Jeff Medders, Butch Myers, Jerome Davis Headline 2026 ProRodeo HOF Class

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

Courtesy of the PRCA

Western lifestyle media mogul Jeff Medders, and a pair of PRCA World Champions – late steer wrestler Butch Myers (1980) and bull rider Jerome Davis (1995) – headline a star-studded 2026 ProRodeo Hall of Fame class announced Tuesday, March 31.

The trio is joined by Keith Isley, a legendary bullfighter and rodeo clown; stock contractor Ike Sankey; notables, tie-down roper Bobby Goodspeed, a 12-timer National Finals Rodeo qualifier (1959, 1962, 1963, 1967-71, 1974-77); star bareback/saddle bronc horse, Beutler & Son Rodeo's Killer Bee; San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo; and WPRA World Champion barrel racers Loretta Manuel (1963 and 1967) and Mary Burger (2006 and 2016).

The 2026 Pro Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. (MT), July 18.

Troy Weekley will be honored with the 2026 Ken Stemler Pioneer Award on July 17 as part of the Hall of Fame festivities, which recognizes those who have provided groundbreaking, innovative ideas and forward thinking that help the development, advancement, and success of the PRCA and or the Hall of Fame and their missions. Weekley has been a longtime stock contractor and influential voice in the southeast for rodeo.

Jeff Medders: Medders' first love remains in the Western lifestyle, and all his media accolades have landed him in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Since 1991, Medders has been a TV host at the NFR and all things PRORODEO. Medders' company, Geronimo Productions, produced the TV side of the NFR from 2012-2019. Medders also served as president/general manager of The Cowboy Channel from 2020-2024. He played a key role in major TV decisions from moves to Great American Country and CBS Sports Network.

From a media perspective, Medders has been one of the most impactful people for PRORODEO and the growth and the promotion of the sport.

His passion for the sport and his engaging storytelling has connected with viewers in all walks of life as he puts the fan in the action, and he has turned many a casual fan into a loyal engaged fan. By doing that he has helped grow the sport and its fan base.

"That leaves me speechless," said Medders when notified of his induction. "I'm so honored. It has been an amazing ride. There have been so many good experiences, great people and every time I show up at the NFR, I know it is not a right, it's a privilege. I was honored just to be nominated for the ProRodeo Rodeo Hall of Fame, and I'm blown away (to get inducted)."

Medders took a moment to explain his journey that has led him to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

"As a kid growing up in southeast Oklahoma, I went to the NFR every year," Medders said. "It was the highlight of December, and you know growing up on a ranch, one of the first athletes I wanted to be like was Larry Mahan. I kind of got into the stick and ball sports and became a sportscaster. Then, when I got the chance to go to the NFR in 1991, that was my first actual live television show that I did nationwide, and I just appreciate who those rodeo cowboys are. They are not LeBron James or those guys who are making millions of dollars and have agents, cowboys treat you like you are one of them.

"So, growing up a cowboy and appreciating that they are the toughest athletes on the planet it was pretty easy for me to get into rodeo and not really want to do any other kind of TV."

Butch Myers: Myers, the 1980 PRCA Steer Wrestling World Champion and 12-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, passed away July 24, 2024, in Athens, Texas. He was 78.

Myers qualified for the NFR in steer wrestling from 1980-87, 1989, 1995 and 1997, and once in tie-down roping in 1989.

Myers has quite the rodeo family tree. His late wife, Fanchone, was a barrel racer and former Miss Rodeo Kansas and his sons, Rope and Cash, were PRCA standouts as well. His daughter, Tygh, was also an all-around rodeo hand.

Rope was a steer wrestler and nine-time NFR qualifier (1995-2001 and 2003-2004), highlighted by him winning the 2001 PRCA World Championship.

Cash is a seven-time NFR qualifier – six in steer wrestling (2000-2003, 2005 and 2008) and once in tie-down roping in 2001. He also qualified for the National Finals Steer Roping eight times in 2002, 2005-2009 and 2021-22.

