A Very OK Podcast
Episode 26: “They Call the Thing Rodeo”
June 20, 2023
Episode Transcript
(upbeat music playing)
Trait Thompson: Hello, and welcome to A Very OK Podcast. My name is Trait Thompson. I’m the executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society. And with me, as always, is Dr. Bob Blackburn. Bob, it’s great to be back together again. How have you been?
Dr. Bob Blackburn: I’ve been great, and it’s good to see you here today, surviving the legislative session. I always remember my feeling when the legislature would leave town. It was a bit of a comedown. But it was also time, good to be away from it because the tension of those last few weeks of the session every year was incredible, and most people don’t understand that.
Thompson: Well, I have to tell you a little story. So, the last week of session, you know, budget bills are dropping by the minute, and we’re trying to read and understand the language, and there’s a lot going on, and it’s very hectic. And of course, this time the legislature was a little bit late because they had spent so much time negotiating a deal on education, so that delayed them in passing the budget. And in fact, they had to go into a concurrent special session, which is fairly rare. They do it occasionally, but they had to do that this time around. So the last day of session I come to work, and I didn’t have any meetings on my schedule. This was Friday the 26 of May. All our bills looked like they were doing just fine. So my plan was I was going to work about a half day and then go home. Guess whose plans got blown to Hades?
(laughter)
Thompson: I get a call that one of our bills that we were working on for OKPOP looked like it was going to be in jeopardy. And so, I get some frantic phone calls and I decide, they say, come over to the Capitol, and I’m dressed— I have jeans and tennis shoes on. So I had to run home, change into my suit, go back to the Capitol, and spent the next four or five hours there trying to work on our bill, which didn’t quite happen the way we wanted it to. But boy, the last days of session, I have to tell you that the weekend after that was, it was nice to relax a little bit.
Blackburn: I found a place in Missouri that I would go every year, Big Cedar. I’ll put in an ad for Big Cedar. That was my place to go unwind. And it took me three days to come down from that high, and just that and your stories remind me of why I’ve lost my hair.
(laughter)
Thompson: Well, I have to tell you this. The only thing that was kind of keeping me going through all of this, of course, my family, so loving and supportive, and they’re always a great respite in the storm for me. But I was thinking about a trip that I’m going to be taking in about three weeks to Alaska. And my friend who I went to grad school with, he’s turning 40, and he’s invited several of his guy friends. And so we’ve been planning this for a year, and we’re going to be up in Alaska, about two hours south of Anchorage in Cooper Landing. That’ll be our home base, and we’re going to go kayaking. We’re going to go fishing. We’re going to go hiking, and that has been the thing that’s kind of been in the front of my mind about, okay, if I could just make it to the end of June, and I can get away to Alaska, and hopefully my phone doesn’t work there.
Blackburn: Oh, yeah. I’ll be looking forward to hearing about that.
Thompson: Well, Bob, I’m really excited about our topic today. And to quote a famous Oklahoman from Yukon, “it’s the broncs and the blood. It’s the steers and the mud. And they call the thing the rodeo.”
Blackburn: Love, Garth.
Thompson: Garth is great. Garth has a lot of great rodeo songs, but we’ve got a lot to talk about about the history of rodeo. And I have to tell you, when I started doing some research on this, I didn’t realize the rabbit holes I was going to go down. When you start talking about the cowboys and cowgirls and the history of the different rodeos in the state of Oklahoma, and then you get into things like the stock companies and the announcers. I mean, we could do six hours of a podcast just on the history of rodeo in Oklahoma. So, strap in everybody for the next six hours. We’re going to get this done.
(laughter)
Thompson: But like we always talk about, let’s talk about some pop culture and rodeo. There’s been some great rodeo TV shows and movies. Is there anything that sticks out to you that you particularly enjoyed?
Blackburn: Well, of course I’ve loved rodeo my entire life. Went to rodeos as a kid, went to the NFR all the years it was in Oklahoma City. KOCO-TV had a box, so I always had a free ticket. So, I’ve enjoyed rodeo and wanted to be a cowboy at one time. And so growing up, I was always interested. Well, in 1962, a television show came out called Stoney Burke, and Jack Lord was a rodeo competitor going town to town following the rodeo around. And it only survived one season, but I remember so distinctly. I would have been 11 years old at the time, and he had a little crew that went with him, and for some reason, I remember this one episode where one of the cowboys saying (Southern drawl) I’m going to cut the wire with the pliers, and some Yankee says, what do you say? He says, (Southern drawl) I’m going to cut the wire with the pliers. He finally figured out he’s cutting the wire with the pliers. But, I just love that show.
Thompson: That sounds like half the people I grew up with by the way.
(laughter)
Blackburn: And so Stoney Burke was one of my favorite TV shows. Of course, I loved all Westerns at the time. But then in terms of movies, and this may surprise some of our listeners. So it’s not so much about competition, but it’s about a rodeo performer who’s past his prime, but who is a celebrity called The Electric Horseman. Robert Redford—probably one of the great actors of our generation— and Jane Fonda is this aggressive reporter who’s going to follow him and get the real story about him kidnapping this show horse that used to be a great racehorse, and it’s about rodeo ethics. It’s about treating animals in a humane way, of not, of avoiding exploitation. And Robert Redford finally gets fed up with it. He’s been a drunkard. He’s down on his luck, and he says, I’ve had enough. I’m going to take this horse, and we’re just going to cleanse our spirits. It’s a really, it’s an amazing movie.
Thompson: I haven’t seen it. I need to put that on my list.
Blackburn: You really do. It’s a touching movie. And Robert Redford, of course, pulls off the part, and he plays a good cowboy and it’s got a happy ending. I won’t spoil it, but it’s got a very happy ending.
Thompson: I mean, has Robert Redford ever been bad in a movie? I’m not aware of such.
Blackburn: No.
Thompson: Well, I, you know, I’m dedicated to this podcast. And so, you know, I did a little bit of extra work last night. It wasn’t really work. I was looking up yesterday, some rodeo movies, which immediately one of the first ones I remember is Eight Seconds, which is the movie about Lane Frost, who is from Atoka, Oklahoma, who died in the arena in 1989, and this movie came out in the early ’90s, and Luke Perry played Lane Frost. If you’re familiar with the 90210 TV series, that’s where Luke Perry kind of became famous there, and that’s a great movie. Stephen Baldwin is in that movie also. A
nd then I happened upon, looking there was a movie called Junior Bonner in which Steve McQueen played a middle-aged rodeo rider returning to his hometown in Arizona. So when I got home last night, I thought, I’m going to see if I can find Junior Bonner and watch that because I like Steve McQueen. The Great Escape is a fantastic movie, and so I looked for it, and it didn’t come up on any of the streaming services, so I was dashed in that.
