EVENTS
Steer Roper
Calf Roper
Born at Snyder, Texas, in 1920 to a farming-ranching family, Lanham Riley learned horses and cattle firsthand. He went to work breaking horses at age 17, which led him to train polo ponies for a local rancher.
Riley’s first professional rodeo ride came in 1936 at Post, Texas. He placed second in bull riding, and over the next few years he performed at local rodeos in West Texas. In 1939 he switched to calf roping. After an army tour during World War II, he came back strong on the circuit. Lanham Riley, on his horse Johnny Jump Up, performed all over the Southwest, always finishing high in the rankings.
Lanham Riley’s rodeo career spanned the 1940s and 1950s, and he left the arena in 1964. At his ranch near Aledo, Texas, he trains champion reining and roping horses.
