NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM AND RODEO HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO CELEBRATE RODEO LEGENDS AT ANNUAL RODEO HALL OF FAME WEEKEND

[Oklahoma City, August 20, 2024] – Since 1955, the National Rodeo Hall of Fame, located at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, has been dedicated to honoring and memorializing the legacy of great competitors in rodeo and its related professions.

That tradition will continue as rodeo icons are recognized at the upcoming Rodeo Hall of Fame Weekend presented by The Dellora A. and Lester J. Norris Foundation. The celebration will take place at The National Cowboy Museum on November 8-9, 2024, with honorees being inducted into the distinguished National Rodeo Hall of Fame. The Tad Lucas Memorial Award and the Ben Johnson Memorial Award recipients will also be honored.

Inductions and awards are sponsored and selected by the Rodeo Historical Society, an organization under the auspices of the Museum whose worldwide members share an interest in preserving both rodeo history and the sport itself.

The selection process begins with the Rodeo Historical Society Committee and is then voted on by the Rodeo Historical Society members. Membership supports the Museum’s rodeo programs, including research, an ongoing oral history project, acquisition of materials for the American Rodeo Gallery and the National Rodeo Hall of Fame, which is a leading destination for rodeo and Western culture enthusiasts.

“We are delighted to celebrate rodeo every year by honoring the incredible men and women who helped make it an institution in America and across the world,” said Pat Fitzgerald, President and CEO of the Museum. “Their remarkable achievements have profoundly shaped the rodeo industry, and we look forward to commemorating their stories over the historic weekend.”

The Rodeo Hall of Fame Class of 2024 in both the Living and Deceased categories includes:

LIVING:

Mack Altizer

Jane Mayo Bondurant

Reg Camarillo

Leon Coffee

Flint Rasmussen

Dollie Beutler Riddle & Vickie Beutler Shireman

DECEASED:

Nancy Binford (1921-1998)& Thena Mae Farr (1927-1985)

Walt LaRue (1918-2010)

Each year, the family of trick-riding legend Tad Lucas bestows the Tad Lucas Memorial Award upon a living female whose actions promote the values represented by Tad Lucas. This year, the recipient of the award is photographer Sue Rosoff.

The Ben Johnson Memorial Award winner is chosen by past living recipients of the award and supported by the Museum’s Rodeo Committee to honor a living individual who represents the Western lifestyle as exemplified by screen and rodeo legend Ben Johnson. This year, the recipient of the award is 26-time PRCA World Champion Trevor Brazile.

In addition, Justin McKee, television host, radio announcer and professional steer roper, will join the Rodeo Historical Society’s Board of Directors.

All inductees and honorees are recognized during the Rodeo Hall of Fame Weekend, which includes a Champions’ Dinner, Induction Ceremony and Benefit Auction, Inductee Panel Discussion, and Rope ‘N’ Ride Cocktail Reception. For sponsorship or reservation information, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org/rodeo-historical-society/rodeo-hall-of-fame-weekend/.

About the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum:
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City is America’s premier institution of Western history, art and culture. Founded in 1955, the Museum collects, preserves and exhibits an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts while sponsoring dynamic educational programs to stimulate interest in the enduring legacy of the American West. The Museum is located only six miles northeast of downtown Oklahoma City at 1700 Northeast 63^rd Street. For more information, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.

About the Rodeo Historical Society:

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Rodeo Historical Society helps preserve and interpret the history of rodeo in the American West for the education and enrichment of its diverse audiences. For more information, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org/rodeo-historical-society/.

Inductee and Honoree Bios:

MACK ALTIZER
STOCK CONTRACTOR, TIE DOWN (CALF) ROPING, STEER ROPING, TEAM ROPING & STEER WRESTLING (ALL AROUND COWBOY)

Mack Altizer was born August 27, 1957, and lives in Del Rio, Texas. Growing up in a rodeo family, he competed in all timed events and won his first championship in 1973, taking both the calf-roping and All-Around titles at the American Junior Rodeo Association (AJRA) finals. The 1976 National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) calf-roping champion, Altizer was named president of the AJRA from 1976 to 1977. In 1980, he became president of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), the same year he formed Bad Company Rodeo, where he unveiled several innovations to the sport. Insisting that Bad Company be as fair as possible to every contestant, Altizer kept charts tracking the performance of rodeo stock, replacing any that didn’t measure up. He also featured events set to music, with ingenious soundtracks accompanying each Bad Company Rodeo, and his marketing plan included meeting with rodeo committees to share ideas to improve their rodeos. Named stock contractor of the year for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), Altizer’s other honors include Legacy of the West Trailblazer, 2022; Bull Riding Hall of Fame, 2021; Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019; and the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame, 2011. Altizer’s rodeo innovation and knowledge have contributed greatly to the sport of rodeo.

