Winning 100 trophies in junior high and high school competition prepared Jimmie Gibbs for a stellar career in college and professional rodeo. Born in Clifton, Texas, in 1952 and raised on a nearby ranch, she inherited a talent for roping and riding. Her grandfather was one of the Miller Brothers of Wild West Show fame.
While attending Sam Houston State University, at Huntsville, Texas, in the 1970s, Jimmie Gibbs led the rodeo teams and worked all three women’s events. On her horse, Bill, she won two NIRA barrel-racing titles and worked all three women’s events. Competing also as a professional, she won the 1975 WPRA all-around, calf-roping, and barrel-racing championships. Gibbs qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 11 times.
In a life dedicated to the sport, Jimmie Gibbs served 14 years as president of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and worked to raise the level of women’s prize money to equal the men’s. In 1990 the WPRA named her Woman of the Year, for epitomizing the concepts of professional rodeo. Jimmie Gibbs-Munroe received the Tad Lucas Memorial Award in 1996.
