Youree Family Matriarch Florence Youree Passes Away

By Ann Bleiker

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Youree Family on the passing of their matriarch Florence Youree, who passed away at her home in Oklahoma at the age of 91.

An integral part of the history of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, she was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2019 in the notable category.

Florence (Price) Youree joined the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA) now the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) in 1951 and she hit the ground running both inside and outside the arena.

On the competitive side, Youree was among the top 15 a total of six times and won the WPRA all-around title in 1966 but it was her services to the GRA/WPRA in an administrative capacity that she really made her mark in the sport. Youree served the association as a director, then President from 1960-64 and then secretary-treasurer where she made the biggest impact. It was during that time that Youree worked to get the barrel racing included at the National Finals Rodeo as one of the main events. With the help of 1990 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee Clem McSpadden and Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce manager Stanley Draper the barrel racing became a featured event at the NFR in 1967.

Youree was fortunate to have competed at the NFR in 1967 and her legacy has been passed down to her family with daughter Renee Youree-Ward making the NFR in 1985, granddaughter Janae Ward-Massey in 2001-2003, winning the WPRA World title in 2003, and another granddaughter Kylie Ward Weast qualified in 2018.

Youree also influenced her younger sister Sherry Price (Combs) Johnson to become a barrel racer who won a GRA world title in 1962 aboard Star Plaudit, a ProRodeo Hall of Fame horse. Johnson joined Youree as a ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee in 2023 and passed away a few weeks following that honor.

Youree and husband, Dale, produced GRA All Girl rodeos, was the first to host barrel racing camps, training many future WPRA World Champions and they started the Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association. They also started the Barrel Futurities of America (BFA) that changed the barrel racing landscape and Youree served as their president for 18 years. Dale passed away in 2022 at the age of 93.

Read more about Florence Youree’s history – https://archived.wpra.com/index.php/pro-rodeo-hall-of-fame-inductee-florence-youree

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