Western Horseman Magazine May 2003
Rodeo Arena
ProRodeo Hall Marks 25th Anniversary
by Gavin Ehringer
This year, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame & Museum of the American Cowboy marks its 25th anniversary. When it opened in 1978, the facility elevated Colorado Springs to the level of Canton, Ohio, and Cooperstown, N.Y., as a destination of American sports fans. Today, it continues to grow and renew itself as rodeo passes into its third century.
Each year, roughly 50,000 visitors pass through the doors of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, making it second only to the U.S. Olympic Training Center as the favorite sporting association attraction in Colorado. With its handy location just off of I-25 in north Colorado Springs, the facility is accessible to visitors to this beautiful city but particularly to folks just passing through.
So, what's to see if you decide to stop? Certainly, the most eye-catching feature of the museum (and one that can be seen, night or day, from the highway) is the monumental statue of bronc rider Casey Tibbs by the artist Edd Hayes. The bronze statue of the nine-time world champ is 1 1/2 times life size and features the beloved Irishman aboard a bronc called 'Necktie.' Dedicated in August 1989, the statue officially known as 'The Champ' possesses a mischievousness befitting Tibbs, whose pranks and high-spirited antics during his rodeo years throughout the 1940s and 1950s are legendary. While he was working on the statue, Hayes fashioned a heart of bronze and inscribed the words 'Ride, Cowboy, Ride!' on it, placing the plaque in the chest of the statue. It's also said that Hayes hid another secret in the statue, one which he has never divulged to the public.
When Tibbs first saw that statue, he thanked Hayes for "making me look good." Then he paused and said, "Hell, I was good!"
As you pass through the museum's front doors, you are greeted by more bronze statues, the busts of notable citizens of the West whose contributions to the Hall of Fame helped to get the project from drawing board to concrete reality. The entry foyer is also populated with a variety of exceptional western paintings and even more sculptures depicting 'the cowboy life.' Among the most striking is a horse-drawn coach that is drawn by a fiery team of stock horses galloping at full steam. One must wonder if the 19th century passengers were perhaps late for an important appointment and imploring their plains cab driver to step on it!
After a few minutes wait, guests are either ushered into the western art gallery, which features rotating exhibitions by notable artists and craftsmen, or they may join others in one of two audio visual theaters. The first theater presents the story of how rodeo came to be; afterward, groups move into a second theater to watch a film about the contemporary sport of rodeo.
At one time, these two multi-format audiovisual presentations were considered state-of-the art, but they are not likely to impress young kids raised in the era of the touch screen display, interactive computer games, and surround-sound DVD home theater systems. In fact, if one could level one complaint about the museum, it would be that the presentations themselves are quite dated and in need of revision.
According to ProRodeo Hall of Fame director Pat Hildebrand, future plans call for updating the theater presentations, but raising money for such a project in these unsettled economic times may force the museum to put off such plans for some years to come.
That gripe aside, the remainder of the museum retains the overall high standards set by the museum. After exiting the first theater, guests begin to walk through Heritage Hall, which features a short and highly engaging display of rodeo equipment gleaned from throughout the past century and arranged to show the progression of equipment, clothing and rodeo style over the decades. Among the artifacts here is a copy of the original strike declaration written out by cowboys in 1936 that led to a walk out of the Boston Garden Rodeo and the eventual formation of the Cowboys Turtle Association. Today, we know the Cowboys Turtle Association as the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, whose headquarters are located in the building above the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Among the most interesting aspects of Heritage Hall are the progression of bronc saddles, from plain stock saddles used by trail hands to elaborate "bear trap" saddles whose huge swells gave cowboys a decided advantage over the horses, to the slick-forked modern bronc saddle that strike something of a competitive compromise between the animal and the rider. In this one display, one is able to see how much the equipment has helped to shape the sport, and the important interaction played by humans, animals, and the gear we've come to identify with cowboys.
As the Hall of Fame grew over the years and its roster of celebrated rodeo athletes increased with each passing summer, there was a push a few years ago to expand and enlarge the facility. A new wing was added to the main museum area, the Hall of Champions, allowing the museum curators to enlarge and elaborate on the then-crowded displays. Today, visitors can stroll throughout a new 30,000 square foot floor area.
What can you expect to see? Well, the displays are organized according to the various categories of Hall of Fame inductees. Each of the rodeo events - bull riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, etc., - have their own specific area. There are also displays dedicated to contract personnel, such as rodeo clowns and trick riders, and to "rodeo notables," individuals whose contributions to the sport over the years greatly benefited the sport.
One thing you won't see at any other sport hall of fame are the displays dedicated to notable animals. At the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, special animals who achieved rodeo star status also have their own shrines. Scamper, the horse that carried Charmayne James to 10 consecutive world titles, has earned a spot here, although his owner and rider has not. (There are women in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, but James competed as part of the Women's Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, which is not represented in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame).
One oddity you won't want to miss is the shrine to Oscar, a highly-lauded bull that was owned by Rodeo Stock Contractors Inc. The display consists of a clay urn containing, gulp, Oscar's ashes.
A recently added National Finals Rodeo commemorative area offers a look at rodeo's championship-determining event. In one room, you can walk into a 360-degree diorama made from a photograph of the National Finals Rodeo Arena which gives one a feel for what it is actually like to be in mid-arena at rodeo's "Superbowl."
Outdoors, visitors can stroll through an elaborate and recently completed garden area replete with a burbling brook, a rodeo arena, stalls filled with retired rodeo animals in the summer, and sculptures by a handful of top western artists that depict the various competitive events.
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy is open from 9 am to 5 pm daily, closed: New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is charged to the general public. The museum is located in Colorado Springs, at Exit 147 along Interstate 25. For museum information call (719) 528-4764.
