Pat turned Pro in 1961 and competed very successfully in the Tie Down Roping event where he was in the top 5 of Canada for a couple of seasons.  He was the Canadian Champion 3 times in the Wild Horse Race, and Canadian Champion 7 times in the Wild Cow Milking and the cowboys threatened to rename the Wild Cow Milking event the McHugh Benefit Event.  Pat was a master at catching and extracting the milk.  He was a great supporter of the All Girls Rodeo Association long after he had retired from competition.  Pat’s family accepted his Silver Buckle for his Legendary Achievement Award at the All Girls Rodeo in Claresholm.

Maxine is the matriarch of the Girletz Rodeo Family.  Her husband Wilf got her going on the rodeo trail in 1948 and she remained physically involved with the sport ever since.  Maxine was very sought after as a timer at the rodeos and retired from that job in 2006.  She is a great supporter of her son’s rodeo contracting business as well as following the circuit cheering on her grandchildren as they follow in the footsteps of Grandpa Wilf.  Maxine was surrounded by all her family and close friends at the Strathmore Heritage Days Rodeo as she accepted her Ranchmans Silver Buckle as a Legend in Rodeo.

Albert started in the amateur ranks in 1943 and turned pro in 1946.  Albert was always in the top five of Canada in the Bull Riding, Steer Riding and the All Round standings from 1949 to 1951.  He was a real hand in the Bareback event, winning many rodeo's in that event. In 1952, while competing at the Stony Plain Rodeo, a bareback horse reared over backwards, pinning Albert and breaking the young cowboy's leg.  He gave up the riding event and turned to the timed events, calf roping and steer wrestling where he showed up in the standings until his retirement from the arena.  Albert continues to ranch with his family in the Consort, Alberta area.

Dale, better known to the rodeo world as "Hoot", is a Legend in more ways than one. Dale competed in the unusual combination of Bull Riding and Calf Roping. He entered his first rodeo in Medicine Hat in 1955, turning pro in 1961.  Dale competed at the first CFR, won the Guy Weadick Award in Calgary, and scored the highest marked ride on the Hall of Fame bull Stubby, all in 1974. "Hoot" got his nickname from wearing a hat shaped like the western movie star Hoot Gibson.  Dale always wore a dress shirt and tie, and smoked a cigar while bull riding, saying that he wanted to add a bit of color to an otherwise frightening event. (The judges would give him an extra point if he was still puffing on the cigar at the end of the ride). "Hoot" will always be remembered as a great bull rider and one of rodeo's most colorful and entertaining cowboys.  He always thought that the only thing better than a little humor was a "lot" of humor.  Dale passed away in 2005.

Sometimes an auctioneer, sometimes a rancher, sometimes a hunter, sometimes a pilot, sometimes an instructor, but always a cowboy and always promoting rodeo!
Dave Shields Sr., like mos cowboys, has never forgotten how or where he got his start.  As a kid, he was a test pilot for the Calgary Stampede Ranch horses.  He would get on the unridden horses to test their bucking abilities.  He got 5 bucks a head!  Today they use remote controlled dummies for that job!
Dave went on to qualify for the CFR 11 times in the Bareback event, and turned in many a great ride. His riding skills were never in question, and although Dave never won a championship he was always in there as a contender for one all of his 17 years of competition. He even tried his hand at bull riding! Dave won the Wild Horse Championship five times at the Calgary Stampede and always had fun doing it.
In 1983 at the Bruce Stampede, someone took his chaps off the fence, and he has not seen them since.  Years later his son at age 4, wore his Dad’s FCA Champion buckle (one of 3 he won) to the Hand Hills Rodeo.  Young Davey took the buckle off to play on the swings, and it disappeared and has not been seen since.  Is there someone out there collecting Dave Shields memorabilia? 
Dave is not your normal cowboy.  He has arrived at rodeos in a variety of ways: motorbikes, motorhomes, trucks, planes, hand gliders, and one day he plans to arrive at the Calgary Stampede in a motorboat down the Elbow River.  Daredevil is a mild word when you are talking about Dave Shields.  He once flew his plane 2 feet off the ground, and wouldn’t you know a cow hit the tail of the plane.  Wrote off the plane - Dave was okay but the cow went to the BBQ pit.
In 1987 Dave was voted the Cowboy of the Year.  Sportsmanship and congeniality are necessary qualities for cowboys to exhibit in order to further the growth of rodeo.  Qualities that Dave has ten fold.
Dave Shields has helped many young cowboys over the years, with his knowledge and his gismos, like his bareback riding machine.  Maybe its because Dave has never grown up himself that he gets along so great with the young people.  He still remembers the fun that childhood brings. There is not a father around that is prouder of his son than Dave is of young Davey, and now it’s the grandkids turn to learn from Grandpa.
Dave accepted his Ranchmans Silver Buckle from Keith Marrington in front of his hometown fans at Hand Hills.  That same day his Mom & Dad were honored for their contributions to the Hand Hills rodeo and community, which pleased Dave so much that he gave his Legends Buckle to his Legend, his Dad to wear.
Dave Shields Sr. the myth, the man, the cowboy – the Legend!

