COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Team roping stars Speed Williams and Rich Skelton had no equals from 1997-2004, as each won eight consecutive PRCA world championships.

Now, the duo will be immortalized in rodeo history.

Williams and Skelton headline the 10-member 2018 induction class for the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. The ceremony takes place Aug. 4 at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Williams and Skelton join gold buckle-winner Deb Greenough (bareback riding, 1993), contract personnel recipient Leon Coffee, stock contractor Billy Minick, rodeo notable Walt Garrison and the committee for the Black Hills Roundup in Belle Fourche, S.D., as the PRCA inductees.

For the second time in the history of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame – 2017 being the first – barrel racers from the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) will be among the class of inductees, and their class includes Kristie Peterson, Billie McBride and a WPRA equine inductee, French Flash Hawk (Bozo).

In addition to the 10 inductees, former PRCA Chief Operating Officer Kay Bleakly will receive the Ken Stemler Pioneer Award, which honors individuals in recognition of their groundbreaking, innovative ideas and forward thinking.

Williams and Skelton were the pinnacle of team roping for nearly a decade.

“I remember going to the high school finals and stopping in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and I was blown away with the history of ProRodeo,” Williams said. “It’s a great honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Rich and I had a fairytale career and words don’t really describe how I’m feeling.”

Skelton also was taken aback to receive this prestigious honor.

“This is cool, and I don’t know when this will sink in,” said Skelton, who still competes on the PRCA circuit. “I wanted to make the NFR and I wanted to win the world, and then things just kept going our way. When you look back at it, we had good horses, and everything was set up at that time and that’s all we thought about and that’s all we did was rope. To me, we had so much success because Speed changed the heading and started roping fast and I just tried to be consistent.”

Williams qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo 15 times (1988, 1994, 1996-2008), and Skelton has 22 NFR qualifications on his résumé (1990-2006, 2009-10, 2013-15).

“I don’t think there was any secret to our success,” Williams said. “We came together at the same time and we had the same desires and we wanted to rodeo and that’s what we did every day, but I never even dreamed that we would win eight gold buckles in a row.”

Peterson, a four-time world champion, and her great horse French Flash Hawk, better known as Bozo, will fittingly go into the Hall together. Following on the heels of Charmayne James and her great horse, Scamper, it was Peterson and Bozo that ended James’ streak of 10 straight world titles, capturing their first of four world titles in 1994.

Although Peterson and Bozo were not successful in defending their title in 1995, the duo would return to the top of the sport in 1996 and then win three straight.

“How wonderful … that is just awesome,” Peterson said upon learning the news of the induction honor. “I feel very honored and humbled. To go in with Bozo is definitely the carrot on top. I am just speechless.”

When asked how it felt to follow James and Scamper, both in the arena and now into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Peterson simply said, “Being in the shadow of Scamper is a great place to be.”

McBride joins Peterson and Bozo in the Hall as another four-time WPRA champion. She will be inducted posthumously having passed away at the age of 90 on May 10, 2017.

McBride first saw barrel racing at an open rodeo event in 1937 and decided at 10 years old that it was the path she wanted to travel. McBride was a charter member of the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA), formed in her hometown of San Angelo, Texas, just over a decade later.

“She would be overwhelmed and thrilled,” said Alva Jean Meek, McBride’s daughter. “We are approaching the one-year anniversary since we lost her, but this news would have made her ecstatic. The GRA was a big part of her life, and she put her heart and soul into the earlier association.”

Greenough, 54, qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 13 consecutive years (1988-2000), tied with Joe Alexander for the fifth-most overall NFR qualifications in PRCA history. His 15 career NFR go-round wins at the NFR is also fifth most in his event. Greenough won a bareback riding world title in 1993 and a NFR average title in 1992.

Greenough was also known for his success within the Montana Circuit, where he went on to win five circuit titles. Greenough remains tied for the most National Circuit Finals Rodeo wins among all bareback riders with three career wins, in 1995-96 and 1999.

