EVENTS
Saddle Bronc and Bull Rider
Rodeo Stock Contractor and Producer
Born in Boulder, Colorado, in 1918, Walter Alsbaugh got into rodeo at the ripe old age of 13, winning the calf-roping event at Monte Vista, Colorado. He contended in every event except bareback-bronc riding; entered most of the big rodeos of the era, including Denver, Cheyenne and Madison Square Garden; and held Cowboys Turtle Association card No. 38.
Though known best as a competitive roper, Alsbaugh is remembered as one of the select few cowboys to make successful rides on both of the notorious saddle broncs, Midnight and Five Minutes to Midnight. Following his competitive career, he entered the rodeo stock contracting and production business, producing professional, collegiate, all-Indian and little britches rodeos around Colorado and the Southwest. (In a bizarre accident, he once lost many of his top bulls when a jet fighter from Warren AFB crashed on the Cheyenne Frontier Days grounds.)
Walter Alsbaugh received the International Rodeo Fans “Man of the Year” award in 1981, the PRCA “Stock Contractor of the Year” award in 1986, and was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1990. He passed from the arena in 1992.
