The WRANGLER Horse and Rodeo News is an equine and rodeo publication with circulation in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Utah and Idaho.
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August, 2023 • The WRANGLER • 67 of genetics in the sport of rodeo." St. Paul Rodeo takes its place in HOF For decades, the St. Paul Rodeo has been known as one of the most unique and finest rodeos on the PRCA trail. The success of the rodeo hasn't gone unnoticed as the St. Paul Rodeo Committee was inducted in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame on Saturday. "We have 11 members on our board right now and six out of the 11 are grandsons or great-grandsons of our rodeo founders from 1936," said Kevin Smith, the vice-president of the St. Paul Rodeo Committee. "The rodeo really is a family and community tradition that runs deep. I think it means even more to us because of the family connections. When I got the call from the meeting room that day I kind of felt like two other generations were with me right then and there." St. Paul, Ore., with a population of less than 450, is in the heart of the Willamette Valley, 20 miles from Salem, the state capital. From those roots, the St. Paul Rodeo is going strong as ever. In 1991, the PRCA cowboys gave the St. Paul Rodeo a plaque proclaiming it the finest rodeo in the Northwest. "We are receiving this honor because of the dedication of not only our staff and the people that have come before us, but our special community over the last 87 years," Smith said. Cowtown Rodeo enters ProRodeo Hall of Fame The storied history of the Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove, N.J., was rewarded at the highest level as it was enshrined into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. "It didn't set in that we are going to become the newest members of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame until we stepped foot in Colorado Springs," Cowtown Rodeo's Betsy Harris said. "That's when the reality set in for all of us. "The first thing we thought about when we found out was Grant's (Harris) Dad Howard. We think back to the work he did for rodeo. Now, that we've been here for 45 years that in itself is remarkable. You don't think that you'll ever do anything that long. When it's your life and it's a joy everyday like it is for us and now that our children are still involved there's nothing better. It's the best way to live." Cowtown has held rodeo competitions in Salem County, N.J., nearly every week since 1955, rain or shine. The only exceptions were six Saturdays at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Cowtown is known as the oldest weekly professional rodeo in the United States. The rodeo runs each year from Memorial Day to the end of September each summer. Cowtown Rodeo was started in 1929 by Howard Harris Sr. and his son, Howard "Stoney" Harris Jr. Stoney held the first rodeo in Woodstown N.J., in conjunction with the Salem County Fair, at the original auction grounds on North Main Street. Presently this ground is known as Harris Acres, with the back stretch of the racetrack now being the Presbyterian Church on Auburn Road. The rodeo was held annually during the County Fair until 1938. World War II caused the rodeo to be put on hold until 1955 when Howard "Baldy" Harris, Stoney's son, came back from the University of Idaho carrying the 1954 National Intercollegiate All-Around Rodeo Championship saddle. Cowtown Rodeo was – and is – known nationwide due to live national TV exposure in 1958 & 1959 and taped exposure nationwide in 1969 and 1970. The rodeo outgrew the original arena and in 1967 built the present 4,000 seat arena. Barrel racer Sherry Combs Johnson joins her sister, & her horse in HOF Combs Johnson joins the Hall of Fame alongside her world champion horse Star Plaudit "Red," who was inducted in 2017 and her sister Florence Youree, who was inducted as a notable in the 2019 Class. "When my horse Red went in it was great because I knew he was so worthy," Combs Johnson said. "People have called me a legend this weekend, I'm not a legend. I'm just a person that did what they wanted to do and was able to do. "I'm tickled beyond words and blessed to be included in this Hall, but I never thought I'd be here. Now, to join my horse and my sister, it's truly special, it really is." Born Aug. 16, 1938, in Duncan, Okla., Johnson has made her home in Addington, Okla. During her career she qualified for 12 National Finals Rodeos, the first coming in 1959 at the first GRA (predecessor to the WPRA) Finals in Clayton, N.M. and the last in 1991 under the bright lights of Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center, a span of four decades (1959-68, 1970, 1991). She won her first WPRA world title in 1961 in the all-around category, but the highlight of her career would come in 1962 when she won the barrel racing world title aboard Star Plaudit "Red." Johnson made her mark in the National High School Association as well, winning the all-around title, barrel racing and breakaway roping titles in 1955. Johnson gave back to the WPRA, serving on the Board of Directors from 1963-1971, including a stint as the Vice President. She was named Coca-Cola Woman of the Year in 1997 and was inducted into the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City in 2005. "When I got my card and went to the first NFR in Clayton (N.M.), I would have never dreamt of this day