Welcome to the weekend POU! Today we feature women who've made their marks in rodeo sports. Verna Hightower Verna Hightower was a multiple winner of the barrel racing sport on both the black rodeo and white rodeo circuits. She was the first of her race to become a member of the Girl’s Rodeo Association (GRA). With this membership, Verna was entitled to participate … [Read more...] about Saturday Open Thread: African Americans in Rodeo Sports
African Americans in Rodeo
Friday Open Thread: African Americans and Rodeo Sports
TGIF POU! Today we feature the unheralded but oh so important pickup man. Meet the only African American in the history of rodeo to take on this role. Jeff Rector Jeff Rector never set out to make history. The Minnesota rodeo rider is just doing what he’s always wanted to do. “I’ve been dreaming of doing this since I was 5 years old,” he said. Rector, who … [Read more...] about Friday Open Thread: African Americans and Rodeo Sports
Wednesday Open Thread: African Americans and Rodeo Sports
Happy Hump Day POU! A Bull hump at that! Today we feature two premiere bull riders of the last century. Myrtis Dightman Myrtis Dightman is a Champion Afro-American Bull Rider from the 1960s and 70s. Born in 1935 in Crockett, TX. Myrtis was a successful rodeo bull rider during the 1960s & 1970s. He is considered to be the Jackie Robinson of modern American … [Read more...] about Wednesday Open Thread: African Americans and Rodeo Sports
Tuesday Open Thread: African Americans and Rodeo Sports
Happy Tuesday POU! Today we feature the bronco riding Jesse Stahl. Born in Tennessee, Jesse Stahl, was an inductee into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. He was a major saddle bronco rider. Although exceptionally talented, Stahl seldom placed higher than third at the major rodeos mainly because he was Black. At one rodeo where he'd clearly bested his … [Read more...] about Tuesday Open Thread: African Americans and Rodeo Sports