"Oh, praise the Lord. I tried to get that done for so long. I'm so grateful. Thank you so much," Rope said about his father's ProRodeo Hall of Fame induction. "Dad really did care about legacy and not legacy as in the Hall of Fame. His legacy was the people who he interacted with, that he helped, that he taught, that he coached, that he instructed in their sport, that he rodeoed with, that he lived with. That was the legacy he wanted to leave. And it's nice then to have something like the Hall of Fame come along behind and recognize that legacy and kind of put a stamp that says that, 'Hey, you did leave a legacy.'"

Butch's nephew is legendary ProRodeo Hall of Famer Ty Murray, and his grandson is tie-down roper Quade Hiatt, who qualified for the 2024 NFR.

Butch won his first trophy saddle in Little Britches competition at age 11. He was also a champion steer wrestler, calf roper and bareback rider throughout high school and college. Myers obtained a bachelor's degree from Colorado State University in Fort Collins and then obtained a master's degree in agricultural education from Kansas State University in Manhattan.

Myers obtained his PRCA card in 1968, but he couldn't compete hard, so he turned in his card. For years, Myers' priorities were finishing his education, raising a family, while competing in local and open competition.

Myers returned to the PRCA in 1980 and proceeded to win the world title with $44,708. He also won the steer wrestling average championship at the NFR in 1986 and 1997.

During the '97 NFR in Vegas, Myers set the average record on 10 head at 43.3 seconds at 52 years old. Myers broke the average record he set in 1986 at 44.3 seconds on 10 head. In 2001, Rope joined his father as an NFR steer roping average record holder with a 37.4-second time on 10 head.

Jerome Davis: In 1995, Davis became the first cowboy from east of the Mississippi River to win a world bull riding championship, according to PRCA records.

Davis, 23, at the time, from Archdale, N.C., not only finished the regular season leading the world standings, but he also successfully rode nine of 10 bulls at the 1995 NFR to win the average.

Davis joined the PRCA in 1992 and qualified for the NFR every year from 1993-1997. In 1995, Davis won two rounds and placed in five more to earn $72,732 at the NFR to win the world title with $135,280.

Jerome Davis is a name synonymous with strength, courage and an unbreakable spirit. His greatest challenge came on March 14, 1998.

At the Tuff Hedeman Championship Challenge, the annual Bud Light Cup event in Fort Worth, Texas, Davis drew the bull named Knock 'em Out John during the first round. Five seconds into the ride, the bull made a big lunge forward and Davis was jerked down, causing his head to collide with the bull's head and knocked Davis out.

The unconscious Davis was then thrown off the bull's back and landed head-first into the arena dirt, causing a fracture/dislocation at the base of his neck. The wreck resulted in Davis becoming permanently paralyzed from the chest down.

After the accident, Davis faced numerous challenges, but it was also the beginning of a new chapter of resilience and triumph.

"Oh man, that's awesome. That's a big deal to me. This is one of the highlights of my life," Davis said when he received the Hall call.

"I think my bull riding taught me how to be motivated and how to overcome obstacles and, you know, things in life in general. And, you know, at the end of the day, I just love being a cowboy. And it's just kind of the mindset that you've got to have through life sometimes, the same mindset that, you know, wins world titles and things at the NFR."

Keith Isley: Isley's baggy pants, red hat and USA-themed shirts became well-known through the 1990s and 2000s in PRORODEO. The North Carolina barrelman and clown obtained his PRCA card in 1994 and immediately made an impact at every rodeo he performed at.

With specialty acts consisting of horses, dogs, bull whips and trick roping, Isley's specialty act caught the eye of PRORODEO officials and allowed him to be named to the National Finals Rodeo from 1998-2002, and again from 2008-09.

His accolades didn't stop there.

Isley was named the PRCA Clown of the Year from 2006-11. He was nominated for the same award in 2012. He was named the Coors Man in the Can in 2006 and again from 2009-11.

He was the PRCA Specialty Act of the Year (1999-2002; 2006) and Comedy Act of the Year (2001, 2004, 2009-11) five times each in his career.

Isley also made a name for himself in PRORODEO circuits.

He was the specialty act and barrelman at the National Circuit Finals Rodeo from 1999-2000, 2008 and 2010. He also worked the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo (2008); Columbia River Circuit Finals Rodeo (2008); Great Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo (2003); First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo (1999-2001; 2004-06; 2009); and the Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo (1996).