Coffee cried tears of joy when he found out he was selected for induction into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

“It kind of brought me to the milk right there, it brought tears to my eyes, that’s an old cowboy phrase for it made you cry,” Coffee said. “To know that my heroes, my friends and heroes, who are in there, and I’m in there with them – that’s just something I dreamed of. I’m just tickled to death to be in there and say, ‘Yes, I am in the PRCA Hall of Fame.’ It’s pretty wild.”

As a PRCA Gold Card Member and NFR barrelman, Coffee has enjoyed a long and lively career in ProRodeo as one of only three cowboys to be both a barrelman and a bullfighter at the NFR.

Since 1973, this Texas cowboy has fought bulls at the NFR twice (1979, 1984) and was a barrelman at the NFR in 1991, 1994 and 1997. Coffee also won PRCA Clown of the Year and was in the Top 3 every year from 1984-2001.

“I enjoy putting smiles on faces, and my motto of life is God put me on Earth to do two things – make people happy and help people out, and I can do both in the arena,” Coffee said.

Coffee also worked at the first National Circuit Finals Rodeo in 1987, the Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo (1980-82, 1992, 1996-97, 2003-04) and the Canadian Finals Rodeo twice (1985-86).

He was featured in many movies, including “8 Seconds” and “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.”

Garrison was two different types of cowboy, a fullback with the Dallas Cowboys and a ProRodeo competitor. He went on to combine his stardom with football and rodeo to raise more than $4 million for multiple sclerosis with his Walt Garrison All Star Rodeos over the course of 20 years.

“I think that dad played football as a career, but he got really fortunate when he retired from the NFL and Copenhagen/Skoal hired him to be a spokesperson,” said Walt Garrison’s oldest son, Marty.

The Texas cowboy was instrumental in the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco and Winston sponsorships in ProRodeo and the programs those sponsors provided – such as the Winston Scoreboard, sponsorships for individual cowboys and helping college rodeo athletes get scholarships.

“His first love was rodeo, no doubt, ever since he was really young,” Marty Garrison said. “That’s what he would have done had he not played football in college and then got drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. His whole life, his love was rodeo.”

Minick was short on words when he received the phone call that he was being inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, only because he hadn’t had time to process his new place in immortality.

“It took my breath away at first,” said the 79-year-old Minick. “I got a few tears. To be among those guys, even the past and the present and future cowboys, it’s kind of like that famous old quote that’s been said by all the cowboys, and even in song. ‘All I ever wanted to be was a cowboy.'”

Minick, born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, began his professional rodeo career in 1959, enlisting in the Rodeo Cowboys Association after winning titles both in high school and college. Minick qualified for the National Finals Rodeo as a bull rider in 1966. In 1968, Minick purchased the Harry Knight Rodeo Company from Knight and legendary entertainer Gene Autry.

The Billy Minick Rodeo Company eventually produced top NFR bucking stock, including the bucking horse Streamer in 1972 and the bull Tiger in 1973. Tiger would also win Bull of the Year in 1974.

Through the years, Minick helped to produce such rodeos as the Fort Worth (Texas) Stock Show and Rodeo, Rodeo Houston, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, the Santa Rosa Roundup (Vernon, Texas), Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days, and many more.

This summer marks a historic year for the Black Hills Roundup in Belle Fourche, S.D. Not only can the rodeo now boast being an inductee to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, but this year will also be its 99th annual competition.

The Black Hills Roundup started when 15,000 people gathered in a field in Belle Fourche to raise money for World War I in 1918. At the time, the population of Belle Fourche was 1,410.

The next year marked the first time the rodeo took place.

“The board and committee put a lot of time and effort into it,” Black Hills Roundup Chairman Clay Crago said. “It’s pretty special to us to see the recognition and get into the Hall of Fame.”

The big number of people to attend continues today, with an estimated 10,000-15,000 attending a parade during rodeo week in the town of about 6,000.

The historic rodeo, which is 100 percent volunteer-run, also boasts that President Calvin Coolidge attended in 1927.

With the 2018 class included, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame will have enshrined 267 people, 34 animals and 29 rodeo committees.

The WPRA contributed to this release.