---

JANE MAYO BONDURANT
Barrel Racing, Tie-Down (Calf) Roping, Team Roping, Bronc Riding, Bulldogging

Jane Mayo Bondurant was born January 1, 1937, to a family that ranched near Okemah, Oklahoma. She began competing in barrel racing, calf roping, team roping, bronc riding and bulldogging at junior rodeos, then joined the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA, now the WPRA) in 1955. Bondurant was the team tying champion in 1957, 1958 and 1959, and won the GRA All-Around in 1959. Her barrel racing championship at the first National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 1959, followed by two more consecutive barrel-racing championships in 1960 and 1961, made her a legend. Bondurant won all three-barrel racing championships on V’s Sandy, her horse bred from Oklahoma Star, Jr. and a Quarter Horse by the name of Adonna. Her hometown of Okemah declared April 23, 1961, “Jane Mayo Day.” In total, Bondurant competed for 12 years (1949 to 1961) and authored the seminal book Championship Barrel Racing in 1961 to help expand the popularity of the sport. Named to the Wrangler NFR’s list of the “60 Greatest of All Time,” Bondurant has donated several items to the Museum’s rodeo collection to help keep the history of rodeo alive. She currently lives in Durant, Oklahoma.

---

REG CAMARILLO
Team Roping, Steer Roping, Tie-Down (Calf) Roping

Reginald “Reg” Camarillo was born February 20, 1945, and grew up in California, where he learned to rope alongside his cousins Leo and Jerold Camarillo. After returning from a two-year Army stint in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968, Reg and Leo Camarillo became team-roping partners and began a nine-year run at the NFR. The two won the NFR average three consecutive years in a row (1969, 1970 and 1971), and in 1975, Reg and Jerold Camarillo won the NFR average again. Reg Camarillo also won at Phoenix, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California; Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Salt Lake City, Utah; Cody, Wyoming and more. Elected to be an NFR team-roping judge for seven years, Camarillo was part of the “Camarillo Trio” who changed the game by introducing dally-style team roping — in place of the tied-run style — to the world of rodeo. The Camarillos were asked to give private lessons on their team-roping theory and fundamentals to important rodeo dignitaries, and soon they hosted team-roping schools throughout the U.S. and Canada that helped make team-roping a global phenomenon. Leo Camarillo said of him, “Reg was both a revolutionary competitor and leader, with integrity and passion, who was always willing to take future champions under his wing.” Today, Reg Camarillo lives in Fresno, California.

---

LEON COFFEE
Rodeo Clown, Bullfighter

Leon Coffee was born September 11, 1954. He began his rodeo career riding bulls, but his humor and bullfighting ability overrode his desire to compete in the arena. Coffee initially began bullfighting and clowning with Mike Moore — the duo were called Salt & Pepper — along with his mule Matilda, who was part of his act. Named the PRCA Clown of the Year in 1983, and among the top three for this honor from 1984 to 2001, Coffee worked many of the top PRCA rodeos for years, but with longevity came injuries: 14 knee surgeries and 133 broken bones. A Wrangler Bullfight Tour finalist from 1980 to 1985 and a 1999 Wrangler Bullfight Tour barrelman, Coffee worked the Texas Circuit Finals for eight years, the Canadian Finals in 1985 and 1986 and he was a National Circuit Finals barrelman in 1987. A Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee in 2005 and a ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee in 2018, Coffee is one of only three individuals to be both a National Finals barrelman and bullfighter. Outside of the arena, Coffee has appeared in the films 8 Seconds, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys and Jericho and has been featured in Texas Monthly and on CBS Mornings television. Grand marshal of the 2023 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo parade, Coffee announced his retirement at the end of the 2024 Houston rodeo. A U.S. Army veteran, he lives in Blanco, Texas.