In 2009, on the night before the start of the 51st National Finals Rodeo, Isley won his fourth straight Clown of the Year award, his second Coors Man in the Can award and third Comedy Act of the Year honor. It was a three-award sweep for the then 52-year-old.

"Everybody, when they start as young as I did, you always dream of working the big ones, and I've done that," Isley said of his induction. "And it's just a dream come true."

Throughout his career, Isley also spent time as a pickup man and team roping contestant. But his true love was entertainment, and few did it better than Isley.

Isley's last in-arena performance came on Dec. 21, 2024, in Billings, Mont., at the Chase Hawks Rough Stock Rodeo. He was 67 years old.

Now, his legacy will be immortalized inside the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

"To be able to last as long as I have in this business, it's a dream come true," Isley said. "I've been very blessed, not lucky, but very blessed to have made it this far. That's what I needed."

Ike Sankey: Responsible for breeding some of the best bucking stock in the PRCA, Sankey created a legacy in PRORODEO when he was approved to become a stock contractor in 1978.

Sankey Pro Rodeo quickly flourished and was responsible for breeding multiple bucking stock of the year award winners, including Skitso Skoal, the Saddle Bronc of the Year in 1994 and 1997.

Skoal's Wild Card, another Sankey horse, won Saddle Bronc of the Year in 1998, while Surprise Party Skoal tied for the honor in 2000.

Sankey Pro Rodeo merged with Phenom Genetics in 2019 to form Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics, further increasing the stock contracting firm's influence on bucking stock in the PRCA.

In 2022, the company sent five bucking bulls to the NFR. In recent years, The Black Tie (2022 PRCA Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year) has been one of the best horses in PRORODEO, responsible for multiple 90-plus point rides.

Magic Touch, Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics' prized bull, was named the PRCA Bull of the Year in 2025.

"Rodeo is how I've made a living, that and trading my whole life, and the PRCA has been special from the beginning," Sankey said when he learned of his induction into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. "I'm probably one of the only guys alive right now that has a belt pin that says RCA on it. So, it means a lot."

Before becoming a stock contractor, Sankey was a top roughstock rider.

A five-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, Sankey rode bareback at the NFR from 1975-78, saddle bronc in 1978 and competed for the all-around title that same year. He was just 18 years old when he made his first NFR appearance in 1975, just one year after obtaining his card.

His best season came in 1978 when he entered the NFR fourth in the bareback world standings with $26,863 in earnings. After placing at the final rodeo of the season, he also qualified for saddle bronc that season at No. 15.

That year, he placed three times in bareback riding and once in saddle bronc, highlighted by an 86-point trip on Sutton Rodeo's Half Velvet to earn the Round 5 win.

Bobby Goodspeed: A recent inductee into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame, tie-down roper Goodspeed will be immortalized in PRORODEO history forever as part of the 2026 induction class for the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

The honor comes after a long career for Goodspeed that included 12 trips to the National Finals Rodeo, including one year in which he won the NFR average and finished tied for third in the final world standings.

Born in 1938, the Wetumka, Okla., cowboy had rodeo in his blood.

His father, Jess, was the RCA – now the PRCA – reserve national champion in 1952. Jess Goodspeed also went on to win major PRORODEO events, including Cheyenne Frontier Days, multiple AQHA national championships and was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Goodspeed took after his father early on in his roping career. He won the American Junior Roping Association all-around and calf roping titles three consecutive years from 1954-56 and obtained his RCA Card two years later in 1958.

It only took Goodspeed one year to make it to PRORODEO's biggest stage, qualifying for the first-ever National Finals Rodeo in Dallas, Texas, in 1959. He went on to the compete in the NFR 11 more times throughout his career (1959, 1962, 1963, 1967-71, 1974-77), all of which took place in Oklahoma City, Okla. Goodspeed won 12 total rounds at the NFR and placed 35 times. He has $20,202 in total NFR earnings in his career.

Throughout that time, Goodspeed also picked up wins at some of the PRCA's biggest rodeos, including Cheyenne, Denver and Albuquerque.

