Jim Houston

Bareback Riding • Inducted 1979

As the inventor of the hard-handhold now used on virtually all bareback riggings, Jim Houston of Omaha, Neb., was one of the innovators of the laid-back, wild spurring style of bareback riding and won two world championships in the event. Houston, who was born Feb. 25, 1941, had never seen a rodeo until he was a 10 year-old visiting his aunt in Wyoming. She took him to the Cheyenne Frontier Days, and from that day, he never seriously considered any career other than being a professional rodeo cowboy. As soon as he was old enough, he left home during summer vacation to work on Wyoming ranches and enter local rodeos. He made his move into the professional ranks in 1961 and three years later won the first of his two consecutive world titles.

World Championships: 2

Bareback Riding: 1964, 1965

National Finals Rodeo Average Champion

Bareback Riding: 1968

Born: February 25, 1941 in Omaha, Nebraska

Black Hills Roundup / Belle Fourche, SD
All-Around: 1968
Bareback Riding: 1965, 1968

Clovis Rodeo / Clovis, CA
Bareback Riding: 1966

Ellensburg Rodeo / Ellensburg, WA
All-Around: 1968
Bareback Riding: 1968

National Western Stock Show & Rodeo / Denver, CO
Bareback Riding: 1969
Steer Wrestling: 1965 (tie)

Grand National Stock Show & Rodeo / San Francisco, CA
Bareback Riding: 1962, 1965

Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo / Ogden, UT
Bareback Riding: 1969

Red Bluff Round-Up / Red Bluff, CA
Bareback Riding: 1968

Reno Rodeo / Reno, NV
All-Around: 1966
Bareback Riding: 1966

San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo / San Antonio, TX
Bareback Riding: 1964, 1965, 1969

Snake River Stampede / Nampa, ID
Bareback Riding: 1969