But then I saw another movie, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, so I hadn’t seen that. This was another one that came out in the early ’90s, and this is Scott Glenn plays H. D. Dalton, and he’s an aging bull rider who goes back to his home in Oklahoma, and he ultimately, he reconnects with one of his former old flames, who’s played by Kate Capshaw, who’s Steven Spielberg’s wife. But there’s some Okies that are in that film. One of them is Gary Busey. Gary Busey plays his brother-in-law in the film. And then Ben Johnson, which Ben Johnson, as we all know, is not only a world champion cowboy, but was also an Academy Award-winning actor. And Ben Johnson is great in this movie. Ben Johnson plays his aging father, who is getting dementia. And Scott Glen’s character actually breaks him out of the old folks home, brings him back to the home ranch, and is going to, you know, try to take care of him. But Ben Johnson, in my opinion, makes this movie. He’s the heart and soul of this movie. He’s the old cowboy who raised H. D., the bull rider, and just their dynamic together is really, really good. But this was filmed around Guthrie, and so one of the fun things for me was looking at some of those Guthrie street scenes and seeing Guthrie 30 years ago when they filmed this movie, and then part of it, the rodeo scenes were filmed at Lazy E Arena, which I’ve been out there several times to watch different rodeos and competitions, and it looks pretty much the same. So, I have to give a thumbs up to My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, a good Oklahoma cast of characters, a good Oklahoma setting. So give it a watch, if you will.
Blackburn: And too, what I like about that movie is I went to see it at the theater when it came out because E. K. Gaylord II was the producer. Gaylord Broadcasting at the time, that was about the time the family bought Grand Ole Opry and were expanding around the country, and great entrepreneurs. But E. K. II actually got in the movie-making business, and that was probably his best movie that he made. And I remember when it came out, of course, I’ve always been a Ben Johnson fan, and it was, it is a good movie. I’ll look that up and watch it again myself.
Thompson: You know, one of my favorite lines from that movie was Ben Johnson. When you first see him, and his son is kind of talking, he’s like, how are you doing, Dad? And Ben Johnson says, “You know what’s the worst part about getting old? Getting old.” (laughter)
Blackburn: That sounds like the real Ben Johnson. He may have ad-libbed that line.
Thompson: Yeah, that that definitely sounds like something that he could have said. So, let’s get into the history of rodeo, and I think it’s good if we talk about not only the history of rodeo in Oklahoma, but just where did rodeos come from in general. The word rodeo is a Hispanic term, a Spanish term from the word rodear, which means to encircle or to round up, and that’s where the term comes from. It is the only American sporting event that grew out of an occupational activity, and this is ranching essentially. And all of the things that cowboys would have to do, you know, they would have to ride these broncs, and they would have to rope these steers, and they would have to, they would have to have all these skills. Well, as men are want to do, we want to see if we’re better at it than anybody else, and that’s where rodeo comes from.
Blackburn: You know, I like to use the example when I give speeches about Will Rogers, that really Will Rogers began everything that he did in his life, whether it was columns or movies or radio. He starts as a Cherokee cowboy and born in 1879, grew up on the back of a horse. His dad, Clem, was known as one of the great riders in all the Cherokee Nation, and Will followed in his footsteps, became a cowboy, and learned to rope on the ranch from a Mexican cowboy who taught him his trick roping, and he became a skilled roper and started competing in local rodeo. So he’d go to Chelsea, or he’d go over to Nowata, and he’d go on these local little, almost like roundup clubs. When I was a kid in the ’50s, roundup clubs were huge around Oklahoma, and you’d have your local competitions, and then, of course, you’d have your professional rodeo different. But Will Rogers grew up at a time when all of those cowboys wanted to compete. See who was the best roper? Who was a best rider? And it really comes out of the soil of Oklahoma.
This combination of the cowboys coming up on the cattle trails, open-range ranching, down to the cattle industry, and Will Rogers was part of that. We mentioned Ben Johnson earlier. He comes into the rodeo culture because Ben Sr., a lot of people don’t know that Ben Johnson, the movie actor is actually Ben Jr. The family, still lives around Pawhuska, called him “son,” because of that, distinguished from his dad. But Ben Sr. was a National Champion Steer Roper in the ’20s. He became the foreman of the Chapman Barnard Ranch, one of the largest ranches in the country at the time, known to have some of the best stock at the time, some of the best rodeos, some of the best cowboys. Miller Brothers’ 101 Ranch was nearby. They had their Wild West show. Oklahoma was the home of the Pawnee Bill Ranch or the Mulhalls. It goes on and on, where these cowboys would come in and make a living as a cowboy, but also make a few extra bucks on the weekend by competing. And so Ben Sr. represents that real cowboy on a real ranch, and his son Ben Jr. is expected to be, as his sister told me once, was expected to be the perfect cowboy.
Thompson: Oh, interesting.
Blackburn: Well, he got away from the ranch and took a herd of the horses because the horses were known as a band, to a movie set in, I think it was Arizona, but Howard Hughes was producing a movie. And he goes down, and they discover his riding skills, his roping skills, and he could do all those things that any cowboy could do, and it amazed those Hollywood people. And they kept him on. And he decided, well, do I stay in Hollywood, make pretty good money, or go back working for $5 a day for daddy who wants me to be the perfect cowboy? And then, of course, that becomes his life.
But at one point in his movie career, he says, wait a minute. I’ve got to prove to myself that I can live up to my daddy’s expectations, and all of the sons kind of know what that means. And so he quits the movie business, gets in the station wagon. He and his wife and family hit the rodeo circuit: World Champion Steer Roper. At the end of the year, he said, well, I’ve won all this, but I have like 10 bucks in the bank and a worn-out station wagon. He goes back into the movies, but he accomplished that.
That spirit of competition, being a real cowboy is part of rodeo culture that I think has made it so special to Americans. So, that love of the of the American West and this idea of individual liberty, of the rugged individualism, all that’s tied up in the cowboy image that easily is transposed to rodeo, which is free enterprise: taking something of value and presenting it to where there’s a demand, and that was the demand for this American sport that is an expression of the Western way of life. And that’s the beginning of rodeo coming out of the late 19th century, booming in the early 20th, and then really taking hold by World War II, especially. Then it becomes big business as it is today.
Thompson: Yeah. Talking about Ben Johnson, he won the PRCA, which stands for Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association Championship for Team Roping in 1953. Now get this, Ben Johnson is the only person to have won a pro rodeo championship and an Academy Award, so isn’t that something,
Blackburn: I love that, and all Oklahoma!
Thompson: Well, he’s the only person ever to do that. And so, and I read a story about him in Texas Monthly not too long ago, they were recounting the making of The Last Picture Show, and the director of The Last Picture Show had approached Ben Johnson about playing the part he ultimately ends up playing, and Ben Johnson turned it down, said, “I don’t want it. There’s too many cuss words in this, and it’s too much talking.”
Blackburn: A dirty movie is what he called it.
Thompson: Yeah, and so John Ford calls up Ben Johnson and says, hey, do you just want to be John Wayne’s sidekick the rest of your life? Says you need to go do this movie. So this is important for you to do. And he said, I’ll do the movie on the condition that I can rewrite the part, because he didn’t want to say all the cuss words, and he rewrote the part. And for about 20 minutes of screen time in The Last Picture Show, he wins the Academy Award. Isn’t that something?
Blackburn: I love it.
