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 A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

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 Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

, and only inducts

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...

(PRCA) and

Women's Professional Rodeo Association The Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) is one of the largest rodeo sanctioning bodies in the world and is open exclusively to women eighteen years of age and older. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Association current ...

(WPRA) members. It is the "only museum in the world devoted exclusively to the sport of professional rodeo."

Inductees

Since the Hall’s opening in 1979, 294 people, 38 livestock, and 32 rodeo committees have been inducted. More than 100 individuals are nominated each year, but only a few are selected. For a complete list of inductees, see List of ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees. Notable inductees include:

Humans

Jim Shoulders James A. Shoulders (May 13, 1928 – June 20, 2007) was an American professional rodeo cowboy and rancher. He is commemorated at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, ProRodeo Hall of Fame. At the time of his death, he was one of the most successful cont ...

, won 16 world championships * Chris LeDoux, 1970s professional rodeo cowboy and country music star, won a bareback riding world championship *

Ty Murray Ty Monroe Murray (born October 11, 1969), is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He competed in the three "roughstock" events; bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. He won nine world championships in the Profe ...

, seven-time all-around world champion, two-time bull riding world champion * Tuff Hedeman, three-time bull riding world champion * Charlie Sampson, first African-American world champion rodeo cowboy * Larry Mahan, six-time all-around world champion *

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III ( ; born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 75th List of governors of North Carolina, governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

, won six tie-down roping world championships * Charmayne James, was an 11-time WPRA world champion barrel racer and seven-time NFR barrel racing average champion *

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens took up acting, and appeared in dozens of movies and TV sho ...

, actor/rodeo clown * Ben Johnson, steer roper/Oscar-winning actor * Lane Frost, 1987 world champion bull rider, won seven-match Challenge of the Champions with bull Red Rock * Casey Tibbs, saddle bronc rider/actor *

Don Gay Donald ("Don" or "Donnie") Gay (born September 18, 1953) is an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He won eight Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championships; a record as of 2024. His ...

, eight-time bull riding world champion * Lewis Feild, three-time all-around world champion, two-time bareback riding world champion * Fred Whitfield, eight-time tie-down roping world champion * Trevor Brazile, won 26 world championships, the most of any PRCA contestant

Horses

* Steamboat, a gelding bronc, was inducted 1979; he is the model of the

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

state

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

, Bucking Horse and Rider, with the rider having been Clayton Danks, a

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

native who died in 1970 in Thermopolis, Wyoming * Scamper,

barrel racing Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur an ...

, was inducted in 1996 * Star Plaudit “Red”, a barrel racing horse, won two world championships in a single season *

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

, a saddle bronc, was inducted in 1979 * Gray Wolf, sire, many of the best bucking horses today descend from Gray Wolf, inducted in 2016 * War Paint, a saddle bronc, was three-time bucking horse of the year, and inducted in 2011 * Descent, a saddle bronc, despite an injury at the beginning of the '70s, returned to win his fifth and sixth bucking horse of the year award, and was inducted in 1979 * Scottie,

steer wrestling Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it fall ...

, chestnut gelding, was able to take three cowboys to four world championships. Many liked him because he did not tire easily, enabling multiple cowboys to show him in quick succession

Bulls

* Skoal Pacific Bell,

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

, only ridden five times in 150 outs, he also was the only three-time PRCA world champion bull in history, and was inducted in 2007 * Bodacious, bull riding, was one of two bulls to win the PBR and PRCA world champion and the inaugural champion bull of the PBR, inducted in 1999 * Crooked Nose, was the only fighting bull inducted, loved by fans and dreaded by bullfighters, and inducted in 1990 * Red Rock, unridden in 309 outs in his pro rodeo career (though he was ridden by Lane Frost in 1988, it was not actually a PRCA-sanctioned event), inducted in 1990 * Old Spec, ridden seven times in 350 outs, was inducted in 1979 *

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

, in 300 outs, only eight riders rode him, including

three times (twice he was ridden for 97 points), he then became a legend in breeding. In fact, the renowned

Bushwacker Bushwhacker, Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare during the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and American Civil War. Bushwhacker(s), Bushwacker(s), or Bushwhacking may also refer to: * Bushwacker (bull), #13/6, hall of fame bucki ...

and many other great bulls came from Oscar. He was also featured in the Disney documentary film, '' The Great American Cowboy'', and was inducted in 1979 *

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

, bucking off 220 cowboys before being ridden by

Freckles Brown Warren Granger "Freckles" Brown (January 18, 1921 – March 20, 1987) 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 ...

, was inducted in 1979

Pioneer Award

* Earl W. Bascom, recipient of the Pioneer Award 2016, was a rodeo-equipment inventor, world record time holder, actor, and artist/sculptor.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prorodeo Hall Of Fame ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Rodeo in the United States Cowboy halls of fame Rodeo halls of fame

Rodeo 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 vaqu ...

Sports museums in Colorado Museums in Colorado Springs, Colorado Museums established in 1979 1979 establishments in Colorado Sports hall of fame inductees Awards established in 1979