2023

Craig Butterfield

Legend, 2023

Craig Butterfield

Craig Butterfield was born May 26, 1955 in Ponoka, Alberta. As a member of the famous Butterfield family, and the son of hall of fame cowboy Bud Butterfield, there was no question that Craig had the pedigree and was destined to be a champion himself.

In 1973, Craig Butterfield made history when he became the first Canadian to win a National High School Rodeo World Championship when he captured the Steer Wrestling event in Ogden, Utah. He turned professional in 1974, won his first buckle as a professional at the Benalto Stampede that year, and over the next four decades his career would be the stuff of legends.

Craig qualified for his first Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton in 1976 in the Steer Wrestling Event, winning round four, and placing sixth overall in the Canadian Standings. He returned to the CFR the following year and came within 5 points of winning the Canadian Steer Wrestling Championship, ultimately placing 3 rd overall.

After a three year absence, 1980 saw Craig return to the Canadian Finals Rodeo, where he placed fourth overall, and at the 1981 Canadian Finals Rodeo, Craig closed out the season as the reserve champion of Canada in Steer Wrestling. He would miss the Canadian Finals the next two seasons, but in 1983 Craig picked up a major victory at a special place when he captured the Steer Wrestling Championship at his hometown Ponoka Stampede.

1984 was a memorable year for Craig Butterfield. He married champion barrel racer Dee Robertson and enjoyed the best regular reason of his career finishing fourth in the Canadian Standings. Craig qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo for the fifth time, and for a second time in his career, he came out of the CFR as the reserve champion of Canada in Steer Wrestling.

Over the next few years, Craig slowed down his rodeo career so he could prioritize raising his young family. But in 1989, wins at Rodeo Royal in Calgary, Diamond 5 Ranch, the Grande Prairie Stompede, Bruce, and the Nicola Valley rodeo in Merrit, British Columbia, brought Craig back to the Canadian Finals Rodeo for the fist time in 5 years. And in 1991, despite the strength of winning the Average at the Calgary Stampede, Craig cashed a 6 th place cheque for $159.25 on the final day of the regular season at the Lacombe Kinsman Rodeo to sneak into his seventh Canadian Finals Rodeo by just 66 dollars, where he ended up as the reserve champion of Canada for the third time in his career.

In 1993, Craig was the Coors Chute Out Series Steer Wrestling Champion and qualified for his eight Canadian Finals Rodeo where he placed fifth. In 1996 he was the Canadian Rodeo Wrangler Circuit Series Steer Wrestling Champion, qualified for his ninth and final Canadian Finals Rodeo where, for the fourth time he was the reserve champion of Canada. Craig capped his career off with a victory at the Lea Park Rodeo in 2001, and retired from competition after the 2001 season.

Craig Butterfield had a remarkable 28 year professional rodeo career. Nine times he would qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton in steer wrestling, and would be the reserve-champion of Canada an impressive four times. All across Canada from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to Merritt, British Columbia, and just about everywhere in between, Craig won two circuit championships and over 30 individual rodeos including major victories at Rodeo Royal in Calgary, the Calgary Stampede Steer Wrestling Aggregate Title, the Strathmore Stampede, Grande Prairie Stompede, and of course at his hometown Ponoka Stampede.

Outside of the Rodeo Arena, Craig served as the Steer Wrestling Representative on the CPRA’s Board of Directors, and dedicated many years with the Alberta High School Rodeo Association. Despite his many accomplishments, Craig was most proud of his wife Dee, daughter Brook, and son Chance, and watching his family succeed inside and outside the rodeo arena.

As a champion both in and out of the arena, we are pleased to recognize Craig Butterfield as a Legend, into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Monica Wilson

Builder, 2023

Monica wilson

Monica Wilson was born on October 6, 1952 in Kamloops, British Columbia. In 1974 she married all-around rodeo cowboy Bob Wilson of Cardston, Alberta and soon after the couple welcomed son Riley and daughter Randa.

Monica enjoyed an outstanding career in the ranks of amateur rodeo, capturing the Ladies Barrel Racing championship in the Chinook Rodeo Association, the Foothills Cowboys Association, and the Canadian Cowboys Association. After winning the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina in late 1989, Monica decided to turn professional, joined the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association for the 1990 season, and made the Canadian Finals Rodeo in her rookie season.

Over the next 17 years, Monica would enjoy a tremendous amount of success as a professional barrel racer. She qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo 8 times between 1990 and 1999. She was the Bud Pro Tour Ladies Barrel Racing Champion in 1992, was the Ladies Barrel Racing aggregate winner at the CFR in 1994, and the Skoal Inc. Pro Rodeo Tour’s Ladies Barrel Racing Champion in 1997.

In 1994 Monica became the elected representative of professional barrel racers for the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. She attended CPRA board meetings, but was never allowed to vote. As a matter of fact, no female member of the CPRA could vote on rodeo issues put to the general membership. So after asking one of her male colleagues on the board to make a motion giving barrel racers the right to vote, it was presented to the general membership, and won the support of the general membership of the CPRA.

After successfully getting the barrel racers an equal right to vote, the next step for Monica was to get the barrel racers an equal shot at prize money that the five major rodeo events enjoyed. Again her efforts were rewarded as at the 1995 Canadian Finals Rodeo, for the first time in the event’s twenty- two year history, barrel racers competed for the same prize money as was offered in to he other major events.

