Back When They Bucked Archives

Back When They Bucked

Back When They Bucked with Ken Adams

In 1957, Ken Adams was the year-end NIRA Bull Riding Champion. The Arizona cowboy qualified four times for the CNFR and competed there twice when it was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As a college student on a shoestring budget, he used his winnings to buy books while attending Arizona…

Back When They Bucked with ProRodeo Hall of Fame

courtesy of PRCA, photos by Rodeo News Stars converged at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame Saturday as a new class was enshrined into the prestigious Hall. Randy Corley, a 12-time PRCA Announcer of the Year, joined five world champions to headline the 12-member 2017 induction class. Corley, along with gold…

Back When They Bucked with Kenny Pfeifer

Kenny Pfeifer is always on the move. In his earlier days, it was on horseback, whether training horses, or riding broncs and bulls in the ICA and RCA. Today, he’s entering his 45th year as a business owner, operating Western States Movers, LLC, out of Nampa, Idaho, and staying involved…

Back When They Bucked with Frank Beard

On the wall in the meeting room at the Sisters, Ore., Pro Rodeo hangs a bull’s head, a testament to a man and his family’s way of life. That bull, Cuddles, was one of many bucking bulls and horses owned by Frank Beard, of Beard Rodeo Co. Frank got his…

Back When They Bucked with Pat Litton

Pat Litton was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her dad was an ex-farmer that worked for the state and had a garbage route. “He later went into construction with his dump trucks and helped build airports during the war,” explained the 88-year-old from Gillette, Wyo. “We traveled all over. I went…

Back When They Bucked with Logan Adams

story by Merrill A. Ellis Logan Adams grew up in a rural Texas community. Actually, he was born on his grandparent’s Carpenter Ranch which is nestled outside of the Texas Hill Country town of Medina. His other grandparent’s ranch on the Adams side of the family was just down the…

Back When They Bucked with Betty Sims Solt

Today’s cowgirls don’t know the debt they owe Betty Sims Solt. The New Mexico cowgirl was on the front lines, working to make opportunities for girls and women in rodeo. At a college rodeo, Solt won the girls’ all-around title, and received a ten dollar watch for her efforts, while…

Back When They Bucked with Pat Ommert

Laces tied snug, tennis shoe cowgirl Pat North Ommert made hundreds of laps around as many arenas throughout the United States from the 1940s to the 1960s, dazzling crowds with her signature one-foot stand and vivid smile. The trick rider, jockey, and stunt double from California traveled and performed extensively,…

Back When They Bucked with “Cody” Bill Smith

All Bill Smith ever wanted to do was ride bucking horses, and be like his heroes, the Linderman boys. Smith, a three-time world champion saddle bronc rider, got to fulfill both of his childhood dreams. The cowboy was born in 1941 in Red Lodge, Montana, and grew up north of…

Back When They Bucked with Larry Trenary

Larry Trenary was “hungry” to rope, and it showed. The Arthur, Nebraska cowboy spent the best days of his life, roping with his sons, Bret and Troy. He was born in 1939, the son of Elza and Erma Trenary, both teachers, who lived five and a half miles north of…

Back When They Bucked with Jim Ivory

Jim Ivory admits he’s a gypsy, and that’s part of what has made him enjoy the rodeo world. The cowboy, who grew up in northern California rode bareback horses at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) four times, and has worked behind the scenes at rodeos across the world. He was…

Back When They Bucked with Phil “Hatch” Hatcher

story by Judy Goodspeed “Going down a cotton row with a hoe or pulling a sack gave me the desire to do better. My dad was disabled from a stroke, but back then there was no such thing as a monthly check. The only solution was all ten of us…