ProRodeo Sports News - May 1, 2020

PRORODEO HALL OF FAME JIM SUTTON JR. Stock contractor Sutton is the patriarch of Sutton Rodeo, and he and his wife, Julie, have a six- generation family operation still running strong. Sutton Rodeo is based in Onida, S.D. Jim and Julie were the recipients of the 2017 PRCA Donita Barnes Contract Personnel Lifetime Achievement Award. Sutton Rodeo has had three PRCAHorse of the Year awards: saddle bronc horse DeepWater in 1979, bareback horse Big Bud in 1985 and saddle bronc horse Chuckulator in 2012. Chuckulator also was the top saddle bronc horse of the 2012 NFR. Sutton Rodeo stock has been selected to perform at every NFR but one since the Finals’ inception in 1959. “It’s my birthday (today, April 20), so this was quite the gift,” said Sutton, 85. “This is something I really appreciate. I have been inducted into a half dozen halls of fame, and if there’s one I wanted to be in this would be it. This is the best award I have ever received.” Jim and Julie took the company to the next level with a focus on production and innovation. Jim began the Black Hills Stock Show Rodeo in 1978, a rodeo nominated 15 times for PRCA Indoor Rodeo of the Year, winning the award in 2002 and 2003. Jim originated the Wrangler Bullfights and the Bailey Bail-Off. He is famous for his pageantry and colorful rodeo openings, including the openings at the NFR in 1995 and 1996. Jim has been nominated four times as Stock Contractor of the Year. “I put up with 20 of the best bullfighters in the world for 20 years, I thought that was a pretty good feat,” Jim said. The roots of the Suttons being involved in the rodeo business can be traced to 1926 when the Edwin Sutton family – Edwin was Jim’s grandfather – began producing rodeos on the home ranch in Sully County, S.D. James H. Sutton Sr. took Sutton Rodeo to the next stage in the 1950s when he entered a partnership with Erv Korkow. As one of the first members of the Rodeo Cowboys Association, Sutton/Korkow stock performed at the first National Finals Rodeo in Dallas in 1959. James was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1982. “I don’t know anybody else I would rather follow,” Jim said. In 1968, Jim became a partner with his dad, forming Sutton Rodeo Company. SUNNI DEB BACKSTROM Contract Personnel Backstrom, of Congress, Ariz., is a 17-time NFR Secretary (1991, 2000, 2003, 2006-19). She has earned PRCA Secretary of the Year 10 times, more than any other recipient, for her outstanding work as a rodeo secretary. She served as the contestant office manager at the 2005 Finals and three times as an NFR timer (1975, 1980, 1984). Backstrom was at a loss for words when she was notified that she was going into the Hall of Fame as contract personnel. Her mother, Ellen, was inducted under the same category in 1995, making them the first mother and daughter to be inducted into the Hall. “My mom was the first woman inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame,” said Sunni Deb Backstrom, 61. “It was one of my proudest days. My entire life is the rodeo industry and always has been. It was my family’s life. It’s very overwhelming, I can’t tell you how much this means to me.” Ellen Backstrom was a four-time NFR secretary and was elected in the late ’70s to serve on the PRCA Board of Directors as contract personnel director, making her the only female to ever serve on the Board. She passed away March 22, 1988. “I can only aspire to be half as good as she was,” Sunni Deb Backstrom said. “She’s the epitome of a great rodeo secretary and loved the industry as much as I do. What I admired most about her was that she was so honest. She was really dedicated, smart and a forward-thinker.” Sunni Deb Backstrom received her first Rodeo Cowboys Association card in 1968 and her PRCA card in 1976. She works about 120 performances a year for prestigious rodeos such as Denver, San Antonio, Houston, Nampa, Idaho, and Waco, Texas. She has worked for Cervi Championship Rodeo since 1980.

Clay Guardipee photo Among Jim Sutton Jr.’s awards is the 2017 PRCA Donita Barnes Contract Personnel Lifetime Achievement Award.

Photo courtesy Sunni Deb Backstrom Sunni Deb Backstrom has been the NFR Secretary for the last 14 Finals.

ProRodeo Sports News 5/1/2020

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