CHRHF Class of 2018 includes Bill Andrew, Reade Baker, Jim Doherty, Dave Landry, Dan Loiselle, John G. Sikura, along with Blissfull Hall, Chancey Lady, Judy the Beauty and Shaman Ghost

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the people and horses being recognized as inductees in 2018.  Six people and four horses have been elected from an extremely deep ballot of candidates.

Representing Thoroughbreds in the Class of 2018 are Builder John G. Sikura, Trainer Reade Baker, and Communicator Dan Loiselle as well as horses Judy the Beauty, and Shaman Ghost.

Canadian-born John G. Sikura, Owner and President of Hill’n’Dale Farms (Kentucky), has been a mainstay in the breeding business there since 1994. Since then he has built Hill ‘n’ Dale into a leading stallion farm and sales operation, serving horse people across the continent. A shrewd but humble man, Mr. Sikura is an expert on thoroughbred pedigrees and continues to help improve the breed as an industry leader.   To date, his farm has consigned 95 horses selling for $1,000,000 (US) and over.  Better Than Honour was the most expensive broodmare sold at public auction ($14M) and five others were sold for world-record sale prices.  The 2018 stallion roster at Hill’n’Dale includes two-time Horse of the Year Curlin  as well as influential sires  Kitten’s Joy, Stormy Atlantic and Midnight Lute.  John’s father, John Sikura, Jr., was inducted into the CHRHF in 2013.

Dan Loiselle’s horse-racing career spans almost five decades, initially as a Standardbred racing official and announcer, and then as Woodbine Thoroughbred announcer, replacing Daryl Wells in 1986.  During his tenure at Woodbine, Loiselle called 28 editions of the Queen’s Plate and five Triple Crown champions including With Approval (1989), Izvestia (1990), Dance Smartly (1991), Peteski (1993) and Wando (2003.)  ​His signature accuracy and clarity was accompanied by a flair for entertaining his audience both at the track and during national television broadcasts of marquee events inlcuding the Canadian Triple Crown, the Woodbine Mile and the Canadian International.  Loiselle has served as Master of Ceremonies at many industry functions and interviewed celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment.  In November of 2015, Dan was inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame and was saluted by the Toronto Sports Media with a special award.  Most recently he hosted a special exhibition celebrating the 250^th Anniversary of Horse Racing in Canada during the 2017 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

Reade Baker’s training career spans four decades and over 1,100 wins. 126 of those wins in stakes events, 30 in graded races.  The 2005 Sovereign Award recipient as Outstanding Trainer, Baker’s stake winners include Horse of the Year champions Fatal Bullet (2008) and Biofuel (2010).  To date Baker conditioned horses have won 13 Sovereign Awards including Bear Now, 2008 Sovereign Award for Older Female and Tu Endie Wei, 2011 Sovereign Award winner as Champion 2-Year-Old Filly.  Baker’s 2015 Prince of Wales winner, Breaking Lucky, surpassed the million dollar mark in 2017 to join Fatal Bullet, Bear Now, and Judith’s Wild Rush as millionaire runners trained by Baker. Prior to embarking on a career as a trainer in 1989, Reade Baker was a top jockey’s agent and later stable manager for Richard Kennedy, who campaigned 1987 Canadian Champion, Afleet.         Mr. Baker is also a member of the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame.                                                                             Career stats: 7078 starts (1106-1000-901) and $54,408,858.

Ghostzapper daughter, Judy the Beauty, bred by Adena Springs North was a $20,000 yearling purchase by Owner/Trainer Wesley Ward who directed her through a 22 race career spanning five years with earnings surpassing $1.8 million.  As a juvenile, she found victory on the turf in France before winning in the Shady Well Stakes at Woodbine, and finishing second in the Spinaway Stakes (Gr 1) at Saratoga.  After three second place finishes at age three, she again visited the winner’s circle at age four, this time as a sprinter, winning the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (Gr 2) before finishing 2nd to Groupie Doll in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (Gr 1).  At age five she was named 2014 Eclipse Award Champion Female Sprinter as a result of a four graded- stakes win year, that included the Las Flores Handicap (Gr 3) at Santa Anita, the Madison Stakes (Gr 1)) at Keeneland and the Rancho Bernardo Hcp. (Gr 3) before culminating  with the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (Gr 1) at Santa Anita. Career Stats: 22 starts-9 wins-9 seconds-2-thirds and $1,815,922 in earnings.