Thompson: Well, getting into Oklahoma, you know, the first rodeo in Oklahoma starts in the 1880s near Benton, Oklahoma, and Benton was a Panhandle town just east of present-day Beaver, Oklahoma. It’s a ghost town today. There’s not much of anything left of it today, but legend says that there were a bunch of cowboys that were in a saloon, and they were talking about the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, and there was a performer who was there who had performed in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, which started in 1883. And they said, you know what? We’re a bunch of cowboys. We could do just as good or better than those actors in the Buffalo Bill show. And so they decided they wanted to get together and to “put on a show for the Grangers, and especially for their pretty daughters, for the range man wanted to get better acquainted with them.” That’s according to the book Oklahoma Rodeo Women by Tracey Hanshew. Now, this really struck me because there’s nothing more cowboy or more male than saying, hey, let’s all get together and show off and hope that the women will appreciate us and notice us. So, we have to do all these stupid things to get noticed. But that’s the first rodeo in Oklahoma, near Benton, Oklahoma.
They had a similar show near Hardesty, Oklahoma, in 1891. Hardesty is near Guymon, and Tracey later writes in her book, “the Panhandle rodeos and 4th of July celebrations as annual events melded rodeo and patriotism with ranch life, establishing a sentiment about rodeo that remains largely unchanged over the years.” And, just as you said, this is that— it almost feels like there’s nothing more American than then going to a rodeo on a summer night. The horse, the rider rides out on the horse with the American flag, and it just feels like a very patriotic experience.
Blackburn: Well, and, you know, I can remember the smell of the NFR that was at the Norick Arena at the state fairgrounds. And you’re right, it’s an emotional response. Now, it is competition. And you’re rooting for your favorite cowboy, but, or cowgirl, because barrel racing was a big part of it by the end. But there was this emotional response, and I still can remember the smell. And, one year, one of the highlights of me going to the NFR is that KOCO-TV, where my mom worked, had a box straight across from the bucking chutes. The way they had the arena set up out there is that the timed events came from one end back where the stock would come in, but then they had the bucking chute straight across from this box, and one of those bucking broncs was coming right at us, and it turned just before he hit the wall, and the dirt flew up in our face. That was a good moment for me because I was part of that. I felt it, I could hear it, I could smell that horse. The combination of smells, of the soil that brought in and the manure that it was kind of spread around. It was a special experience. And going to rodeos in Woodward and Chickasha, growing up, the Oklahoma City fair, I always loved rodeo and wanted to be— can I share one little personal story like personal privilege here?
Thompson: Yeah, by all means.
Blackburn: My mom, in 1964, married a former pro football player named Jim Weatherall. He had been a two-time All-American at OU, the first Outland Trophy winner, Pros. They got married right after he quit his career. We moved out to a place south of Edmond, out on 122nd Street, dirt road, 126th Street, excuse me. And we got horses. Well, I wanted to be a cowboy. I took Horseman Magazine, and I would put together the amount of money I would have to have to start a horse ranch. I wanted a racehorse, and I got a rope. So I was going to be a roper, and my sister wouldn’t run for me, so I had nothing to rope.
(laughter)
Blackburn: And so I was out in the front yard, galloping around on Champ, and Jim had just planted some cedar trees. And I thought, well, I’ll rope that cedar tree, never thinking I’d really hit it. I roped it, got that tree and couldn’t get the horse to, and I pulled that tree out of the ground. That was the end of my rodeo career.
(laughter)
Blackburn: But I always wanted to be a bulldogger. I wanted to be, it just was one of those things that was part of my youth, and it still is important to me in my memories.
Thompson: I’ll share a story with you. When I was in high school, we started going to cowboy church. And cowboy church was a, you know, it kind of started to become a thing there. And you would go to church in a barn, basically. And I in fact, I even remember going to church one time in a sale barn, and sometimes you would sit on hay bales, and it was really meant as a way, Cowboy church started, you’d have these itinerant preachers that would trail the rodeos, and they would set up shop on Sunday mornings. And it would be a way cowboys, you know, they’re kind of these gruff cowboys, and they’re tough. And, you know, it was a way to make church more accessible to them, and it would be out at the rodeos where the people could get to them. Well, they started becoming more institutionalized as people realized, well, sometimes farmers and ranchers are intimidated by going into a church building and maybe feeling like they have to dress nice. So, this cowboy church movement started out, and my parents started taking us to cowboy church. And so one time we were, in going to cowboy church, and they were going to have a little like, you know, roundup day or something like that. And I remember, they said, hey, we’re going to, we’re going to do steer riding instead of bull riding, maybe like one step down. Anybody want to try it? And I thought, why not? (laughter)
Let’s live dangerously a little bit. And so I got on the back of that steer, and I rode him for, in my mind, for 20, 30 seconds. But in reality, about two seconds. And then it really, really hurt when you got bucked off of it. And I decided at that point that I was not meant to be in the rodeo. (laughter)
And so it reminds me of this quote by Robert Earl Keen, who’s a famous singer/songwriter, said, “I once had a rodeo career that lasted 15 seconds. He said that was five bulls times three seconds apiece.” (laughter) And that was kind of like me, except it was one bull for about two seconds, and it wasn’t even a bull. So that was my start and end to my rodeo career down in central Texas. Rodeo begins to grow in Oklahoma.
By the way, I want to talk about some of those first competitions at that at that rodeo near Benton. This was pretty common. For bronc riding, it was six men per team because there were no chutes. There were no, you know, you didn’t start out in the chute like you do today. In fact, that didn’t even really come into effect until the ’20s. But they had to rope their horse. They had a herd of untamed stock. And then they had to saddle it, bridle it, and then the cowboy had to ride the bronc to a finish line 100 yards away. And the first cowboy to win the event was Irish McGovern riding a mustang named Soda Biscuit. So that’s the first bronc riding. And it wasn’t, you know, today they might look and say, oh, look at how luxurious you have it. You get to start out in a chute. No, they had to start from ground zero— rope it, saddle it, ride it. So this is where rodeo has come to in today’s day and age. And of course, we get into, rancher Charley Hitch, who was well known in the Oklahoma Panhandle. He starts having the Guymon Pioneer Days celebrations and these ranch rodeos in the 1930s. They had them every year on May 2 to celebrate the passage of the 1890 Organic Act, which established Oklahoma Territory. And then by the 1930s, you’re having thousands and thousands of spectators at rodeos all across Claremore and Vinita and Elk City and rodeos all across the state. It becomes really a true part of the American entertainment experience, particularly in the rural areas by the time we get into the 1930s and ’40s.
Blackburn: Well, I think parallel with that are people living in the farms and going into the cities. And so that generation who was raised on a farm or ranch around livestock and going to the cities, they miss that so much. They’d usually plant their gardens. That’s where all of my uncles who grew up on farms always had gardens until they passed away. But that love of horses and competition, that stayed. And so that was partly the popularity of the roundup clubs. There was a magazine. There was an association of Oklahoma roundup clubs, and very popular in the cities. And then when rodeo would come up, people would express their love of that way of life and rodeo, very popular.
