EVENTS
Bareback Bronc Rider
Saddle Bronc Rider
Bull Rider
Stock Contractor
Born in Cleburne, Texas, in 1932, Bernis Johnson joined the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) in 1947 at the age of 15. He pursued his rodeo career as a three-event contestant in bareback bronc, saddle bronc, and bull riding.
Throughout most of the 1960s, Johnson established a very respectable record at venues from San Antonio to Bell Fourche, and from Indianapolis to Ellensburg. He qualified for competition at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) six times between 1959 and 1966, and captured the champion bull-riding title in 1961. In 1963 and 1964 he placed in the money in 72 bareback and saddle bronc riding contests.
In the late 1960s Johnson left arena competition and entered the contracting business as the B-J Buck Stock Company. With the purchase of Hoss Inman’s Flying I Bucking Stock company in 1977, he began introducing some recognized rough stock to the sport. Most notorious was B-J’s Sippin Velvet, a five-time Champion Bareback Horse of the Year and six-time National Finals Top Bareback Bronc.