Adena Springs bred and Frank Stronach owned Shaman Ghost won 8 of 17 starts for earnings of $3,859,311 under the training direction of U.S.-based trainer Jimmy Jerkins, making him the second-richest Canadian-bred of all time behind his paternal grandsire Awesome Again, also bred by Adena Springs and a Hall of Fame Honoured Member.  Shaman Ghost was named Canada’s Champion Three-Year-Old Colt in 2015 on the strength of a campaign that included wins in the Queen’s Plate and Grade 3 Marine Stakes at Woodbine and a second-place finish in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie.  Other victories of note include the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, the Grade 2 Brooklyn Invitational Stakes in New York, and the Grade 3 Pimlico Special Handicap in Maryland.  The now 6 year-old son of Ghostzapper out of Getback Time by Gilded Time was recently retired and is beginning his stallion career this year in California.  Career stats:  17 starts-8 wins-3 seconds-2 thirds.

Standardbred inductees include Builder William (Bill) Andrew, Communicator Dave Landry and Trainer/Driver Jim Doherty along with horses Chancey Lady and Blissfull Hall.

William (Bill) Andrew originally from Clinton, Ont. and now a resident of Calgary, Alta., has been involved in harness racing since he purchased his first yearling in 1990.  His focus shifted from racing to breeding in 2003 and since that time he has made a tremendous impact on the Canadian Standardbred industry, especially in Alberta and Prince Edward Island, where his two Meridian Farms breeding operations are based.  Aside from being a leading breeder in those two provinces, Andrew has given much back to the racing industry he loves, through charitable projects and financial contributions.   In 2015, Bill Andrew was awarded Standardbred Canada’s coveted Cam Fella Award for meritorious service to the Canadian Standardbred industry.  He has financially supported the Atlantic Sires Stakes trotting events, Truro Raceway and the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Select Yearling Sale at Truro Raceway.   Andrew initiated the Fun For Fans Stables and the Hurrah For Charity Stable where earnings from his horses in the stable benefitted a different charity partner each month.  Andrew has also donated the proceeds from the sale of yearlings to community projects, and continues to financially support PEI’s Matinee Racetrack Development Project where children learn horsemanship skills so that they can possibly make the transition to larger tracks and eventual full-time employment in racing.

Toronto native Dave Landry’s trips to the racetrack as a child with his father began a lifelong fascination with horse racing that turned into an award-winning career photographing some of the sport’s greatest equine and human athletes, including numerous Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame members.  Landry, who now resides in Burlington, Ont., has earned numerous awards for his equine photography, including six Sovereign Awards, an Eclipse Award, an International Media Award, a Horse Publications of America Award, and a George Smallsreed Award.  He is nominated for a seventh Sovereign Award for one of his Thoroughbred photos taken in 2017.   His work has appeared on the cover of more than 500 magazines or publications. His clients have included Woodbine Entertainment Group, The Canadian Sportsman, TROT Magazine, Horse Racing Alberta, Equine Guelph, as well as countless breeding farms and racing industry related businesses.   Dave has given generously to the racing industry, providing his photography services for many worthwhile promotional and fundraising projects.  Dave’s brother, jockey Robert Landry, was inducted to the CHRHF in 2014.

The late Jim Doherty, known as ‘Gentleman Jim’ and highly respected by his peers, started his career in the horse racing industry in 1956 at the age of 16 working for Milton Downey in St. John, New Brunswick. Jim moved to New England in 1969 and soon became one of the leading trainers and drivers at Rockingham Park & Foxboro Raceway until his move to New Jersey in 1976 when the Meadowlands opened.  There he trained and drove a large stable for the better part of 40 years. Doherty developed numerous champions during his career as a trainer-driver  including $3 million earner and 2002 United States Trotter of the Year, Fools Goal, as well as 1997 Three-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year No Nonsense Woman, and Starchip Enterprise, winner of the Valley Victory and Canadian Trotting Classic in the late 1990s. He also drove Green With Envy, two-time Older Pacing Mare of the Year in 1984 and 1985. During his career, Doherty drove or trained winners of 4,700 races and $45 million in purses.  In 2003 Doherty was inducted to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York.  He is also a member of the New England Harness Writers Hall of Fame, New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, and the Saint John Sports Hall of Fame.