Thompson: So, when we start getting into the pro rodeo cowboys and rodeo starts going from a competition between ranchers and between cowboys at different ranches, and it really starts professionalizing a little bit. In 1929, you get a group of rodeo producers that formed the Rodeo Association of America, and this was really to standardize the rules and establish the point system. And then one of the really important developments is in 1939, well, really 1936, you have 61 cowboys that banded together and voted to strike at the Boston Garden Rodeo to protest the lack of prize money or the, you know, paltry prize money that was available. And then in 1939, the Cowboys’ Turtle Association is founded, the CTA, and they named it that because organizing was a slow process, and they finally decided to stick their necks out.
And Everett Shaw, who was a cowboy from Nowata, Oklahoma, and rodeo champion, was a was a major part of founding that first cowboys association. And then and finally, in 1945, they changed their name to the Rodeo Cowboys Association. And then they come to be called the PRCA, the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association that we know today. And so that’s when you start getting into the professionalized cowboys. You get into the professionalized rodeo system. And at some point they decided, you know, we have all these rodeos across the nation. We need to find out who’s the best cowboy or cowgirl every single year in every single event. And that’s what we get in the National Finals Rodeo. You want to talk a little bit about that?
Blackburn: Yeah, of course, when it was created and Oklahomans had a hand in that, but you know, starting LA—Dallas and LA, eventually would come to Oklahoma. And the year that Oklahoma City built what is now known as the Norick Arena at the fairgrounds, and people think of it in terms of state basketball, but originally it was built for that NFR. Clem McSpadden, who, Oklahoma senator, just a little bit of everything, was the announcer, was general manager, and it would stay in Oklahoma until the mid ’80s when Las Vegas just really lured it away. And I interviewed— Let me start that over. Cooke, you know, I’ll leave that out, I think it was first name, but, you know, starting off in LA and Dallas, it would come to Oklahoma City. And instead of rotating out, it was so successful here, so many people coming sold-out performances, getting national attention that it stayed in Oklahoma until the mid 1980s when our economy started suffering after the fall of Penn Square and First National Bank. And even though the money was about the same, a lot of the cowboys wanted to go to Las Vegas. There were other opportunities to make money other ways than just performing out there. But going to that NFR where you had the best stock, you had the best cowboys, the best production, and it really would spoil you almost for the smaller small-town rodeos, because everything was such high quality. And I liked roping always. And I remember Oliver, can’t think of his first name, but he was roping champion years in a row, and I wanted to be one of those ropers, and I loved the dogging. But that NFR was a special experience, and it was painful to lose that from Oklahoma City when it finally went to Las Vegas.
Thompson: Yeah. Some of the events held at the NFR: calf roping, steer wrestling, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, team roping, steer roping. So the NFR has the top 15 money winners in each event. They compete for the world title. So the first NFR was in 1958. Oklahoma gets the NFR in 1965 and we hold on to it until 1984, and in 1985 it goes to Las Vegas. And it’s been there every year except for one year during the pandemic when it went to Arlington. But the first National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City at State Fair Arena drew over 47,000 fans. And then in 1979, it moves to the Myriad Convention Center, and attendance at the Myriad reached over 117,000 people.
This is big business and lots and lots of people. I think Oklahoma City being in the center of the country, we are in ranch country, we’re in horse country here. I think it drew lots and lots of people. They estimated the annual revenue to Oklahoma City was over $8 million. So it was a big boon for Oklahoma City. Who knows, maybe someday we can, we could get it back here. I think Oklahoma City has certainly changed a lot since the mid 1980s when it went to Las Vegas. But of course it’s hard to compete against the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas. So who knows what might happen in those events. And then the Women’s National Final Rodeo was held at the Lazy E Arena near Guthrie from 1985 to 1993, and the International Finals Rodeo has been held in Oklahoma City since 1969, and that’s usually held at the Lazy E Arena as well. So we’re still a big part of rodeo culture here in Oklahoma City, even though we don’t have the National Finals Rodeo.
Blackburn: You know, one word you use there: big business, business, free enterprise. The idea of providing a show, of adding value of connecting supply and demand. That leads into our guest speaker today, Randy Beutler and Beutler Brothers Rodeo Stock Company. They found a way to take the cowboy way of life, the stock, the audience, the love of that, and to make a good living at it for decades.
Thompson: Yeah. And, you know, one of the things that, before we get right into Randy, talking it, I want to talk about, Clem McSpadden a little bit because he was instrumental in bringing the NFR to Oklahoma City. And he wrote what they call “The Cowboy’s Prayer” by Clem McSpadden. And I thought as we are going into our time with Randy, I might read “The Cowboy’s Prayer.” This was read at rodeo arenas all across the United States for years and years and years.
And he says, “Our gracious and Heavenly father, we pause in the midst of this festive occasion, mindful of the many blessings you have bestowed upon us. As cowboys, Lord, we don’t ask for any special favors. We ask only that you will let us compete in this arena, as in the arena of life. We don’t ask that we never break a barrier, jaw around a chute fighting horse, or draw a steer that just won’t lay. We don’t even ask for all daylight runs. We only ask that you help us to compete in life as honest as the horses we ride, and in a manner as clean and pure as the wind blows across this great land of ours. Help us, Lord, to live our lives in such a manner that when we make our last inevitable ride to the country up there where the grass grows lush, green and stirrup high, and the water runs cool, clear, and deep, that you, our last judge, will tell us that our entry fees are paid.”
Blackburn: Oh.
Thompson: Amen.
Blackburn: I can hear him saying that. He had that deep bass voice. And I still remember going to rodeos where he was the announcer. And of course, I would see him over in the legislative halls for years. He was a lobbyist, and I would see him every year. He and my dad were friends from Claremore, and just a great man. And I can see him reading that, and it was heartfelt. It came from his heart.
Thompson: Well, there’s a lot more that we could talk about. We didn’t even get into some of the specific cowboys and cowgirls, but I think we should, we should go talk to our guest, Randy Beutler.
Blackburn: Look forward to it.
Thompson: Well, Bob, I’m excited to bring our next guest into the podcast. We have Randy Beutler with us, and I’ve gotten to know Randy during my time here at the Oklahoma Historical Society, going on two and a half years, if you can believe that. And Randy has been on the Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors for four years now. He’s a graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education with honors. He has his juris doctor degree from Taft Law School. He taught history and government for eight years at the high school level and was twice named teacher of the year by Weatherford Public Schools. In 1992, he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where he served four terms, eventually being selected as the Majority Whip. He also served as a staffer in Governor Brad Henry’s administration. He was vice president for public policy at Southwestern, and then in February of 2010, he was named the 17th president of Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He retired from that position in July of 2021. He’s an avid historian. He’s a co-owner of a ranching partnership, Beutler-Redd Ranches of Elk City. He also serves on the Oklahoma State Fair Board, the board of the Stafford Air and Space Museum, and the board of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Randy, it seems like you’re a very busy person, so we’re very excited to have you here on the podcast with us.
Randy Beutler: Well, when you read that, I always tell people my mother doesn’t think I can keep a job, but, no, it has been a great time. I’ve been very blessed to be able to participate in a lot of different things. Two of my greatest passions, of course, education and ranching.
Blackburn: And Trait, if I might add a little bit on the introduction of Randy’s association with the Oklahoma Historical Society. I met Randy in 1985 or thereabouts. I was editor of The Chronicles of Oklahoma. He was teaching high school in Weatherford, and he produced an article about the history of Beutler Brothers Rodeo. And, I was so taken with it. It was a great article. He helped to illustrate it.
