New Issue Preview: How UT Got A Rodeo Club (Slideshow)

By Lynn Freehill in Blog on February 23, 2011 at 8:54 am | 1 Comment

Sure, the Texas Cowboys and Texas Pom girls sport chaps, but few UT students today really need to wear full Western getups to protect them on horseback.

Fifty-five years ago, the scene was different.

In 1956, a group of ranch-loving Longhorns decided that what The University of Texas needed was a rodeo club.

They petitioned the Board of Regents to start one, but the board said that if they wanted anything at all to do with rodeo or anything to do with agriculture, they should all transfer to Texas A&M.

That’s when these determined students got Gov. Price Daniel, Sen. Lyndon Baines Johnson, and movie star Roy Rogers involved.

Presented with a petition signed by these big names and thousands more, the regents changed their minds real quick. The Los Charros rodeo club was born.

How big was the arena they built? How successful were they in national competition? What big country star did they get to perform at their rodeo — for just more than $1,000?

Read the amazing full story of Los Charros in your March|April Alcalde, which hits mailboxes within days. In the meantime, check out the slideshow below for some cool vintage photos and hints of how well the rodeo club performed.

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