RODEO NEWS

Billy, Pam Minick to Share Honor of 2025 Legend of ProRodeo

Courtesy PRCA ProRodeo

Billy and Pam Minick have been named as the recipients of the 2025 Legend of ProRodeo award, awarded to a cowboy or cowgirl who continues to devote their time and energy to the rodeo community after their career is over.

The husband-and-wife duo will become the 20th and 21st recipients of the honor, which began in 2006 by the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. They will be honored at the Hall of Fame’s annual Wrangler Gold Buckle Gala Dec. 1 at the South Point Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.

Billy’s career began in 1959 when he joined the Rodeo Cowboys Association following bull riding championships at the high school and college levels. He qualified for his first NFR in 1966 but switched to the stock contractor side of PRORODEO in 1968 when he purchased the Harry Knight Rodeo Company from Knight and legendary entertainer Gene Autry.

It didn’t take long for the Billy Minick Rodeo Company to become one of the top stock contractors in the PRCA. In 1972, Streamer, one of Billy Minick Rodeo Company’s bucking horses, was named the NFR’s top saddle bronc horse. In 1973, Tiger was named the top bull of the NFR. He also won PRCA Bull of the Year in 1974.

Billy had a hand in producing top rodeos, including the Fort Worth (Texas) Stock Show and Rodeo, RodeoHouston, the San Antonio (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo, the Santa Rosa Roundup in Vernon, Texas, and Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2018.

“It means a lot to me because I’ve seen the growth of rodeo, and rodeo opened a lot of doors for me,” Billy said. “I just hope I live a little longer so I can see it grow more. It’s been a hell of a ride.”

Billy and Pam are also well known for being part of the ownership group of the legendary Billy Bob’s Texas restaurant in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Billy has booked legendary acts over the years, including Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Willie Nelson, among others.

Billy Bob’s is also where Billy became known for putting on bull riding events in the small arena inside the restaurant. Fourteen bulls from Stockyard Championship Rodeo’s stable got their start at Billy Bob’s and competed at the 2024 NFR.

“Billy Bob’s is a lot like producing a rodeo,” Pam said. “You have to sell tickets, have your talent or stock there, and you have to satisfy all sorts of people. Producing rodeos really gave Billy the background to do that.”

Pam joined her husband as an inductee in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in July.

A 16-time qualifier for the WPRA World Finals, Minick captured her first and only WPRA Breakaway Roping World Championships in 1982. She also competed in team roping and served on the WPRA Board of Directors over a decade while becoming a Western television personality.

Throughout her career, she hosted numerous programs on ESPN, TNN, NBC, CBS, The Outdoor Network, RFD-TV and the Cowboy Channel. She also became the first woman to be granted a PRCA Announcer Card and now the first woman to receive the Legend of ProRodeo Award.

“We were both overwhelmed and a little shy about receiving (the Legend of ProRodeo award) because everything we’ve done, we’ve done out of passion for the sport,” Pam said. “Whether it’s competition, production or promotion, we’ve done it out of passion. The great thing about the format of (the gala) is we get to share those stories. A lot of people that will hopefully be in the room are part of those stories.”

Billy and Pam join other Legends of ProRodeo, Jake Barnes, Jim Shoulders, Clem McSpadden, Harry Vold, Larry Mahan, Shawn Davis, Dean Oliver, Donnie Gay, Benny Binion, Mel Potter, Neal Gay, Michael Gaughan, Keith Martin, Cotton Rosser, Bob Tallman, Clint Johnson, Red Steagall and Pete Coors.

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