Pickup man Gary Rempel, the Calgary Stampede Ranch, and the bucking bronc
Grated Coconut, will be inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame Aug 29.
The Calgary Stampede Ranch roughstock contractors and Gary Rempel will be
recognized as participants. Grated Coconut falls into the hall’s livestock category.
Calgary Stampede Ranch
The Calgary Stampede Ranch is recognized for revolutionizing professional rodeo
through its state-of-the-art animal husbandry. Calgary Stampede roughstock
contractors started in 1961, and today work the best rodeos in North America,
according to a Rodeo Hall of Fame press release. Presently, there are 450 horses and 80 bulls at the ranch, with 200 in the rodeo circuit annually.
The ranch’s livestock is highly recognized among rodeos, said Rodeo Hall of
Fame Induction board member Jack Wallace.
“They had top-quality stock and top-quality workers,” he said. “When they
started coming to Ellensburg, it really improved the livestock.”
Gary Rempel
Calgary Stampede Ranch’s Gary Rempel is one of the most accomplished rodeo pickup men in the history of the sport. Rempel is the lead pickup man for the Calgary Stampede Ranch and worked all of the major North American rodeos and every performance of the Calgary Stampede since 1985. Induction Board Member Dan Morgan, who worked alongside Rempel, said Rempel perfected the profession of pickup man. “He not only keeps the cowboys safe, but he keeps all of us safe too,” Morgan said. Rempel, originally from Kyle, Sask., now lives on a ranch in Montana with his wife, Jody.
The Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame was formed in 1997 and new inductees are chosen by consulting rodeo old-timers and local rodeo experts.
Bronc – Grated Coconut
Calgary Stampede Ranch’s Grated Coconut was highly recognized in the rodeo bucking horse world for the first decade of the 21st century. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association recognized him as Bareback Horse of the Year five times. Presently, Grated Coconut is retired on the Calgary Stampede Ranch but produces champion bronc offspring.