So we became friends. He started coming to all the annual meetings when we resurrected those in 1987. Going around the state, Randy was a regular, and then when we needed a second bond issue to finish the History Center during Brad Henry’s administration, Randy had come back from service to serve in Brad Henry’s administration and was very helpful. And then in that interim, he was also a member of the Battlefield Commission from the House of Representatives when we were working on Battle of Washita, making that a unit of the Park Service. He and I went to Washington a couple of times together on site. So Randy’s involvement with the Oklahoma Historical Society is deep and very personal to him. And so, I’ve always admired Randy for his ability and his passion for history.
Thompson: Well, Randy, it’s great to have you on the podcast today. And of course, we want to get in here and talk about the history of Beutler Brothers Rodeo. But tell us a little bit about where you grew up and how you grew up.
Beutler: Well, of course, I grew up out north of Elk City on a ranch. And, you know, that was a great place to be a young kid, you know, in the 1960s and ’70s. Went to school at Canute High School. Then, as mentioned, went to Southwestern and, you know, while I was there, really, you know, got into my passion for teaching. Did my student teaching at Weatherford High School, then eventually was lucky enough to get hired by Weatherford High School. Taught school there for seven years. We were involved in History Day, which Bob, and you both, are very familiar with. Actually, every year had students go to the national contest at the University of Maryland. One year had a group of students, great group of students, that won second in the nation. So that was, you know, something that was, again, I’m very passionate about. Also on the ranching side, still able to do that. We’re right now in spring roundup. So this weekend we’ll be on horseback again, gathering cattle. And, you know, there’s nothing better than that to be outside and be able to do that.
Thompson: Well, I had a chance last year when I went with you and Garrett to go down to the Washita Massacre site, and you took me around and showed me some of your family land and, man, it is so great out there. It’s western Oklahoma. It’s red dirt, but it’s got that— I mean, you just feel like you want to get on the back of a horse when you’re driving around out there.
Beutler: You know, it is. I love it, love to spend the evenings out there and everything, especially when the weather’s good. You know, we were very lucky. My great-grandfather made the run in 1892 into what was then the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation, settled out west of Okarche. He actually was more of a cattle and horse dealer than a farmer, and that soil around there is very rich. He decided to move further west in 1903, moved out around the north Elk City area, where a lot of our family ranches today.
Thompson: Well, the reason we’re here today is talking about Beutler Brothers. And, you know, we talk a lot about rodeo, and we all go to the rodeos. And sometimes I think, you know, we’re so focused on the skills of the cowboy or the cowgirl that we forget sometimes that there’s another side to this, which is the stock that they’re riding. And I kind of compare it to, it’s kind of like if you went to watch the Dallas Cowboys play, and it was just all offense and no defense. There’s a defense out there that makes the game good, and the offensive players wouldn’t shine if it weren’t for the defense. Those horses and those steers and those bulls are out there. They’re given a pretty good defense. And if you don’t have good stock, then you don’t have a good rodeo.
Beutler: Exactly. And you know, especially people that are very familiar with rodeo, fans of rodeo, among them, you know, the stock a lot of times is just as famous as some of the competitors or be it cowboys or cowgirls. , And as you mentioned, there are several different elements to the rodeo, but basically the three main components really are the stock contractor, the contestants, and the rodeo committee or whoever hosts the rodeo.
Thompson: Well, let’s get into it a little bit. Let’s talk about the Beutler brothers, because as I was doing the research for this podcast, I was fascinated by how they all got started. And we had three brothers: Elra, Jake, and Lynn. And your grandfather was one of their brothers as well?
Beutler: Yeah, my grandfather was Denzel Beutler. He was a brother, didn’t participate in the rodeo. He was involved a little bit financially from time to time, but he stayed with the ranching side of it. But Elra, Jake, and Lynn, really where they got their start was from their father, my great-grandfather, John N. Beutler, and he traded horses a lot. And being in the horse business traded all over that area. Sometimes you’d find some stock that, you know, didn’t act exactly right, it was a little wild. And eventually the brothers decided that, you know, they would start having some small rodeos out at their ranch north of Elk. Now, as I was always told, especially Jake and Lynn, they really had it in them. They wanted to be famous. They wanted to get rich, and they tried several different things. They tried making whiskey, but they drank it all and gave it away. So, you know, that didn’t really work real well with them.
So eventually they came across a few horses that really no one could ride. They started taking them around the country, having these little jackpot-type ridings at the ranch and stuff. And before long, that reputation got around. And in 1929, the city of Clinton, Oklahoma, decided they were going to have a rodeo in conjunction with the Custer County Fair. They had reached out to my uncles, said, you know, can you bring some of your stock over? They trailed them over, were paid $150 for ten head of stock to buck during that rodeo. They thought they’d never see a poor day. That, in conjunction with my Uncle Lynn a few years earlier, had gone out— one of the biggest rodeos in that area at that time was out at Canadian, Texas, is called the Anvil Park Rodeo. And he saw that, saw the pageantry of the rodeo, saw the stock producer, went up to the guy later on that was producing the rodeo and basically said I’d rather be a stock promoter than President of the United States. That kind of set them on their trajectory towards becoming stock contractors.
Thompson: Now, they went on and did this. And in 1952, they kind of, they get big, they buy out a guy named Verne Elliot, who is the nation’s top rodeo producers, and this made them the largest stock contractor in the country. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Beutler: You bet. Of course, they kept building their rodeos up through the 1930s and ’40s, becoming well known throughout the southwestern United States. But at that time, one of the largest stock contractors in the country was Verne Elliott. Verne Elliott was very famous because he was well-known for two broncs that he raised—Midnight and Five Minutes to Midnight— who, in rodeo history, are probably some of the most famous rodeo broncs there are. In fact, their remains are buried out at the Cowboy Hall of Fame. And he had some of the largest shows in the country at that time. He was getting older. In fact, Verne went all the way back to Buffalo Bill Wild West days. He participated in that for a little while early on, but decided he was better at producing than being a competitor. And in 1952, my uncles approached him. They reached an agreement, bought out— it was kind of a merger and then a buyout. But with that, they received such large rodeos as Cheyenne Frontier Days, the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo at Denver, Kansas City, Fort Worth, many of those rodeos, and at that time really were kind of considered, the largest rodeo company in the United States.
Blackburn: Randy, I think, your uncles also had added another element to the rodeo when they were facing competition from Gene Autry.
Beutler: Right.
Blackburn: Who would sell his stock company stock to a rodeo and say I’ll come sing.
Beutler: Yeah.
Blackburn: Of course, they had to face that competition, so they started incorporating more musical stars. Can you add that element of it before we get to the big-time rodeo?
Beutler: You bet. Great point. Yes, you’re exactly right. One of their largest competitors during that time was Gene Autry and what was known as the World’s Championship Rodeo Company. And again, as you mentioned, Gene “the Singing Cowboy” would come and participate. And so my uncles decided, you know, part of the entertainment element that they would start bringing stars to their shows. Now at that time, particularly in the 1950s and ’60s, as you probably recall, there were a lot of westerns on television, and so it really kind of started with some of these individuals from, you know, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, Jimmy Dean, you know, people like that, then kind of evolved more into singers, you know, and still many rodeos to this day, many of your larger rodeos have that type of entertainment element, and a lot of that started during that time.