After successfully getting barrel racers the right to vote in the CPRA and equal prize money at the Canadian Finals Rodeo, the next major step for Monica was campaigning the Calgary Stampede to give the barrel racers a fifty-thousand dollar bonus that was given to the winners of the other major events. She was told that if the barrel racers wanted a fifty-thousand dollar bonus, they would have to find it themselves. Never one to back down from a challenge, Monica found one-hundred thousand dollars in corporate sponsorship, and starting in 1996, the winner of the North American Barrel Racing Championship at the Calgary Stampede received the same bonus cheque as any other major event, and it continues to this day. Her efforts resulted in the Calgary Stampede presenting Monica with its prestigious Guy Weadick Award in 1996, given annually to the one chuckwagon or rodeo competitor who best embodies the spirit of the Calgary Stampede. It was the first time that a female contestant received the Guy Weadick Award since its inception in 1969.

Monica Wilson served as the Barrel Racing Representative on the CPRA Board for 10 consecutive years between 1994 and 2003, and in that time she became a trailblazer for women in the world of professional rodeo. In 1999 she was the first woman to be honoured with the CPRAs Cowboy of the Year.

Since leaving professional rodeo, Monica has been involved with the rodeo academy in Cardston, and has dedicated her time to working with troubled youth through her trust in and knowledge of horses. Over the years, her hard work and dedication has always been for the betterment of the sport of rodeo, and in 2015 Monica was named to the Calgary Stampede’s Pioneers of Rodeo.

Monica Wilson might be best remembered as the woman who almost single handedly got barrel racing formally recognized and elevated to major event status in professional rodeo, but more so she has been not only a mentor, but arguably one of the most inspirational individuals in Canadian Pro Rodeo History. For that, it is an honor to welcome Monica Wilson as a Builder into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Smokey Snyder

Contestant, 2023

Smokey Snyder

Albert Edward “Smokey” Snyder was born June 1, 1908, in Cripple Creek, Colorado to William and Anna Snyder. His father was a miner by trade, and when Albert was very young the family moved to Kimberley, British Columbia so his father could work in the Sullivan Mine. His appetite to try and burn other kids’ shorts using a magnifying glass landed him the nickname “Smokey,” and the moniker would stay with him for the rest of his life.

Smokey did not grow up in a rodeo family, but he was exposed to the sport through many of the farmers and ranchers in and around Kimberly. When he was 15, Smokey entered the rodeo in Hussar, Alberta, and won the bareback event. Smokey decided at that time that he wanted to be a professional rodeo cowboy. That decision, however, did not sit well with his parents. His mother Anna was so upset with him that she never spoke to him ever again.

Smokey competed almost exclusively in the rough stock events – saddle bronc, bareback, and bull riding – but briefly tried Steer Decorating. At one rodeo, Smokey was introduced to a young lady named Opal Leona Baker, or “Doll” as she was affectionately known. Smokey and Doll ultimately fell in love and the two were married in 1931. That same year at the Calgary Stampede he won the Bull Riding, and was runner-up in the Canadian Saddle Bronc event. By season’s end, Smokey Snyder had captured the World Title in Bull Riding – the first world title won by a Canadian cowboy.

In 1932 he repeated as World Champion Bull Rider and added the World Bareback Riding title as well – the first year a World Champion was declared in that event. In 1932 Smoky was also recognized as the Canadian All Around Champion Cowboy by the Rodeo Association of America. In 1934 Smokey travelled to Australia and won the bareback event at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and then to London, England where he won first place in both bareback and bull riding. He would win the World Bull Riding Championships in three consecutive years from 1935 to 1937, and added a second World Bareback Riding Championship in 1936. His five World Bull Riding Championships was a record that would stand for twenty years until it was broken by Jim Shoulders in 1958.

By the late 1930’s, the Snyder’s had made California their permanent home and welcomed daughter Terryl into the family in 1939. In 1945 at a rodeo in San Diego, the bronc Smokey Smokey. He was knocked unconscious, and suffered a severe concussion and a broken collar bone. Lingering effects of the accident saw Smokey’s equilibrium thrown off severely as well as an eye that would constantly tear up.

It appeared that his rodeoing days were over, but Smokey’s determination to get back in the arena was realized in July of 1946 at the rodeo in Reno, Nevada. Smokey covered his first bull, but on his second bull something “popped.” Smokey came off the bull like a rag doll, hit the arena dirt flat on his shoulders, and broke his back in three places. Although he would recover from his injuries, Smokey Snyder never rodeoed again. Smokey continued to serve rodeo as a fan and promotor of the sport. On Sunday, October 24, 1965 the rodeo in Taft, California had “Smokey Snyder Day,” and Smokey was there to enjoy the celebration. While commuting on a notorious stretch of road back to his home, Smokey lost control of his vehicle, drove up an embankment and plunged down a 20 foot drop off to his death. He was 57 years old.

In the pioneering days of professional rodeo, Smokey Snyder, along with Pete Knight, were the sport’s first international superstars. In addition to his seven world titles and major wins in England and Australia, Smokey won many of the biggest rodeos of the day in New York City, Salinas, Cheyenne, Boston, Calgary, Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles and Tucson. He was a founding member of the of the Cowboys Turtle Association in 1936, was among the first directors of the Turtle’s board of directors and served for several years, and is even credited with inventing the handle in a bull rope.

In 1977 he was just the third representative of Canada to be inducted into the National Cowboy Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. In 1979 he was in the inaugural class of members inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, and in 2020 he was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in Fort Worth. And tonight we are honored to officially induct Smokey Snyder as a Contestant into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.