Two famous cowboys, icons of the rodeo world, have been recently honored with a Utah governor’s declaration.
Both cowboys have Nauvoo ancestral heritage.
Utah cowboys Earl Bascom and Ray Knight, have been cited by Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox for their contributions and influence upon the sport of rodeo worldwide. The governor then declared Saturday, Nov. 5, to be “Rodeo Pioneer Day” in Utah.
Earl Bascom, born in Vernal, Utah, in 1906, was cited as the “Father of Modern Rodeo” and as the greatest inventor of rodeo equipment in history who later became a famous cowboy artist and sculptor.
One hundred years ago in 1922, Bascom designed and made rodeo’s first hornless bronc saddle which is now the standard saddle used at rodeos across the United States and Canada, as well as in New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, South Africa and Europe.
Bascom’s grandfather Joel A. Bascom lived in Nauvoo before crossing the plains by wagon to Utah.
Bascom remembered his grandfather telling stories of living in Nauvoo.
Ray Knight, born in Payson, Utah, in 1872, was cited as the “Father of Canadian Stampedes.”
Knight moved to Canada in 1901 where he produced Canada’s first professional rodeo, the Raymond Stampede, in 1902, now 120 years ago.
Knight also coined the rodeo term of “stampede,” a synonym for rodeo, now used in the name and title of some 400 different rodeos around the world such as the Ute Stampede in Nephi, Utah, the Calgary Stampede in Alberta, as well as in New Zealand and Australia. Knight was also one of the directors of the first Calgary Stampede of 1912, 110 years ago.
Knight’s father Jesse Knight was born in Nauvoo, crossing the plains to Utah as a child. In Utah, Jesse Knight became a rich gold miner following the promptings of a dream.
Ray Knight managed the Knight Ranches found in Canada, Utah, Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and in Columbia, South America.
As one of the cattle kings of Canada, Knight sold and shipped 48,000 head of cattle to the stockyards of Chicago and Ottawa in 1919.
Both Bascom and Knight were champion rodeo cowboys and have been heralded for their world-wide influence on the sport of rodeo with inductions into several halls of fame.
