How do we know where we’re going, if we don’t know where we’ve been?  You don’t have to be big to have big dreams.  The community of Dublin , Texas , (population 3,000 plus residents) has that kind of dream and is accomplishing ‘giant steps’ toward the preservation of rodeo history.  A new museum in downtown Dublin , opened in 2003, houses memorabilia, photos and stories pertaining to an important part of rodeo from the 1940s through the 1950s.

            During the late 1930s, after the formation of the Cowboys Turtle Association, the rodeo producer of the day, Colonel W. T. Johnson, was ready to sell out.  Everett Colborn, a well experienced rodeo producer from Blackfoot, Idaho , and his partners purchased the World Championship Rodeo Company and moved it to 14,000 acres near Dublin , Texas .  The Lightning C Ranch, Colborn’s ranch, became the largest ranch in the world devoted entirely to rodeo stock.  Colborn held a rodeo in Dublin beginning in 1940.  By 1946 the Colborn Bowl, a new rodeo arena was built in Dublin .  It boasted of being the largest rodeo arena in the southwest.  After the final performance the cowboys, cowgirls and rodeo stock boarded the Rodeo Train and headed to the Madison Square Garden , a major rodeo during that era.  A stop in Fort Worth to pick up more rodeo people, then a stop in Fort Madison, Iowa, to hold a rodeo, as well as rest the stock from the long train ride, was an annual event.  The Madison Square Garden rodeo grew yearly, finally becoming a 52 performance rodeo.  One every cowboy and cowgirl wanted to make.  Once the New York City rodeo was over the train headed to the Boston Gardens and another historic rodeo.

            Many rodeo greats, movie and music celebrities were part of the Dublin Rodeo history.  In 1942 Gene Autry bought in to the World Championship Rodeo Company, and performed at most of their rodeos.  Others such as the Light Crust Doughboys, Bob Wills, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, The Lone Ranger and Rex Allen, were also performers.  Cowboys and cowgirls, such as Colborn son-in-law, Harry Tompkins, Jim Shoulders, Casey Tibbs, Toots Mansfield and Tad Lucas were always at the rodeos produced by Colborn Rodeo.

            The Dublin Rodeo Heritage Museum needs your support.  They have annual gatherings, including Tribute Dinners and Hall of Fame inductions; sponsor a Memorial Walk which includes a paver with the name of your loved one, as well as newsletters throughout the year.  Contact a museum representative at 254-445-4333 or 254-445-0200 for more information.  (Biography of Everett Colborn)