---

FLINT RASMUSSEN
Rodeo Clown, Barrelman, Entertainer

Flint Rasmussen was born January 25, 1968, and grew up in Choteau, Montana, where he was an all-state football and track star in high school. An honor student at the University of Montana Western with a double major in history and math, Rasmussen taught school in Havre, Montana, before joining the PRCA in 1994 as a rodeo clown. An eight-time PRCA Clown of the Year and seven-time Coors Man in the Can, Rasmussen was an NFR barrelman eight times, making his first appearance in 1998, and a three-time Canadian Finals Rodeo clown. He worked many major PRCA rodeos including the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in Denver, Colorado; Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming; the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; the Reno Rodeo in Reno, Nevada; and the Pendleton Roundup in Pendleton, Oregon. In addition, Rasmussen served as the Official Entertainer for PBR from 2006 to 2023 and was featured at the PBR World Finals a total of 26 times. Since 2004, Rasmussen has hosted “Outside the Barrel” at the NFR and has a large following on his weekly “According to Flint” podcast. He also hosts programming on the new “Wild Rides” TV channel, and, in 2023, he became a full-time PBR commentator and sideline reporter for broadcasts on CBS and Merit Street Media.  However, Rasmussen is most proud of his family, especially his two daughters Shelby and Paige, who were both on the 2021 Montana State Women’s National Championship Rodeo Team. Today, Rasmussen lives in Fort Worth, Texas.        

---

DOLLIE BEUTLER RIDDLE & VICKIE BEUTLER SHIREMAN
Rodeo Secretaries and Timers, Trick Riding

Born into the famed Beutler rodeo family of Elk City, Oklahoma, Dollie Beutler Riddle (b. 7/26/1950) and Vickie Beutler Shireman (b. 8/27/1951) are the daughters of Jiggs and Una Beutler. They grew up in the rodeo office alongside their mother, Una, who was rodeo secretary for Beutler & Son Rodeo. At age 14, Dollie became a trick-rider, which she did at major rodeos from 1965 to 1979. Vickie also learned to trick ride but gave it up after breaking her back in an accident. Both Beutlers learned how to precisely secretary and time rodeos from their mother, with Dollie serving as timer at the NFR five times and assistant secretary twice. Vickie served as NFR secretary exactly 20 years after their mother in 1972, and she has gone on to mentor several individuals who themselves have become PRCA timers and secretaries. Dollie was named NIRA Secretary of Year; Prairie Circuit Secretary of the Year; grand marshal of Nebraska’s Big Rodeo at Burwell, Nebraska; Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee and a 60-year secretary for Beutler & Son. Vickie was named 1997 PRCA Secretary of the Year; WPRA Secretary of the Year twice; NIRA Secretary of the Year; Western Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee; 20-time Prairie Circuit Finals secretary and an NFR timer, secretary or office manager 29 times. Together, the Beutler sisters have dedicated their lives to rodeo.

---

DECEASED
NANCY BINFORD (1921–1998) & THENA MAE FARR (1927–1985)
Founders, Girls Rodeo Association

Frustrated that women had largely been forced out of active competition in roughstock and timed events (except for barrel racing) by rodeo producers of the day, Nancy Binford and Thena Mae Farr founded the Girls Rodeo Association, which eventually led to female rodeo athletes earning winnings equal to their male counterparts. Binford was born in 1921 and was raised on a 10,000-acre ranch near Wildorado, Texas. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech in 1943, she taught physical education for a year before returning to the ranch and competing in various rodeos. Farr was born in 1927 and grew up near Seymour, Texas. She began riding with her father at age two and was competing in barrel racing and cutting horse contests by age 10. Discouraged by the lack of rodeo competition for women, as well as the fact that female rodeo contestants were awarded gifts instead of prize money, Binford and Farr held the Tri-State All Girl Rodeo in Amarillo, Texas, in 1947, which drew record crowds to the Tri-State Fairgrounds. The following year in San Angelo, Texas, Binford and Farr led efforts to establish the Girls Rodeo Association, which changed its name to the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) in 1981. In 1985, the WPRA became the first women’s sports association to achieve equal pay for male and female athletes. Today, the WPRA is the nation’s oldest female sports association, and the only one governed by women. Both Binford and Farr have been inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

