Gary Gist was born on September 6, 1945, to a rodeo family. After receiving his RCA card at the young age of 12—which kick-started a professional roping career—at age 16, Gist, along with his dad, Byron, won the 1964 National Finals Team Roping Average. Gist also had the highest season earnings that year as a heeler. Competing in roping from 1952 through 2015, Gist put his rodeo career on hold to join the Marine Corps and serve as a demolitions expert in Vietnam. In 1968, he started Gist Engravers, and by 1970, his design talent and craftsmanship earned him the PRCA gold buckle contract.
Gist continued to provide gold buckles for the NFR and PRCA for more than 20 years, as well as for a number of other major events in the Western sports industry, including the World Series of Team Roping, the National Barrel Horse Association, and multiple major rodeos. Gist has supported youth rodeo for four decades as a national sponsor of the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA), and has also served as the presenting sponsor of the NHSRA Junior High Division. Gist resides in the Sierra Nevada foothills with his family, while continuing to impact the rodeo world through his influence and legacy at Gist Silversmiths.
Bio
Team Roping
Gary Gist was born on September 6, 1945, to a rodeo family. After receiving his RCA card at the young age of 12—which kick-started a professional roping career—at age 16, Gist, along with his dad, Byron, won the 1964 National Finals Team Roping Average. Gist also had the highest season earnings that year as a heeler. Competing in roping from 1952 through 2015, Gist put his rodeo career on hold to join the Marine Corps and serve as a demolitions expert in Vietnam. In 1968, he started Gist Engravers, and by 1970, his design talent and craftsmanship earned him the PRCA gold buckle contract.
Gist continued to provide gold buckles for the NFR and PRCA for more than 20 years, as well as for a number of other major events in the Western sports industry, including the World Series of Team Roping, the National Barrel Horse Association, and multiple major rodeos. Gist has supported youth rodeo for four decades as a national sponsor of the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA), and has also served as the presenting sponsor of the NHSRA Junior High Division. Gist resides in the Sierra Nevada foothills with his family, while continuing to impact the rodeo world through his influence and legacy at Gist Silversmiths.