Goodspeed also has six calf roping (1975-77; 1980-82) and one all-around title (1977) to his name at the Great Lakes Circuit Finals. He qualified for the Great Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo for the final time in 1996. He later went on to become a judge for the PRCA.

Killer Bee: After retiring in 2022, Beutler & Son Rodeo's Killer Bee passed away on July 10, 2024.

What the horse did inside the arena will never be forgotten.

Killer Bee strung together a remarkable career as a PRCA bareback and saddle bronc horse.

Upon retirement after the 2022 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Killer Bee entered the breeding program and died due to pregnancy complications at 19 years old.

"She was the best horse I ever had, by far," stock contractor Bennie Beutler said. "We bottle-raised her after her mother died. She never got gentle, but she would let you follow her around and she was one-of-a-kind."

Killer Bee earned top bareback horse of the 2018 and 2020 NFRs and top saddle bronc horse of the 2013, 2014 and 2022 NFRs.

She also won PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year honors in 2019, top bareback horse of Round 3 at the 2019 NFR and top saddle bronc horse of Round 4 and Round 9 of the 2022 NFR.

Killer Bee's last ride proved a memorable one in Round 9 of the 2022 NFR. In her last out, Dawson Hay tied the Round 9 record with a 92-point ride in front of a packed house at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

"That ride was as good as it gets, everything came together," Beutler said.

After the ride, Killer Bee trotted around the arena for one last standing ovation.

San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo: The San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo began as an idea in 1932.

J. Culberson "Cub" Deal, who served as the elected manager of the San Angelo Board of City Development, thought the West Texas city would benefit from a spring stock show rather than a fair.

Two years later, with success coming quickly, an experimental rodeo took place alongside the stock show. The Fat Stock Show & Rodeo, the event's name during its inception, thrived until 1943 when it was canceled due to a fire that destroyed several of the facilities.

They rebuilt and continued, evolving over the years to include more rodeo events. Now, 94 years later, the San Angelo Rodeo has become one of the most pivotal stops on the PRORODEO road in the spring and as part of the Texas Swing.

And it will now be immortalized forever as an inductee into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame 2026 class.

"This is definitely a rodeo town," said Justin Jonas, the executive director of the San Angelo Rodeo. "Our rodeo and our stock show is the biggest event for San Angelo. It's the biggest economic impact event for the city of San Angelo, and the whole town just supports this rodeo."

Having the support of the community has allowed the San Angelo Rodeo to flourish.

Volunteers work diligently to ensure a smooth operation for the two-week long stock show and rodeo. Many have remained for several years, dedicating their time for the simple love of rodeo and the city.

Every year it brings a little more joy to San Angelo. During its inception in the heart of the Great Depression, it brought hope.

"It was put in to strictly try to lift everybody's spirit, bring everybody together," Jonas said. "And you know that same spirit still happens once a year, every time out here. So, it's really great. The community is all very, very supportive, and the rodeo is a big engine for our entire town."

San Angelo has become one of the highest paying rodeos in the PRORODEO Playoff Series. With nearly $800,000 up for grabs, it's become a must-attend event for some of the top cowboys and cowgirls.

But beyond the main attraction, other events have also flourished in San Angelo. The San Angelo Xtreme Bulls is a major Division I stop along the Rank 45 Xtreme Bulls Series. The San Angelo Cinch Chute-Out has provided another opportunity for contestants to improve their place in the world standings.

Now, a rodeo meant to bring joy to a town during one of the most difficult times in U.S. history will forever live on in Western sports' ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Mary Burger: It seems only fitting for Burger to be going into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame 10 years after her last world title (2016), because after all, her second world title came 10 years after her first (2006). Burger, at the young age of 68 years and 4 months in 2016, became the oldest world champion, male or female, a record that still stands today.

She was born Aug. 18, 1948, in Decatur, Ind., but now makes her home in Pauls Valley, Okla. Horses were commonly used on the family farm and viewed as a tool. One of six children, Burger was diagnosed at a young age with Perthes disease in both hips, a condition that causes inflammation and arthritis-like symptoms. The disease rendered her unable to walk and she required crutches. As a result, her father bought her a pony that served as her transportation until she was 10.

