PECOS, Texas — Rodeo is a worldwide sport that all started in West Texas.
Back in 1883, the West of the Pecos Rodeo was held for the first time. 141 years later, it is still held every summer, but rodeo is in the fabric of Pecos year-round.
On Friday morning, the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame held their induction ceremony where three new inductees joined an exclusive group. This is the 16th class to be inducted as Pecos continues to serve as the center of rodeo lore.
“It’s preserving history, it’s a great thing," said Sherry Altizer Ingham, 2024 TRHoF inductee.
In Pecos fashion, a hot summer morning under the shade outside West of the Pecos Museum is where rodeo royalty took their place in history.
“I walk through that museum and a lot of those people in there like Jim Bob Altizer and Troy Fort, those are guys that I was reading about when I was a little kid, so to be in there with them means a lot," said Doyle Gellerman, 2024 TRHoF inductee.
Jim Bob Altizer was in the first class back in 2004. His daughter is now in 20 years later.
“It’s awesome, it’s awesome.," Sherry Altizer Ingham said. "I know a lot of the people in that hall of fame. It’s a great honor to be in the same room with them.”
The late Marcos Martinez Jr. was the final 2024 TRHoF inductee, honored at the ceremony by his family.
“To have him there living amongst all the other greats that have been inducted...It’s very humbling for us, for our family," said Brenda McKinney, daughter of Martinez Jr. and a member of the TRHoF Board.
Gellerman was a world-champion team roper, Sherry Altizer Ingham was a versatile racing champion and Martinez Jr. was a staple in the Pecos community and in the sport of rodeo.
“As he got older he competed here at the West of the Pecos Rodeo in the calf roping and the team roping, and then he went on to watch his sons become champion team ropers and his grandsons champion team ropers and he probably loved that the most – watching the kids," McKinney said.
Remembered forever in Pecos, there is no doubt behind the community’s impact on the latest Texas Rodeo Hall of Famers.
“I love the Pecos rodeo," Gellerman said. "I loved it every time I've been here.”
“I ran here a lot of years," Sherry Altizer Ingham said. "Like I said I came here with my dad a lot of years.”
“Pecos is the heart of rodeo with Pecos being the world’s first," McKinney said.
McKinney added that when folks come to Pecos they need to stop and see the history of all the cowboys and cowgirls at the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame.
For more information about the TRHoF, click here.
The West of the Pecos Rodeo started Wednesday, June 26 and concludes on Saturday, June 29 at the Buck Jackson Rodeo Arena in Pecos.