---

WALT LaRUE (1918–2010)
Bareback, Bull Riding

Walter “Walt” LaRue was born in Canada in 1918 to American parents. As a child he came to the United States and lived most of his life in California, working as a guide and packer in the Sierra Nevadas and Rocky Mountains. Later, he gained experience working as a ranch hand. From 1942 to 1954, LaRue participated in roughstock events at rodeos throughout the United States including the Madison Square Garden Rodeo in New York; California Rodeo Salinas in Salinas, California; the Los Angeles Rodeo in Los Angeles, California; the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in Denver, Colorado, and many more. A Cowboys Turtle Association member (#1848), LaRue was also a Rodeo Cowboy Association (RCA) member and PRCA gold card holder. Aside from ranch work and rodeo, LaRue’s ability on horseback led him to find work in Hollywood as a stuntman and bit actor during the heyday of Westerns. He doubled for Gabby Hayes, Audie Murphy and others, appearing as either stuntman or actor in more than 50 film projects. A natural storyteller, musician and artist, LaRue produced fine art and drew covers for the RCA’s Buckboard magazine for eight years and cartoons for Western Horseman, plus advertisements for Levi Strauss. Recipient of an American Cowboy Culture Award in 2004 and a lifetime member of the Stuntman Association of Motion Pictures, LaRue was honored with the Golden Boot Award in 2007 and performed musically throughout the Los Angeles area before his death in 2010 at age 91.

---

TAD LUCAS MEMORIAL AWARD
SUE ROSOFF

Southern California native Sue Rosoff, a prominent American photographer who studied under Ansel Adams, is known for her compelling work documenting rodeo culture. Her photography vividly captures the intensity and drama of rodeo events and is distinguished by her ability to convey the raw energy and emotional depth of the sport. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, her interest in rodeo started as a master’s thesis and turned into a collaboration with Growney Brothers Rodeo Company that named, promoted and documented the famous Challenge of Champions between bull rider Lane Frost and champion bull Red Rock. Rosoff spent years traveling the rodeo circuit. Her images often highlight the relationships between rodeo participants, their animals, and the environment, providing a nuanced view of the culture and lifestyle surrounding rodeos.

---

BEN JOHNSON MEMORIAL AWARD
TREVOR BRAZILE

Born November 16, 1976, in Amarillo, Texas, Trevor Brazile is a semi-retired American rodeo champion who holds the record for the most PRCA world championship titles with 26. He also holds the record for the most all-around cowboy world champion titles at 14. In 2008, Brazile became the first PRCA cowboy to cross the $3 million mark in career earnings. Brazile won the all-around world championship in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 through 2015, and in 2018. Brazile announced his retirement from full-time rodeo at the end of the 2018 NFR. Brazile has been married since 2001 to Shada Cooper, the daughter of ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowboy Roy Cooper, who mentored Brazile early in his rodeo career. They live in Decatur, Texas, with their three children.

---

RODEO HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEW BOARD MEMBER
JUSTIN McKEE

A well-known rodeo announcer, television host and professional steer roper, Justin McKee has built a life around rodeo and the Western way of life. Raised south of Edna, Kansas, near the Oklahoma state line, at age 7 McKee sold his first animal at his family’s livestock auction. In 1993, he joined the PRCA as a steer roper and announcer, and he has done both at some of the biggest professional rodeos in North America including the Pendleton Round-up, Calgary Stampede, Ellensburg and St. Paul rodeos and Cheyenne Frontier Days. In fact, McKee holds the arena record for steer roping at Cheyenne, with a 10.1-second run in 2004 that still stands 20 years later. In 1994, McKee began hosting PBR broadcasts on CBS, FOX, NBC, Outdoor Life and Versus, bringing the action to millions of homes and earning the nickname “the voice of the PBR” for 16 years. These days, McKee is a familiar presence on The Cowboy Channel and RFD TV. In addition to his broadcast career, McKee and his wife, Jeannie, have long raised bucking stock, Quarter Horses and beef cattle on their ranch near Lenapah, Oklahoma. McKee has also served as a pastor and volunteered his talents to help produce the inductee videos featured during the National Rodeo Hall of Fame ceremonies held annually at the National Cowboy Museum. Recently, the McKees relocated from Lenapah to Hico, Texas, to be closer to both the Cowboy Channel studios and Tarleton State University, where their daughter, Kassidy, attends college.

---

About the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum:
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City is America’s premier institution of Western history, art and culture. Founded in 1955, the Museum collects, preserves and exhibits an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts while sponsoring dynamic educational programs to stimulate interest in the enduring legacy of the American West. The Museum is located only six miles northeast of downtown Oklahoma City at 1700 Northeast 63^rd Street. For more information, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.

About the Rodeo Historical Society:

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Rodeo Historical Society helps preserve and interpret the history of rodeo in the American West for the education and enrichment of its diverse audiences. For more information, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org/rodeo-historical-society/.