Burger was able to recover from the disease with treatment, and it's believed that horseback riding helped her hips spread, allowing her to heal.

She first made a name for herself in the AQHA ranks winning the world titles in junior barrel racing and pole bending in 1974 aboard a horse named High Bars Wimpy. Burger added seven more AQHA World Titles in barrel racing (1985-86, 1995, 2001-03, 2005) aboard three different horses, Showum The Gold, Miss Mergie and Rare Fred, before turning her attention to the PRORODEO ranks.

Burger joined the Women's Professional Rodeo Association in 1985 when she moved to Oklahoma with her husband, Kerry, but just dabbled in the PRORODEO ranks until 2006. That year a horse named Rare Fred carried her to her first WPRA World Title. She not only etched her name in the record books for the 2006 world title, but she also became the oldest world champion in the WPRA at the age of 58, a record she would break 10 years later.

Burger qualified for the National Finals Rodeo two more times (2008-09) with Fred. In 2010, Fred was sold and so began Burger's search for the next great ride. Enter a buckskin gelding registered Sadiefamouslastwords, known as Mo.

Mo took to PRORODEO circuit like a champ, collecting his first big win at RodeoHouston and followed that up a few months later with the title at the Calgary Stampede. The first week of August, Burger surpassed Lindsay Sears' record for most money won prior to the NFR with $185,439. Sears set the record in 2008 with $184,567. Burger set a then regular-season record earnings mark with $190,977 and became just the third WPRA contestant in NFR history to wear the No. 1 back number, joining Charmayne James and Sherry Cervi.

Burger finished the 2016 season with $277,554 in earnings, capturing her second gold buckle at her fourth and final NFR.

Loretta Manuel: Manuel won the 1963 and 1967 barrel racing world championships aboard a black horse registered Full of Pep, that she simply called Spade.

Manuel, born Aug. 19, 1939, in Winamac, Ind., is well known for her accomplishments both aboard barrel horses and jumping horses.

She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo a total of nine times (1962-67, 1969-1971), winning the coveted world championship twice with a reserve finish in 1965. She partially credits her success in rodeo to her days as a teen performer in Wild West shows, in which she did trick riding and Roman riding.

She transitioned from trick riding to barrel racing shortly after getting Spade as he was fast and agile, so she thought he was well suited for the cloverleaf pattern. She trained him and believed they only hit a barrel twice during his whole career. They captured the RodeoHouston title in 1968, the second year it was held at the Astrodome. Spade also spent some of his career as a bulldogging horse and she thought that made him tougher when it came to barrel racing.

In addition to her world titles, another highlight of her career was meeting two U.S. presidents – Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy.

She retired from rodeo in the 1970s but remained active in the equestrian scene when she began working at Cloudline Hounds Hunt, a British-style fox hunting group in Celeste, Texas, where she currently resides.

In November 2021, she was amongst the sixth class to be inducted into the All Cowboy & Arena Champions Hall of Fame, an internet-based Hall of Fame, created to help preserve and promote rodeo history.

On June 5, 2022, in Kingston, Texas, she was honored when the community mounted a permanent sign on State Highway 69 honoring her accomplishments.

She now adds ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee to her resume at the age of 86.

Troy Weekley: In the "Cowboy Town" of Davie, Fla., is Bergeron Rodeo Grounds, home to the Weekley Brothers Davie Pro Rodeo. For more than 40 years, the rodeo has been a local Western tradition, drawing residents, college students and even national recognition.

Also, Five Star Rodeo formed in 1986 when brothers, Troy, Dan, and Wayne Weekley, along with their lifelong friend Donald Parish, purchased Flying G Rodeo from Eric Goolsby of Okeechobee, Fla. Five Star Rodeo is devoted to delivering top-notch rodeo entertainment to rodeo fans of Florida as well as around the world. They are dedicated to the preservation of the American cowboy and the Western heritage.

Troy Weekley was also a member of the PRCA Board of Directors for more than a decade.

"I do love the PRCA and I have always done everything I thought was right for it, not long for it," Weekley said. "This award means a lot. I've always supported the PRCA and it meant a lot to me and the best time I ever had was sitting on the PRCA Board for 14 years."