Two-time World Steer Wrestling Champion and Alliance High School graduate Dean Gorsuch, will be part of the 12-member class that will be enshrined in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Aug. 3.
The rest of the 2019 ProRodeo Hall of Fame class that was announced Monday consists of stock contractors Elra Beutler and his son, Jiggs; four-time world champion team roping heeler Allen Bach (1979, 1990, 1995, 2006); world champion bull rider Doug “Droopy” Brown (1969); world champion bareback rider Larry Peabody (1984); notable Jerome Robinson; the Cody (Wyo.) Stampede Rodeo; contract personnel Tommy Lucia; and three Women’s Professional Rodeo Association inductees – barrel racers Jimmie Munroe and Sammy Thurman Brackenberry and notable Florence Youree…along with Commotion, one of the greatest bucking horses of all time.
Commotion, a 1,300-pound bay stallion, who stood at 16.1 hands, was voted the top bareback horse at his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 1997. He went on to win the next three Bareback Riding Horse of the Year awards, 1998-2000, when he was part of the Beutler and Gaylord Rodeo Company string. He made 10 consecutive trips (1997-2006) to the Wrangler NFR before retiring in his prime at the 2006 Wrangler NFR at the age of 15. Commotion passed away Sept. 7, 2016, at the Beutler & Son ranch near Elk City, Okla. He was 25.
In addition to the 13 inductees, Guy Elliott, a former arena director for the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and countless others, will receive the Ken Stemler Pioneer Award, which honors individuals in recognition of their groundbreaking, innovative ideas and forward thinking.
Dean Gorsuch is an Alliance native and a 1998 Alliance High School graduate. As a Steer Wrestler, he won two world titles, with eight qualifications to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, two Tour titles and $1.3 million in career earnings has certainly earned his spot in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
“Ever since I was little, I’d always dreamed of rodeoing for a living, making the Finals and being a world champ,” Gorsuch told ProRodeo Sports News in 2007. “My dream has always been to make the Finals, but the best thing was to walk into that building with my little boy and my wife. I’ve always wanted to do that as a family. It was fun to have (Taydon) there and to share it with them. It was pretty cool.”
The Nebraska cowboy started his PRCA career in 2002 and rapidly rose to ProRodeo stardom as he made his first Wrangler NFR qualification in 2005 and won his first world title in 2006. He went on to qualify again ever year from 2008 through 2013, picking up his second world title in 2010.
Gorsuch competed at the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo in 2005 and 2010 and was named Tour champion in 2006 and 2008.
Now, he can add Hall of Famer to the long list of victories he can share with his family.
Source: http://wranglernetwork.com/…/prorodeo-hall-of-fame-announc