Thompson: I’d like to talk a little bit about some of the stock itself. You know, we’re all familiar with farms and ranches and everything like that, but not every cow can become a bucking bull. Or not every bull can become a rodeo bull. Not every horse can become a bucking bronco. So, can you talk a little bit about what makes for good rodeo stock? And is this something that they’re born with, or is there a little training that goes into that?
Beutler: Well, that’s a great question. Now, of course, a lot of stock contracting companies today have breeding programs where, you know, it may be kind of in their DNA a little bit, but I get asked that quite a bit, you know, do you train them? And I will tell you something that my uncle Lynn Beutler told me one time, and you kind of understand this if you’ve been in the ranching business or in it, is that all these animals have, just like people, they have individual personalities. And so my uncle told me one time, he said, of especially some of their best horses, he said if these horses were people, they would be in prison.
(laughter)
Beutler: And so I think that kind of explains a little bit, you know, that a lot of these horses are born that way. They have it kind of, you know, in their element as a being. And if it were not for rodeo, you know, they wouldn’t really have a, you know, anything. They might be worthless,
Thompson: They wouldn’t be good for much.
Beutler: Yeah, they, they would be, you know, what we would call maybe killer animals.
Blackburn: They’d be glue.
Beutler: Exactly, exactly. And so rodeo provides that for these animals. And, you know, they’re treated great. You know, they, they only work just a few minutes a year, so forth like that. But back in my uncle’s time, they would go around the country, and they would buy livestock. People might raise, you know, bucking horses or bulls, and people still do. They would buy out. They would top off different rodeo companies. But today, a lot of your larger rodeo companies, like my cousin Bennie and Rhett’s rodeo company today, Beutler and Son, they have their own breeding program now, and so now there’s more of a scientific element to it.
Thompson: Yeah, is it similar to like, with horse racing? So if you got a bad bull that no one can ride, does everybody want to get a piece of that bull and breed that?
Beutler: Oh they do. Yes. Yeah. So there’s, you know, whether it be on the bronc side of it or the bull side of it. Yeah. There is a big industry and a big trade in that area of genetics for rodeo livestock.
Thompson: Fantastic. Okay. I’m learning a lot here, Bob. So let’s get back into the history of the Beutler brothers. And so they merge, or they buyout Verne Elliott. Now they are providing stock to some of the most prolific rodeos across the United States: Cheyenne, Denver, Tucson, all of these big rodeos. And in fact, I have a quote here that says, “Beutler stock was a cowboy’s nightmare.” Can you talk maybe a little bit? There was a Brahma bull named Speck, ridden only once in 103 tries in five years. There was a palomino gelding named Descent that was named bucking horse of the year a record six times. Can you talk about some of these iconic animals?
Beutler: Sure. Of course. Descent still holds the record for most number of times been named stock of the year. Keep in mind, as we talk about animals and awards, there are two different very prestigious awards. There is “Stock of the Year,” which you’ll have the top saddle bronc, top bareback horse, top bull of the year for the entire rodeo year. Then of course, at the end of the year, and I know we’ll talk more about this later. You have the National Finals Rodeo, which is kind of the World Series at the end of the rodeo season. You will have awards for the top bucking stock, rough stock for that particular event. So, kind of keep that in mind when people talk about, bull of the year or bull of the NFR.
Now Descent was saddle bronc of the year a record six times. They’ve also had many others. You mentioned Speck. Speck was named bull of the year, for two years, 1959 and 1960, Bull of the NFR. They had a bull, Voodoo Child, Beutler and Son did, that was named twice, as the bull of the year. They’ve had a bareback horse, Commotion, which was named three times the bareback horse of the year. In fact, if you go to Elk City, Oklahoma, where the Old Town Museum is there, there at the Old Town Museum. They have on the upper floor of the original museum, they have a lot of the memorabilia of the Beutlers. And in front of that museum is a bronze statue of Commotion. But, yeah, the other thing is, just this past year, this past National Finals, Beutler and Son Rodeo Company was the first, so far the only rodeo company in the history of rodeo, to win all three top stock awards at the National Finals Rodeo. They won—Ghost Town was the bareback horse of the NFR, Killer Bee was the saddle bronc of the NFR, and Smoke Stack was the bull of the NFR. That had never been done before. Kind of the triple crown of rodeo.
Thompson: That’s incredible. Now at a rodeo like the NFR, it’s a big rodeo.
Beutler: Sure.
Thompson: Are there multiple stock contractors or just one?
Beutler: There are. There are multiple stock contractors. And you mentioned that my Uncle Lynn was very instrumental in bringing that about. In fact, the very famous, rodeo announcer Pete Logan once commented and said Lynn Beutler should be known as the father in the National Finals Rodeo. I remember Lynn telling me about in the mid to late ’50s, people began talking about, you know, having a World Series rodeo, because there wasn’t really a year-ending rodeo to, you know, help present and award champions in each of the stock events of the rodeo, and so it had been talked about. Lynn brought the stock contractors together, said, you know, the first few years we probably won’t make any money, but if we build on it, you know, it will become a big rodeo. They kept meeting, eventually came up with the format for it.
The original idea was it was supposed to travel the country. It would be in a city for three years and then move. And the first city to win the original contract was Dallas, Texas, and it was held there on the fairgrounds, the building, the coliseum was still there in 1959. It was televised and was very successful. Then it moved to LA, Los Angeles, and wasn’t quite as successful out in LA. In 1965, it comes to Oklahoma City. And if you recall, Oklahoma City has just built a new coliseum, what is now known as the Jim Norick Coliseum, there on the fairgrounds, just built for rodeo and built for this event, and for the first time starts making money. You have people like Clem McSpadden, who’s the general manager and also a well-known rodeo announcer that manages it, and it really takes off in Oklahoma City. And they kind of quit this three-year move every so often. Eventually in ’79, it moves downtown to the Myriad. But in 1985, a big contest begins between Oklahoma City and Las Vegas about where the National Finals will be located. Las Vegas wins out; 1985 moves out to the Thomas & Mack Arena and has been in Las Vegas ever since, except for one year during the pandemic when it was down, held down in Arlington.
Thompson: Yeah. That’s fascinating. It’s fascinating that they’re still providing the stock that’s at such a high level, you know, for companies that have been around since the 1930s. First of all, there’s not that many businesses that have been around continuously since the 1930s. But to still be performing at that kind of a high level, I think that speaks to the quality and the dedication of the people, the dedication to doing it right. And of course, that cowboy way of life of not really cutting corners.
Beutler: You know, the other thing we talked a little bit earlier about, and I know in a lot of your podcasts, you talk about movies is one of the things they got into was, their stock was involved in some movies, and they had the rodeo in Tucson. And this was back in the mid 1950s and MGM—this 3-D movie craze had just started—and MGM bought a lot of 3-D movie equipment. And I guess the, you know, people in the back rooms sat down and decided what would make a good 3-D movie, and they decided rodeo would. So they came out to Tucson, had a script, they filmed a movie called Arena. My uncles were all involved in it. It starred Gig Young, Polly Bergen, Harry Morgan, Lee Van Cleef was in it. Honestly, very bad movie.
