Skip to content

The American Rodeo Gallery is closed for renovation.

The Cowboy: An Immersive Journey

CLOSING SOON!

Back to all

National Rodeo Hall of Fame
C.R. Boucher
Inducted in 2001

C.R. Boucher

1931-2023

Montana

Bio

EVENTS
Champion Steer Wrestler, 1964

Born in Livingston, Montana, on May 21, 1931, C.R. Boucher started cowboying with the famed Matador Ranch before the age of 20. During the early 1950s, he competed in several amateur rodeos while working cattle in Texas and New Mexico. Following military service, he started a competitive and working career in rodeo that lasted more than 30 years.

Boucher first teamed with bull dogger Aubrey Rankin, and the pair soon went to work for Elra Beutler of the famed Beutler Brothers’ rodeo stock company in Oklahoma. C.R. never missed a performance at Burwell or North Platte, Nebraska; Phillipsburg, Kansas; or Wichita Falls, Texas, between 1959 and 1985. In 1961, he was the NFR reserve champion steer wrestler; three years later he captured the title outright. Respected by his peers, he served three times as the RCA steer wrestling director and was a member of the NFR board from 1971 through 1973.

C.R. Boucher made a highly respected career in rodeo. At the NFR he was the only cowboy ever to serve as a timed-event chute boss, a rough-stock chute boss and a pickup man. He retired from the arena in 1985 to work on a cattle ranch near Pryor, Montana.

Bio

EVENTS
Champion Steer Wrestler, 1964

Born in Livingston, Montana, on May 21, 1931, C.R. Boucher started cowboying with the famed Matador Ranch before the age of 20. During the early 1950s, he competed in several amateur rodeos while working cattle in Texas and New Mexico. Following military service, he started a competitive and working career in rodeo that lasted more than 30 years.

Boucher first teamed with bull dogger Aubrey Rankin, and the pair soon went to work for Elra Beutler of the famed Beutler Brothers’ rodeo stock company in Oklahoma. C.R. never missed a performance at Burwell or North Platte, Nebraska; Phillipsburg, Kansas; or Wichita Falls, Texas, between 1959 and 1985. In 1961, he was the NFR reserve champion steer wrestler; three years later he captured the title outright. Respected by his peers, he served three times as the RCA steer wrestling director and was a member of the NFR board from 1971 through 1973.

C.R. Boucher made a highly respected career in rodeo. At the NFR he was the only cowboy ever to serve as a timed-event chute boss, a rough-stock chute boss and a pickup man. He retired from the arena in 1985 to work on a cattle ranch near Pryor, Montana.

More to Explore

Stay Connected

Sign up for our e-newsletter