Chancey Lady’s racing career spanned from 2007 through 2013.  During that time the daughter of Camluck started in 143 races.  She won 43, finished second in 22 races and posted 15 thirds, earning $2,083,514 and had a mark of 1:48.4 which was taken at Harrah’s Philadelphia. She was a $60,000 yearling purchase for the late Niele Jiwan of Surrey, B. C. and was trained by Casie Coleman during her 2007 campaign and until just after her Fan Hanover victory in June, 2008, when she moved into the John Pentland Stable, winning the first two starts for her new conditioner including an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final.  At age four she won two divisions of the Blue Chip Stake at Yonkers and a division and final of the Cape & Cutter at the Meadowlands.  In 2011 the mare racked up six victories in divisions of the Blue Chip and a Milton Stakes elimination as well as shattering the track record for fillies and mares at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs with a 1:49.2 victory in the Open Pace.  In 2012 she won four divisions of the Blue Chip.  Trainers during the latter part of her career included Mark Kesmodel, Paul Fraley, and Joshua Green.

In 1999, Blissfull Hall captured harness racing’s elusive Pacing Triple Crown for owners Ecuries Daniel Plouffe, Inc. of Bromont, Que., trainer Ben Wallace, and driver Ron Pierce.   A racing career of 31 races over two seasons included a record of 19-4-6, a mark of 1:49.2, earnings of $1.4 million and wins in the American National, the Adios, the Cane, the Messenger,  the Simcoe Stake, the Little Brown Jug, an elimination of the Breeders Crown and the Progress Pace. He was the recipient of the 1999 O’Brien Award for Three Year Old Pacing Colts/Geldings and 1999 O’Brien Award for Horse Of the Year and 1999 USHWA Dan Patch Award for Three Year Old Pacing Colts and Winner of 1999 USHWA Dan Patch Pacer Of The Year. As a stallion his progeny include millionaires Marnie Hall and Camelot Hall.  His offspring have earnings of over $74 million on the track.  That includes 85 horses with earnings over $250,000, 228 horses with earnings over $100,000, and average earnings per starter of $99,762.

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame 2018 Induction Ceremony will be hosted at the Mississauga Convention Centre on Wednesday, August 8, 2018.

Additional information about the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame may be found at www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com

Thoroughbred Inductees

Builder:  John G. Sikura, born in Toronto, ON; resident of Lexington, KY

Communicator:  Dan Loiselle, born in Toronto, ON; resident of Milton, ON

Trainer:  Reade Baker, born in St. Catharines ON, resident of Etobicoke, ON

Female Horse:  Judy the Beauty, breeder Adena Springs, Aurora, ON; owned and trained by Wesley Ward

Male Horse:  Shaman Ghost, breeder Adena Springs, Aurora, ON; owner Stronach Stable, Aurora, ON; trainer James A. Jerkins

Standardbred Inductees

Builder:  William (Bill) Andrew, born in Clinton, ON; resident of Calgary, AB

Communicator:  David Landry, born in Toronto, ON; resident of Burlington, ON

Driver/Trainer:  James Doherty (deceased) Born in Saint John, NB

Male Horse:  Blissfull Hall, bred by Walnut Hall Limited, Lexington, KY.  Owner Ecuries Daniel Plouffe Inc., Bromont QC, Trainer Ben Wallace, Puslinch, ON

Female Horse:  Chancey Lady, bred by Brittany Farms, Versailles, KY & Daisy Acres, Astoria, NY.  Owned by the late Niele Jiwan of Surrey, B. C.  Current owner Winbak Farm, Chesapeake, MD.  Trainers Casie Coleman, John Pentland, Mark Kesmodel, Paul Fraley, Joshua Green.