Lan LaJeunesse

Bareback Riding • Inducted 2011

Lan LaJeunesse made a spectacular debut at the 1999 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by placing in seven of 10 rounds and shattering NFR bareback riding records with 813 points on 10 horses and earnings of $99,487 on his way to a dramatic world championship victory over Pete Hawkins; he won by just $822.

Two years later, LaJeunesse, of Morgan, Utah, held off young challenger Bobby Mote by winning three rounds and finishing second in the average at the 2001 Wrangler NFR to claim his second gold buckle with a PRCA single-season earnings record of $185,556.

In his three NFR appearances (1999-2001), LaJeunesse won seven NFR rounds.

LaJeunesse earned a gold medal at the 2002 Olympic Command Performance Rodeo in Farmington, Utah, and had wins at the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo (Pocatello, Idaho), San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days before retiring in 2004 with career earnings of $662,941.

(Pronounced La-ju-Ness)

World Championships: 2

Bareback Riding: 1999, 2001

National Finals Rodeo Average Champion

Bareback Riding: 1999

Olympic Medals

Gold – Bareback Riding – 2002 Olympic Command Performance

RAM Circuit Finals Rodeo Champion

Bareback Riding: 2002

RAM Circuit Year-End Champion

Wilderness Circuit:

Bareback Riding: 1995, 2000, 2002

Born: November 22, 1970 in Bountiful, Utah

NFR Qualifications: 3

Cheyenne Frontier Days / Cheyenne, WY
Bareback Riding: 2001

Dodge City Roundup / Dodge City, KS
Bareback Riding: 2000

Ellensburg Rodeo / Ellensburg, WA
Bareback Riding: 2000

Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo / Guymon, OK
Bareback Riding: 2003 (tie)

Red Bluff Round-Up / Red Bluff, CA
Bareback Riding: 1996

Rowell Ranch Rodeo / Hayward, CA
Bareback Riding: 2001

San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo / San Antonio, TX
Bareback Riding: 2003

World’s Oldest Rodeo Prescott Frontier Days / Prescott, AZ
Bareback Riding: 1999 (tie)