(laughter)
Beutler: I mean, it's not very good, but it’s fun to watch, you know, those type of movies. A few years later, in Phoenix, they were asked again to provide stock for a movie, Bus Stop with Marilyn Monroe. So the rodeo scenes in it are my uncle’s stock. And, of course, they got to meet Marilyn Monroe. She was fascinated by their Western dress, their pointy boots, stuff like that. And there are several others, you know, Eight Seconds. My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys. All those movies. A lot of those movies have Beutler stock in them.
Blackburn: Randy, of course, I’ve loved rodeo my entire life, and you always see people in the arena who are taking care of the cowboys. They were kind of regulating, almost like a ringmaster in a circus. But they’re out there. They got the big chaps on. They’re on a beautiful horse, and I think your uncles played that part in a lot of the rodeos. And then, too, if you can finish the story with the chaps that you loaned to us that are on exhibit here at the History Center in the Crossroads of Commerce exhibit, where we tell the story of free enterprise in Oklahoma, and use your family story as that story in the rodeo business.
Beutler: You bet, those particular chaps you mentioned, those are chaps for pickup riders. So, you know, they’re very thick and have to be and mention that my Uncle Elra, one of the three brothers, he was a pickup man during a lot of their rodeos. And he was actually, among other things, during the National Finals Rodeo, the cowboys, you know, will help pick stock and things like that. Well, they also picked some of the personnel, like the pickup men. Elra Beutler was picked, in 1959 and 1960, unanimously as a pickup man for those National Finals Rodeos. And, you know, he was over 60 years old at the time. And so, you know, he was the cowboy, really, of the three. Jake, who was a little younger than Elra, he was in charge of transportation, which, you know, it’s very interesting to see the evolution of that transportation and the trucks they use, because, you know, that could be a very important part of, you know, the rodeo business, getting the stock there in time and in good shape, and then Lynn was the front man. Lynn dressed to the nines. He was named one of the ten-best Western dressed men during the 1960s and ’70s. I never saw, you know, where he didn’t have on boots, a nice shirt, a scarf on. You know, he was always dressed to the nines. He did the contracts, took the committees out to eat, you know, again, all that type of stuff. So each brother had a distinct role.
But you’re right. One of the things they promoted during the rodeos is they were showing, but they also—and this was something very important that I kept with me and whatever I dealt with—you know, whether it was president of the university and doing graduation or things like that, they didn’t want a rodeo to last over two hours or you’re going to lose your audience. And so I always remembered that. We tried to do graduation in two hours or under, those types of things, but a very snappy rodeo. In fact, one of the quotes I found about them, Colonel Zack Miller of the 101 Ranch, the Miller brothers, he once said of a rodeo in 1935 that they put on in El Reno that he had never seen better quality of stock or a faster-paced show than that.
Blackburn: Well and too, talking about the ringmaster who keeps things moving, the announcer is so critical to a good rodeo because they entertain while they’re getting the stock ready because there’s a lag between those eight seconds. And in those lags, the announcer gets involved. The clowns get involved, other people. So there is a showmanship side to that. Did they have a favorite announcer? Did they provide an announcer as they went around from town to town?
Beutler: Yeah, that’s a great question, and, you know, it’s changed over time. Today, in a lot of rodeos, a lot of the rodeo committees do that today. They hire those acts, contract acts, and announcers. But back at that time, what you’re talking about, really the stock contractor did that. So, you know, my uncles would use people like Lex Connelly. We mentioned Clem McSpadden, he was a favorite of theirs. Hadley Barrett, so forth like that. So, yeah, a lot of times they would hire not just the announcer, they would hire the clowns in the arena. They would hire, you know, all the contract acts that would come in. He had people like Cecil Cornish, you know, from Waukomis, and a lot of other individuals that would have acts with horses, so forth, like that. That would provide that kind of integral part between those contestants, contested events.
Thompson: So the brothers, in 1954, there’s a little bit of a break up. Can you talk a little about that?
Beutler: So, as my cousin Bennie often says, nobody fought better than the Beutlers between themselves, even the Hatfields and McCoys. And so you know, sometimes, you know, in the family, things don’t get along too well. So the brothers kind of broke up in 1954. Jake and Lynn went on their way and continued with Beutler Brothers Rodeo Company, and would continue that company until they sold out in 1967 to a conglomerate of a guy by the name Mike Cervi from Colorado and Harry Vold from Canada. Elra Beutler and his son Jiggs and eventually, Elra’s grandson Bennie, who runs the rodeo company today, would form what would become known as Beutler and Son Rodeo Company, and that would continue for a while. Unfortunately, Jiggs would be killed in a farm equipment accident in 1980. Bennie would come in and take over the rodeo company.
In 1989, he formed a new partnership with E. K. Gaylord II. Of course, Gaylord family, very well known here in Oklahoma. Ed Gaylord was very interested in rodeo, had been for a long time. So, it was Beutler and Gaylord until 2000 when Bennie’s son came in. Ed turned over his part of the rodeo company to Bennie’s son Rhett. And so Bennie and Rhett Beutler today run Beutler and Son Rodeo Company, and that’s the active rodeo company today.
Thompson: And are they still based out in Elk City?
Beutler: They are right out north of Elk City. We ranch beside them out there. But yeah, they’re right out north of Elk City.
Thompson: And how many rodeos would you say that they probably participate in today?
Beutler: So, you know, generally what they do today, and a pretty hefty rodeo schedule’s going to be, you know, 20, 25 rodeos a year. You know a few rodeo companies may do more than that. Some will do less. And then the other side is, you know, the size of your rodeos. So, they have some great rodeos outside and in Oklahoma, like they do Odessa, Texas. They’ll start there in January, go out to Tucson. That’s a very big winter rodeo. You know, one of their largest rodeos they do, one of the largest 4th of July rodeos in the country is the Greeley Stampede. Some other rodeos they do, especially here in Oklahoma, that the Beutler or Beutler family has done for years, you have the Woodward Elks Rodeo. They’ve produced it since the 1940s; the Lawton Rangers Rodeo, of course. What we consider our hometown rodeo, the Rodeo of Champions in Elk City; the State Fair Rodeo. They started producing the State Fair Rodeo here in Oklahoma City in 1936. They didn’t have a rodeo for a while through the ’50s and ’60s. It started back up again, and still produced a rodeo of some type at the state fair, even today.
Thompson: Well, that is fascinating, and it’s great to see that they’re still so prolific out there. What do you think the legacy is of a company like this and especially what it means to the state of Oklahoma?
Beutler: Well, first and foremost, you know, I think, and again, we haven’t really got into it. I’m actually writing a book about my uncles and the history of the rodeo company, and hopefully it’ll be out this fall. But they were probably the, to me, the most consequential stock contractors and group that developed rodeo into the professional organization that it is today.
