ProRodeo Sports News July 9, 2021

NOTABLE

“I knew I wanted to be a rodeo writer instead of rider. ... I was really taken with the life- style ... and all the char- acters, and I enjoyed it so much.”

– RANDY WITTE

PRCA ProRodeo file photo

Randy Witte Famed journalist chronicled sport of rodeo for decades BY NEAL REID, Special to ProRodeo Sports News A s he stood at the 1978 groundbreaking ceremony for the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy in Colorado Springs, Colo., taking notes for an article he would write about the new facility, Randy Witte had no way of knowing he one day would be among the elite figures enshrined there. The longtime rodeo journalist – who worked at the Rodeo Cowboys

After graduation, Witte decided writing about rodeo was safer than being a bull rider, so he went to work at the RCA as director of the Rodeo News Bureau. He would go on to serve as editor of ProRodeo Sports News from 1976- 77 before making the move to Western Horseman , a publication he would dedicate to producing for the next 29 years of his life. Witte became the magazine’s publisher in 1989 and helped grow its circulation to more than 200,000 before retiring in 2006. He served on the Board of Directors for the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in the 1990s and was honored by Western Horseman in 2015 with a portrait created by former art director Dwayne Brech that now hangs in the magazine’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. “I knew I wanted to be a rodeo writer instead of rider,” saidWitte, who considers Freckles Brown, Casey Tibbs and Jim Shoulders among his favorite interview subjects. “I always thought one of the perks of the job was the people you got to meet. I was really taken with the lifestyle, going down the road and all the characters, and I enjoyed it so much. I owe a lot to rodeo.” He was humbled by the Hall of Fame honor and can’t wait to celebrate with family and friends, including his wife of 50 years, Marsha, and longtime pal, Robinson. “I’ve decided I’m just going to go with it and enjoy it, and I’m looking forward to it,” saidWitte, who attended Robinson’s enshrinement ceremony in 2019. “I feel great about it, and I’m going to sit back and enjoy the whole deal.” In the end, Witte became a great story in his own right, and now that story will be preserved in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Association and Western Horseman magazine for nearly 40 years – will soon stand alongside the legendary cowboys of whom he wrote as part of the Class of 2020. Witte, 73, will be inducted as a notable on July 17 after amassing a highly notable career promoting the sport he loves. The Denver native, who lives in Peyton, Colo., spent his life telling stories about the rodeo world andWestern lifestyle. His legacy will live on forever in the hallowed halls in Colorado Springs. “It’s unbelievable, and it caught me by complete surprise,” saidWitte, who sold his first magazine article to Western Horseman in 1968 while still in college at Colorado State University. “I never thought I’d be going into the Hall of Fame. What an honor.” Witte spent his college summers working as a cub reporter for The Denver Post , covering the 1968 Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days, among other stories. He was involved with the CSU rodeo club, rode bulls as a competitor – at the urging of ProRodeo Hall of Famer Jerome Robinson – and penned articles about rodeo as he worked on his technical journalism degree.

ProRodeo Sports News 7/9/2021

ProRodeo.com

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