PRCA
Fort Worth has no shortage of cowboy royalty, but few names carry the weight of Billy and Pam Minick. He was the bull rider turned stock contractor who helped shape some of the sport’s biggest stages. She was the roper who became one of rodeo’s first female sideline reporters, long before other sports allowed women through the press gate. Together, they’ve been producers, promoters, caretakers, and champions of a tradition that defines Texas.
This December, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame will honor the couple with the Legend of ProRodeo award — a recognition celebrating cowboys and cowgirls who continue to devote their time and energy to the sport after their competitive careers.
Pam admits she and Billy were humbled when the Hall of Fame called. For her, the honor isn’t just about their résumés. It’s about the stories of rodeo and the people who built it.
“Preserving rodeo history means a lot to me,” she says. “I think there are so many people in the Western world whose stories need to be told. That’s what these honors do — they shine a spotlight, they help preserve the footprint and the foundation.”
Billy’s decades-long career is remarkable on its own. He began riding bulls in 1959, qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in 1966, and purchased the Harry Knight Rodeo Company in 1968, alongside Gene Autry. Over the years, his bucking stock earned top honors — Streamer was named top saddle bronc horse of the NFR in 1972, Tiger was named top bull in 1973, and in 1974 Tiger was crowned PRCA Bull of the Year. He helped produce marquee rodeos from Fort Worth to Cheyenne.
Reflecting on his legacy, Billy told the PRCA, “It means a lot to me because I’ve seen the growth of rodeo, and rodeo opened a lot of doors for me. I just hope I live a little longer so I can see it grow more. It’s been a hell of a ride.”
For Pam, the story of rodeo is inseparable from Fort Worth. She points to 2020, when the National Finals Rodeo relocated to Texas, as a turning point.
“We got a chance to showcase Fort Worth to the world,” she says. “And every week since, more new fans are introduced to the sport here — through the bull riding at Billy Bob’s or the year-round rodeos at Cowtown Coliseum. Where are new fans harvested? Right here in Fort Worth.”
Pam has spent decades growing rodeo’s audience. She began covering the sport on television in 1976, nearly a decade before football hired its first female sideline reporter.
“There were no glass ceilings in rodeo,” she says. “Cows and horses don’t care what gender you are — they just care if you can do the job.”
Over the years, she has competed in team and breakaway roping, and her contributions to the sport were recognized when she was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame as a cowgirl in July. Even today, she still ropes, shows horses, and spends weekends in the arena.
“Being on the back of a horse is where I’m happiest,” she says. “And second to that, I want to shine a light on the sport. My mantra lately has been, ‘Shine a light and be the light.’ That’s what I try to do.”
For Pam, there’s a special twist. Though Fort Worth is now home, Las Vegas is where she was born and raised.
“For me to go back there as a legend is pretty special,” she says.
But she quickly turns the moment into a lesson.
“The great thing about this award is that it lets us share our stories,” Minick says. “And those stories — that’s how the next generation learns what the foundation was.”