Remember, of course, you know, there’s a long history of rodeo. You go back to the ranch contest and even back to the Mexican vaqueros and so forth. And the talents and, you know, the things that they brought, then you have the entertainment side of it that’s kind of brought about what the Wild West shows from Buffalo Bill to Pawnee Bill, you know, to the Miller brothers, the 101 Ranch, Charlie Tompkins. And by the way, most of these people my uncles knew and dealt with. In fact, one story I want to mention about the 101 Ranch is you know, in 1932, the ranch had to sell out—the 101 Ranch— and my uncles went up there. They were just getting started into the rodeo careers, and they bought some Brahma cattle that they had to rope and tie down to bring them back to Elk City. But they bought two bucking horses, and one horse that they bought was actually the horse that kicked and injured Bill Pickett. And he eventually, of course, died from those injuries. And there’s another great Oklahoman, you know, the inventor of bulldogging, and that was an integral part of the 101 Ranch.
So you know their history is intertwined with a lot of those individuals. My uncle talked about going with Pawnee Bill, you know, to the showmen’s convention in Chicago, Illinois, you know, so a lot of that’s intertwined in that and also that they brought, they helped bring rodeo to the professional organization that it is today. If you go to Colorado Springs, the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame up there, great building out in front of that building. You see a statue of a cowboy riding a bucking horse. And it’s Casey Tibbs, the great saddle bronc rider of the ’50s and ’60s, and he’s on a horse called Necktie, and Necktie was a horse of my uncle’s, of Beutler and Son. And that statue actually comes from a picture taken in Burwell, Nebraska, in 1958. So, you know, a lot of the places you go and talk about rodeo or its effects, in one way or another, a lot of times can be traced back to the Beutler family.
Thompson: You’ve talked a little bit about some of the stock and some of the famous stock from Beutler Brothers. Are there any favorites you have that we haven’t mentioned?
Beutler: You know, one of my favorites right now, and they just retired her, is Killer Bee. I mentioned her earlier. You know, she has won more NFR awards than any other horse. You know, now she will be part of their breeding program. You know, there there are a lot of—Lee Rider— you know, some of these horses were before they had annual awards. Lee Rider was a horse the Beutler brothers owned. Probably, you know, would have won numerous awards at that time. One of the great stories I like though is they had a horse, unfortunately, that at the Elk City Rodeo broke through the fence and jumped into the crowd. Unfortunately, a couple of people were injured, but they actually use that as you know, advertising for how bad their stock was.
(laughter)
Beutler: And, you know, they put out a deal, help name this horse, you know, it’s out-of-control type of deal. So, you know, one of the other things they used to do that’s not a competition anymore was what they call bloodless bullfighting. They go down to Mexico, you know, and they would get fighting bulls bring them back, and even you have some of that that’s intertwined in the breeding of some of the bucking bulls today.
Thompson: Well, that’s pretty fascinating. And I do want to mention the name of your book that you’re working on. It’s called Impresarios of the Rodeo Arena: The Amazing Story of the Beutler Stock Contracting Legacy. And we’re all going to look forward to when this book comes out later this year.
Beutler: Well, and I am too. It’s been a while. I’ve been working on it through COVID and everything else. But you know, it’s really been fun. I’ve learned a lot. The neat thing was that, especially my uncle Lynn Beutler, he never threw anything away. So we’ve got all these old pictures, everything like that that, you know, are still around—newspapers, letters, things like that. So there’s a great trove of information, you know, that’s there, and it’s just been trying, and Bob would know this because I know you’ve written numerous books. This is my first, but it’s kind of like trying to weed out what you use and what you don’t. But, no, I think it’s going to be, I’m really looking forward to it coming out hopefully later this fall.
Blackburn: And too, we might give a plug to the Old Town Museum in Elk City.
Beutler: Yeah.
Blackburn: You know, great people started that museum. I saw it grow over the years, for 40 years. And your exhibit, your family’s exhibit there, I can’t remember which building. It’s kind of on the west end, as I recall, of the Old Town. But I would encourage people to drive out there to see Old Town in general, but to go to that museum that probably is one of the largest collections in the country of rodeo memorabilia, and largely it’s open story. There’s so much stuff and not enough space to tell the story— hopefully someday that can change. But right now, people can still get a glimpse of how much your family has done in the rodeo business and that it is national in scale, not Oklahoma. That’s part of that legacy. And it effects an entire sport as well as a form of entertainment and of course, sport and entertainment combined in pros. But I think that Beutler brothers, probably would be the leading family in the rodeo culture and in the history of the United States.
Beutler: Well, and you’re exactly right. As for, you know, the museum’s a great asset to the city of Elk City. You and I have good friends that helped start that, The late doctor L. V. and Pat Baker, you know, and again, they’ve enlarged it some. They’ve got murals up there. They’ve got their hand-tooled luggage. I mean, you know, they traveled in style. That was one thing, and one part of the chapter that I’ve got in the book is about the style, you know, that they traveled in. They, especially Lynn, created a persona. And, you know, that was an important part of the business was that, you know, we believe we are a successful company, and we’re going to project that image. And, you know, they did. They had the hand-tooled luggage. They had, you know, dressed to the nines. They had a new Cadillac every year, you know, that they drove around in. So it was something that, you know, they wanted to project that they were successful. They were successful, and a lot of communities wanted to have them as their stock contractors for the rodeos.
Thompson: I have one question before we adjourn our time here together. Did you ever perform in the rodeo?
(laughter)
Beutler: No, no way. No, I’ve been run over a few times on the ranch and thrown off of some things, and that’s as close as I was.
Thompson: That was enough for you.
Blackburn: Yeah, but I can say Randy is a cowboy and has the hat and the boots and the whole thing. And one time we went to Washington, and I remember one of the few bags that Randy took with him was his hatbox, and he had that white hat in it. We got there. He put that hat on, went out on the town, and he impressed a few cowgirls, I’m sure, in Washington, DC.
Thompson: Well, Randy, it’s been so great to talk to you, and thanks so much for making time to tell your story, and thank you for all you do for the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Beutler: You bet. Well, hey, it’s great to be here. I admire both of you a lot. You know, and this is a great organization, and I’m so proud to be able to serve on the board of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Thompson: Well, Bob, that was a great conversation with Randy, and I learned so much about the Beutler brothers and what an Oklahoma legacy that they have with Beutler Brothers Rodeo, and they’re still doing it today.
Blackburn: They are. I’m proud of the family. And I know Bennie, who runs the company, and his son. But I’ve known Randy now for almost 40 years, and Randy has been a great advocate for Oklahoma history. He’s served us well. He’s been a great public servant, serving in the legislature, higher education, community leader. He’s still doing that today and always will. That family tradition has carried on, and I’m proud of him and the entire Beutler family.
Thompson: Well, Bob, as always, I’ve enjoyed our conversation, and I’m going to look forward to our next one.
Blackburn: Right. Thanks, Trait.
Thompson: You’ve been listening to A Very OK Podcast, hosted by Trait Thompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn. The podcast is produced by the Oklahoma Historical Society. Visit us at okhistory.org, and find us on social media by searching for @okhistory, I encourage you to purchase a membership to us to help us continue our mission to collect, preserve, and share Oklahoma’s unique and fascinating history.
