story by Lily Weinacht
Marty Byrne of Wickenburg, Arizona, judged his first GCPRA rodeo in 2012, but he’s seen and worked nearly every aspect of rodeo production since his childhood. A second generation rodeo judge and saddle bronc rider, the 53-year-old grew up helping his family raise bucking horses and put on rodeos through his uncle’s stock contracting business, Byrne Ranch Rodeo Company. “My first job around those rodeos as a little kid was picking up any of the flank straps the pickup men dropped. I was paid $5 per rodeo,” Marty recalls. “I helped run the roughstock and timed event chutes, sort cattle and horses – pretty much anything that needed done.”
The family travelled extensively through Wyoming, South Dakota, and the stock contracting company’s home state of Montana. Marty studied at a technical school in South Dakota and worked as a certified auto mechanic at a Ford dealership, but moved south to Arizona in 1985. “I came down here rodeoing and decided I sweat better than I shiver, so I never went home!” Marty explains. He met his wife, Lisa, in Wickenburg and bid the roughstock chutes farewell by the time he was 30, focusing instead on team roping as a heeler, which he’d done since he was a kid. He worked on ranches all across the state until 2004, while his judging career began around 2000, starting with open rodeos. “I went on to judge some IPRA rodeos when Jim Bob Custer had bucking stock, and I got into it strong with the GCPRA when my son graduated from high school in 2013 and we weren’t high school rodeoing anymore.”
Marty’s son, Dawson, is a saddle bronc rider in the GCPRA, while Marty continues to judge AHSRA rodeos, several college rodeos, ranch rodeos, and even the NLBRA finals in Guthrie, Oklahoma, this summer. “I filled out an application for judging the NLBFR at their booth at the WNFR, and they called me in January saying I had the job. I did Little Britches as a kid in South Dakota, and it’s a good association and a good experience. We also hauled horses to Oklahoma for people and back from Texas on the way home.” With such a wide variety of ages and skill levels to judge, Marty explains youth rodeos are often more challenging. “High school and youth rodeos make you patient – you’ll see things you don’t normally find in professional rodeo because those kids are still learning, so you have to be patient with your flag and wait to see how things are going to happen. On the other hand, you never know who you’ll see in the GCPRA team roping here – it could be Jake Barnes, Aaron Tsinigine, or Erich Rogers. And I work with a really good group of judges that are knowledgeable and fair – they’re a good bunch of guys.”
Lisa, a longtime roper and a rodeo timer, travels with Marty as often as she can, timing many of the rodeos he judges, including the GCPRA finals. She works as a mail carrier during the week, while Marty has been an insurance agent for American National Insurance since 2008. “I sell all types of insurance, but because of my background, my biggest focus is agricultural and equine,” he says. “Our family has a boat that we take to the lake whenever we have a chance, but September and most of the fall I have a rodeo to judge every weekend. All together, I’ll probably judge 30 rodeos this year.” Marty practices at a friend’s house as often as he can, and frequently finds ropings to enter on the way or coming home from rodeos he’s judging. “I’m trying to qualify for the NTR finals here in Wickenburg, and I’d also like to qualify for the WSTR finals,” he finishes. “As far as judging, I’m happy right where I am!”
