame NCHA Members Hall of Fame was established in 1977 by the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) to honor those members who have demonstrated "through their own efforts and those of the horses they raise" over a period time, their dedication to ...

. Pearce volunteered with the

and was elected to its board of directors in 1961. His role as vice president ran from 1963 to 1965. He spent one year as the show's secretary in 1966. He filled the role of show president from 1967 to 1971. In 1975, the board elected him to serve on the executive committee.

Early life

Pearce was born to Louis Monroe Pearce Sr. and Rosa May Pearce in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. In 1924, his father founded Portable Rotary Rig Company, a company that built steam powered drill rigs at the peak of the oilfield boom in Texas, and from that Waukesha–Pearce Industries Inc. evolved. Pearce attended San Jacinto High School, then moved to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

where he finished high school and furthered his education by attending

Texas Military Institute TMI Episcopal is a private school in San Antonio. Previously known as Texas Military Institute, TMI is a selective coeducational Episcopal college preparatory school with a military tradition in San Antonio, Texas for boarding and day students. ...

(TMI), the oldest Episcopal

college preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

in the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...

, and graduated in 1936. He then attended the

from 1936 to 1939, and majored in

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. After college, he worked for a short time on a ranch in New Mexico where he played

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

and trained polo ponies. In 1940, Pearce enlisted in the

US Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one r ...

where he earned the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. He later attended

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. ...

at Fort Riley, Kansas, and became a commissioned officer. In 1945, he was discharged with the rank of major.

Ranching

In 1938, Pearce started ranching which included raising Braford and

Brangus The Brangus is an American hybrid breed of beef cattle derived from cross-breeding of American Angus and Brahman stock. Registered animals have 5/8 Angus and 3/8 Brahman parentage. A similar hybrid breed, the Australian Brangus, was separately de ...

beef cattle on his ranches in Brazoria, Atascosa and

Counties in Texas. He also bred and raised Quarter Horses for

AQHA The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas, is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse. The association sanctions many competitive eve ...

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

halter A halter or headcollar is headgear that is used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears (behind the poll), and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope is attached. On smaller ...

and various other performance events including

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

. Pearce owned Cricket's Dollye, 1975 AQHA World Champion Sr. Cutting ridden by Sonny Rice of Rosharon, Texas.

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Pearce volunteered with the

for which he also served on the

executive committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

as president and CEO. He remained an active executive committee member until his death in 2012. As a result of his dedication and significant contributions to the event, Pearce became known as "Mr. Houston Livestock Show". There is a bronze statue in Carruth Plaza at

Reliant Park NRG Park, formerly Reliant Park and Astrodomain, is a complex in Houston, named after the energy company NRG Energy. It is located on Kirby Drive at the South Loop West Freeway ( I-610). This complex of buildings encompasses of land and consist ...

titled ''Dreams and Memories'' by sculptor Jim Reno that was dedicated to Pearce in 1986. The statue depicts a young boy standing with his hands on a calf in front of him while looking up a cowboy that bears a striking resemblance to Louis Pearce Jr. sitting on a horse looking down kindly at the boy. The depiction represents the past and future of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The Louis M. Pearce Jr. Board Dining Room at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was also named in his honor.

References

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External links

WPI
American Quarter Horse breeders and trainers Ranchers from Texas Rodeo promoters and managers NCHA Hall of Fame (members) AQHA Hall of Fame (members)