ProRodeo Sports News -- May 24, 2024

our sport to households all over the world. He will be greatly missed and remembered for generations.” Jeff Medders, who has been involved with rodeo TV broadcasts for more than 30 years and worked for Gottsch at The Cowboy Channel for four years, beginning in January 2020, praised his former boss. “What he did will leave an impact for a long, long time,” Medders said. “I have been involved since 1991 through ESPN and Great American Country and CBS Sports Network and then (Patrick) came in and I never dreamed we would have our own ESPN basically for cowboy sports. He was a man of incredible vision, and he wasn’t afraid to put his money where his mouth is. What a gamble he made to go ahead and pull the trigger and do what he did. He was a man of great vision and incredible passion for the Western World. “I have the utmost respect for him. I thought he was one of the most passionate humans I have ever met. He was a handful to work for, but I thoroughly enjoyed him and enjoyed his company. I really miss him.” Medders acknowledged Gottsch’s approach to broadcasting the Western World grew on him. “He changed my mindset,” Medders said. “I was of that mindset that rodeo needed to be on an ESPN or CBS something that gets you outside to the public and I still think maybe you can put some events like that, and I was kind of slow to grasp his vision of now creating this Western Lifestyle Network where it was all cowboys all the time. Once I sat down and looked at it, I was like this is a gamechanger. He did more for rodeo in 30 days than I had seen anybody do in 30 years in terms of exposure. “Then to bring you every round from Fort Worth, Cheyenne, Calgary, Pendleton…To do 10 hours of live TV everyday surrounding the National Finals Rodeo. It is like having the Super Bowl every day. He had incredible vision and he wasn’t afraid to bet the ranch this was going to be successful.” Medders recalled a dinner he had with Gottsch recently and the feelings Gottsch expressed. “We had a great dinner a couple of weeks ago and he grew up in the agricultural side of it, RFD-TV is ag based, and he was blown away by the people and the culture of the cowboy world. He said he searched for 65 years to find a place that he really felt like was home and where he loved to be, and he found it in the Western world.” Medders hosted a ‘Patrick Gottsch Remembered’ TV broadcast May 21-23 on The Cowboy Channel. Karlee Peterson, Executive Producer at The Cowboy Channel, shared the following about Gottsch. “Working with Patrick from day one of The Cowboy Channel to now 5 years later, he’s remained consistent in many ways,” Peterson said. “The word no, was never an option. Patrick held the industry’s people & cowboys in the highest regard, he respected rodeo committees & associations of all sizes, & continued daily to reinvent the wheel. There are few people that are truly visionaries. And Patrick is #1 in my book. “Last week, Patrick said ‘Karlee, I love my job. I love what I do.’ He meant it. I hope people got to experience how funny Patrick was, a true sense of humor & the most loyal heart. I’ll forever cherish spending his last evening at the Kid Rock rodeo with him & our team. We raved about the opening ceremonies, sang to Kid Rock & enjoyed the rodeo with friends & family. I’ll always be learning from him. Thank you for believing in me & being the greatest teammate. As we like to call Patrick, Rodeo Elvis.” Randy Bernard, who worked with Gottsch and was a friend to him, took a moment to talk about his impact. “The Western Way of life never had a media form that truly represented them,” Bernard said. “It was the first time cowboys got the respect that was so needed. I think what he did was show that rodeo is a loved sport and his fanbase truly got behind it and the sport has grown tremendously because of The Cowboy Channel.” Bernard admitted he thought The Cowboy Channel would take a while to find its footing – which wasn’t the case. “I never thought (it would get to) the level it has and so quick,” he said. “But, knowing Patrick, he was a fighter. He never gave up. He always

wanted more than he could have, and he was always going to make it bigger and better. He was relentless and he didn’t give up. He had a dream on this, and he loved the appreciation that the industry gave him. He loved going to rodeos and talking to fans. “Probably 10 years ago before we started The American, he had RFD-TV, and he was huge with the agricultural community but on the Western lifestyle he didn’t realize how big and how great it was. In the last decade, he just loved it, and it became his focus. He wanted to give the cowboys so much and that was his goal. It was never about making money with him. It was always about how he could make it bigger and better.” Raquel Gottsch Koehler and Gatsby Gottsch Solheim, Patrick’s daughters, released the following statement to the PRCA: It is with profound sadness that we recently announced the sudden passing of our beloved father, Patrick, who died unexpectedly May 18. Patrick was a pioneer and legend in the Western world and a fixture at rodeo events, always cheering on cowboys and cowgirls. He dedicated his life to building a 24-hour rural television network and multimedia company. Beyond his remarkable career, Patrick was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. His passion and vision shaped our company, but it was his passion and dedication to family that defined him for us. We are deeply saddened by the loss of our company leader, but more importantly, by the loss of our father. We will miss him dearly. Despite this tragic loss, our dedicated team remains in place, ensuring that RFD-TV, The Cowboy Channel, The Cowgirl Channel, and Rural Radio will continue to air without interruption. We will share any new developments once we’ve had time to mourn and reflect during this sensitive time. We are hosting a private service for family and close friends. In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made in his name to the National FFA Foundation in Patrick’s honor. Cards may be sent to Rural Media Group, Inc., Attn: Patrick Gottsch Memorial, 17445 Arbor Street, Suite 100, Omaha, NE 68130, or emails can be sent to patrick@rfdtv.com. Thank you for your support and understanding during this difficult time.

PRCA ProRodeo file photo Tye Romano, the marketing manager at Boot Barn, presents Patrick Gottsch a buckle for The Cowboy Channel being selected as the Multimedia Journalism Award winner at the 2022 PRCA Awards Banquet.

ProRodeo Sports News 5/24/2024

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