Legendary Cowboy, Clint Corey, Giving Back to The Sport

As the 52nd International Finals Rodeo (IFR) is underway at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie
Oklahoma, one particular former world champion bareback rider is giving back to the
association he began in 40 years ago.

Clint Corey holds two world championships in bareback riding, the first being in 1982 in the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) and the second being in 1991 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Clint began his rodeo career in 1981 in the IPRA at the Canadian rodeo in Toronto in September and qualified for his first IFR by the end of the year in which he won the IFR Average that year.

The IFR finals are always held the following year in January for the previous year season and at that time was in Tulsa Oklahoma. Clint went on to clinch a world title in the 1982 season and the National Champion Bareback rider in 1983, all together qualifying for 3 IFR events before jumping over to the PRCA in 1984.

Clint Corey, also known as the nicest guy in rodeo, went on to have a very successful career as
a bareback rider being one of the few to hold a world title and average title in both associations.

He was considered the most consistently winning bareback of his time and being the 8th
cowboy to win a million dollars in all of rodeo at that time. Clint’s career highlights include
qualifying to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas 18 times, (1 behind his good
friend Bruce Ford who holds the record of 19 NFR qualifications) and with 17 being consecutive years in which he considers a great accomplishment in one of the most physically demanding events in rodeo. Being the PRCA bareback world champion in 1991, winning the NFR average in 2001, 3 Dodge National Circuit Finals championships, along with winning the Columbia River Circuit year end finals 12 times consecutively and 8 average titles are just a few of his career highlights.

During his 18 year career in the PRCA he also won 5 Ellensburg buckles, 4 Reno Rodeo titles (3 consecutive) 2 Houston titles, San Antonio, Fort Worth and the list goes on. “But the best thing I loved about my career were the guys I got to travel with like CR Kemple, Matt Weishoff, Wally Terry, Pat Price, Mark Garret and so many others that have been lifelong friendships.

“We are family and that’s what you take with you when your rodeo career is over”

clint corey

We are family and that’s what you take with you when your rodeo career is over” said Corey. In 2004 Clint hung up his spurs and retired while also getting inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, CO.

Since his retirement Clint has put on rodeo clinics, worked with college rodeo teams and judging in various professional rodeo associations along with high school and college rodeos. He was the judging director for the PRCA for 5 years which he feels gives him an advantage when helping athletes as he can get very precise on what the judges are looking for from the athlete and the animal.

“To be here this year judging the IFR and seeing great guys I rodeo’d with brings my rodeo career to a full circle. I am honored and humbled that they selected me for this year.”

clint corey

This year is the first year for him to judge the IFR and is a special one given it’s where he began
his career 40 years ago. “To be here this year judging the IFR and seeing great guys I rodeo’d
with brings my rodeo career to a full circle. I am honored and humbled that they selected me for this year” said Corey. His passion to judge and give his time back into the sport that was so
good to him far outweighs any horse that ever bucked him off which was very few. There are so
many great stories about Clint and what an exceptional person he is even the Queens love him
as evidenced by the photo where they captured a moment in time passing in the hallway of the
Lazy E Arena.

The IFR is streaming on Wrangler Network at www.wranglernetwork.com with the final go round on Sunday January 16th.