Sunday afternoon I along with most
of the rodeo fans in America, had the pleasure of watching the all time
greatest barrel racer make one more run.
Charmayne James was one of the
legends at the American Rodeo. The American has the biggest payout for a one-day
rodeo in the history of the sport. The competitors were a combination of the
top ten in professional rodeo, cowboys and cowgirls from all walks of life who
worked through the ranks of numerous qualifying rodeos, and a chosen few who
are the Legends of their individual events.
Charmayne and her father bought her
first horse from a feedlot when Scamper was a six year old, and she was just
twelve. Two years later they qualified for the National Finals Rodeo. They went
on to win the NFR that year along with the WPRA World Championship and the WPRA
Rookie of the Year.
One of their most amazing runs came
during the 1985 NFR. As they came down the alley to enter the arena, Scamper’s
bridle broke. He ran the pattern on his own and won the round. In 1986 the pair
won money in all ten rounds at the NFR, a feat only three other riders have
accomplished.
Charmayne and Scamper ended up with
the enviable record of ten WPRA titles, six NFR titles and ten Rodeo Houston
titles, along with many other circuit finals and major rodeo championships. He
carried Charmayne to more than one million of her $1,842,506 lifetime earnings.
Although Charmayne won on several
other horses during her career, she hasn’t run competitively for ten years.
Coming back and running against the very best in the Barrel Racing world should
be daunting, but the run she made was amazing.
In the preliminary round, against
fifteen of the best of the best, she ran the fastest time. Unfortunately her
horse tipped a barrel, earning a five second penalty, putting her out of the
final round.
The talent it takes to come back to
a sport after that many years is mind-boggling. Thank you, Charmayne, for one
more run.
