ProRodeo Sports News - June 23, 2022

STEER WRESTLING HORSE

Jim Fain photo

Whiskey Star steer wrestling horse Whiskey gets the HOF call BY PATRICK EVERSON Special to the ProRodeo Sports News quality in timed events.

“I never said nothing about it, but I always hoped he’d get in someday. I’m really proud of him. He’s a great horse. I’m sure glad I owned him, and I loved that horse.”

“He could really run. He wasn’t fast enough to beat the thoroughbred horses on the racetrack, but he was fast enough to win at the rodeo,” Duvall said. “If you get to your steer 5 yards ahead of another guy, you’ve given yourself a big advantage.” So just how tough and how fast was Whiskey? Well, Duvall pointed to a one rodeo back in the day. He rode Whiskey, and a slew of his peers rode the indefatigable horse, as well. “There were 15 or so guys riding my horse. It was a bunch of steers,” he said. But again, Whiskey was tireless, with Duvall noting the horse had little to no health issues over those nine years. In fact, the horse took care of Duvall, too.

B ack in 1979, steer wrestler Roy Duvall rightfully earned a spot in the inaugural ProRodeo Hall of Fame class in Colorado Springs, Colo. The cowboy from Boynton, Okla., was actually still competing at that point, in the midst of 21 consecutive qualifications for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. In total, Duvall competed in 24 NFRs, and he won world championships in 1967, ’68 and ’72. But without a truly great horse, Duvall’s NFR run likely wouldn’t have stretched from the mid-1960s all the way to the mid-1990s. And so it is that Whiskey, one of the greatest steeds in timed-event history, will be inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame on July 16. “Oh Lord, it means a lot to me,” said Duvall, who’s still working hard as a cattle rancher, while approaching 80 years old. “It means a lot to know you had a great horse. My little horse was dang sure a nice horse.” Duvall recalled when he first acquiredWhiskey, and the two had a stellar nine-year run together. “If you can’t get a good horse in the PRCA, you ain’t gonna win much. And when you’ve got a winner, you better keep him,” he said, while noting what he thought made Whiskey so special. “He was about half thoroughbred. Thoroughbred horses are rougher, tougher than ordinary horses. That little horse was tough-tough.” Oh, and thoroughbreds tend to be faster, too – always an important

– ROY DUVALL

“Imagine going 30 mph on a horse and jumping off to wrestle a steer,” Duvall said. “A lot of guys had knee problems. I never had any problems.” Now that horse will be forever immortalized in the Hall of Fame. “It’s great. I never said nothing about it, but I always hoped he’d get in someday. I’m really proud of him,” Duvall said. “He’s a great horse. I’m sure glad I owned him, and I loved that horse.”

ProRodeo Sports News 6/24/2022

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