Bruce Ford

Bareback Riding • Inducted 1993

Bruce Ford’s trademark riding style of feet high up for greater leg extension, with his riding arm absorbing the horse’s movement, separated Ford from other bareback contestants. During his career, he shattered or tied every bareback riding record: all-time bareback earnings; most NFR bareback qualifications (18); and tied for the most world bareback champion titles with five. In 1982, he became the first cowboy to win more than $100,000 in a single event in one year. Born Oct. 7, 1952, in Greeley, Colo., Ford was the PRCA season champion in 1978 and a 10-time Mountain States Circuit bareback riding champion. He won the NFR’s bareback riding aggregate title in 1979-80, 1982 and 1987.

World Championships: 5

Bareback Riding: 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987

PRCA Championships: 1

Bareback Riding: 1978

National Finals Rodeo Average Champion

Bareback Riding: 1979, 1980, 1982, 1987

RAM Circuit Year-End Champion

Mountain States Circuit:

All-Around: 1976

Bareback Riding: 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991

Born: October 7, 1952 in Greeley, Colorado

NFR Qualifications: 18