As a perfect summer day on the front range in Colorado Springs began to heat up,
and the magnificent Rocky Mountains loomed over the ProRodeo Hall of Fame the
garden area was teaming with well-wishers, family and friends of the five cowboys that
were inducted to the Hall of Fame. It was Saturday, July 17th and the tent which kept the
sun from everyone’s eyes overflowed with cowboys and cowgirls as the ceremony began
and the inductees came down the main aisle to the front of the crowd. Rob Smets, former
multiple-time champion bullfighter and now a successful rodeo announcer, was master of
ceremonies. After the invocation was given by Grant Adkisson of the Fellowship of
Christian Cowboys, and the National Anthem was sung by Susie Dobbs, Nashville
Recording Artist, Smets introduced each inductee. Following his words a brief video was
presented of each inductee’s career and some of the highlights.
John McBeth, saddle bronc world champion in 1974, started his career as a five
event competitor. He eventually chose the bronc event and went to the National Finals
Rodeo eleven times. In his acceptance speech he told of his dad, who was in the midst of
harvest at their home in Kansas and could not leave, but sent 8 year-old John to a horse
show that he wanted him to enter. Dad also gave him $1 to spend for lunch. When John
arrived and saw on the program that the last event was: ‘Steer Riding, $1 entry fee.’
Instead of using the $1 to eat lunch he entered the steer riding, won it and collected the
prize of $50. John laughed and said “Think of an 8 year-old kid with $50 in his pocket. It
ruined me!” He thanked many people and told that Gerald Roberts, a world champion,
older and more experienced than John, gave him this advice, “Look son, I’m going to give
you two bits of information to help you in your bronc riding. An amateur cowboy
competes against every other cowboy that rides in his event. A true professional
competes only against themselves.” Roberts’ second bit of advice was, “You spur higher
on each jump.” McBeth followed Roberts advice through his career. He said
his ‘parents’ made him quit at the age of 48. “Mother Nature and Father Time.”
Rex Dunn was a bullfighter for sixteen years. During his career he worked three
National Finals Rodeos, 1983, ’85 and ’86; two Canadian Finals and 13 Circuit Finals.
He was nicknamed “Mr. Smooth” by the late rodeo announcer, Clem McSpadden, for his
effortless-looking style of bullfighting. He was voted PRCA Clown of the Year in 1985.
He has put on numerous bullfighting schools and raises fighting bulls, at Coyote Hills
Ranch, which included Howdy Doody, 1997 PRCA Fighting Bull of the Year. The
Professional Bullfighters organization has named an award for him, in tribute to his
excellence. He mentioned people who helped him along the way including Rick Young,
PRCA bullfighter and rodeo clown, who talked him in to getting his PRCA card and
Freckles Brown, world champion bull rider, who signed his PRCA card. Dunn is ill
with Stage 4 cancer. He also said, “I had a hard year with my health and Jim Shoulders
was at the Chickasaw Nation Bullfights in Ada (OK) where I’ve supplied all the fighting
bulls for 15 years, and he knew I’d been having a rough time with my health. He
said, ‘Every time my bulls gave you a hookin’ when you were bullfighting, you always got
up. Just keep getting up.’” Dunn finished his acceptance speech by thanking the Hall
for ‘fulfilling his dream”.
Paul Mayo, was World Champion in Bareback Riding in 1966 and 1970, and went
to the National Finals 12 times. He also qualified for the bull riding twice at the National
Finals. He was one of the top three in the world for the All-Around championship twice
and won the Linderman Award for his competition at both ends of the arena in 1968.
Mayo along with his two brothers, Don and Bob, and Jim Houston, were credited with
altering the way cowboys rode bareback horses, leaning farther back on the bronc. Sean
Davis represented Houston, and he told how Jake Beutler, an earlier stock contractor, said
Mayo was ‘a cool character with Marlon Brando poise – one of the toughest competitors
in rodeo’. Davis also complimented Mayo by saying “There is more to rodeo than just
competing in the arena – Mayo knew how to enter a rodeo, how to get to the rodeos and
how to be tough.” Mayo then finished his acceptance speech by saying that in spite of a
rough beginning and being tossed on his head the first two attempts at bareback riding he
did pretty well. He knew that his style of riding required a different kind of bareback
rigging and credited Houston’s designed bareback rigging improved his ability to win.
But he did comment, “Although the rigging improved my scores we didn’t get much score
because they used those #@! timed event judges!” This caused the audience to roar with
laughter.
Denny Flynn, often called the most talented bull rider never to win a world title,
although he did win three Average titles at the National Finals rodeo in 1975, 1981 and
1982. He qualified for the National Finals ten times and came in second at season-end
three times, losing one year to Don Gay by $188. His 98 score on Steiner’s Red
Lightning in 1979 was a world record high point bull ride for many years and still
remains the second-highest score in any roughstock event in prorodeo history. Flynn was
noted for his toughness however it was said by Rex Dunn that he was too nice to be a
bullrider. He always thanked Rex for his bullfighting protection after every bull ride.
Flynn told how he and his brother, Mike, loved rodeo from their earliest years and as kids
they took in soft drink bottles, for the deposit, to have enough money to be able to
subscribe to the Sports News. Denny said “We both had our heroes. Mine was Paul
Mayo and Mike’s hero was Clyde Vamvoras. The Sports News came on the 1st and the
15th of every month. It was always a race to see who could get to the mailbox first and be
the first to read the newly arrived issue. One day I looked out the window and saw the
mailman coming down the road toward our mailbox. Mike was lying on the front porch.
I tried to sneak by him but when I did he tackled me and got ahead of me. I picked up a
rock and threw it at him and hit him in the back of the head and drew blood. He went in
to the house to our mom, and she cleaned the wound. Then she came out, slammed the
screen door and said to me, “Do you mind telling me what just happened?” My answer
was, “Yeah, Paul Mayo just came ahead of Clyde Vamvoras!” Flynn finished his
acceptance speech by saying he knew his mother was sitting on the front porch in heaven
reading the Sports News about what just happened here today.
Bennie Beutler, third generation stock contractor, who has supplied bulls and
horses that were chosen as PRCA Stock of the Year, including bareback horse,
Copenhagen Comotion for 1998, ’99 and 2000 and bull Voodoo Child, 2007 and ‘08.
Beutler has been assistant general manager of the Wrangler National Finals since 1982.
He also served earlier as Finals chute boss and stock contractor representative on the
NFR committee. He served on the PRCA Board of Directors from 1989 through 2005.
Beutler told that when a youngster, learning the stock contracting business, he was
flanking and was told by his elders to “hang on and buck him (the rider) off” and being
hit with a buggy whip if it didn’t happen. On a lighter note, he remember one year at
Burwell, Nebraska, rodeo, after hours everyone congregated at a local haunt and Rex
Dunn encouraged him to ‘arm wrassle’. When Beutler finally agreed to do it he found
out his competitor was a woman, as big as he was. He laughed and said, “Rex set it up,
and she didn’t just whip me once. She whipped me twice!” Beutler thanked all the rodeo
committees that hire his stock as well as his one time partner, E. K. Gaylord.
The Friday night dinner and silent auction, as well as the dance with music by
Mark Chestnutt started the festivities. I doubt if anyone attending any of the ProRodeo
Hall events last weekend left without saying, “A good time was had by all.” |