Allan Thorpe was always a threat to his competitors in the Bareback riding event.  He joined the CRCA in 1962, took out his card in 1964 and entered his first pro rodeo at Lacombe.  He drew Vold’s Little Beaver at that rodeo, and they had to roll him away from the gate to let the horse out, which, he laughs, should have given him a clue as to his rodeo career.  But his career was no laughing matter.  Allan finished in the top 5 of the Canadian Standings from 1968 to 1975.  
Allan served on the CRCA board as the bareback director in 1974-75, an indication of his willingness to contribute to the sport that had been good to him.
In 1975 at CFR Allan was set to win the championship but the horse Creamo had other ideas.  It was one more time that Allan finished in the second spot.
In 1977, the quiet little cowboy with the infectious giggle won the prestigious Cowboy of the Year award.  No one was more thrilled than his fellow cowboys; because they knew how hard he tried every horse and how many times he came up short for the title. 
Allan retired in 1978 with the comment that he couldn’t get past Trotter and when he did, Mel Hyland decided to ride bareback horses.  Go figure!
Allan judged a few rodeos and remembers when he judged in Montana and egged Bill Smith at the gate.  Twenty years later, he attended NFR with Dale Trotter and met up with Bill. Bill told him that it sure took him a long time to get back on his feet after Allan got him at the gate in Big Timber.  What a memory cowboys have!  A sense of humor too!
There is an old saying that bareback riders never die, they just become team ropers.
Allan did a little team roping with whoever would have him as a partner - although he headed for Gerald Reber and Tom Bews.  That’s not too shabby for partners.   Allan passed on the Old-timers Rodeo Circuit when after attending one, a fellow competitor asked him to read the program for him.  Allan figured he would stick to team roping cause his eyesight was still to good to be an old-timer!
As Allan enjoys his daughters and his ranching life today he will always remember the good times of rodeo.  A great life but a poor business for him, he said.   Fans and competitors alike remember the talent of this likeable cowboy.  Allan may have finished second in his event but he is first in the eyes of Rodeo as a Legendary Achievement recipient.  He received his Ranchmans Silver Buckle from Ranchman’s Wendy Daniel at the Innisfail Rodeo.

DON EDGE lived up to the myth of the western cowboy. He is the legacy of the old west of yesteryears cowboy, who with lasso and branding iron forged a future out of the raw land. 
Don was born in 1929 and during his lifetime was an active participant in many rodeo events including steer decorating, wild cow milking, wild horse race, and even occasionally as an outrider for chuckwagons.
 In 1964 Don started volunteering with the Calgary Stampede and became a shareholder of that association in 1970.  He promoted rodeo anywhere he happened to be, whether he was playing & teaching polo in California, leading a trail ride through the Rocky Mountains, or in every day ranch life.  Cowboy was an attitude and Don was a cowboy, one who was proud to say that he had never met a stranger.
In 1947, Don was recruited to don a woman’s wig and get on a bareback horse - and buck off - all for a movie being filmed at the Calgary Stampede.  “Never got paid to get bucked off before”, he would later chuckle.
Don took great pride in not only being a cowboy and living like one, but in doing all he could to better his western community.
Don passed away on April 2, 2007 at the age of 78.  His wife Dorothy said that of all the awards Don received over his lifetime, The Legendary Achievement Award would have been his most cherished. Dorothy accepted the Ranchman’s Silver Buckle from CRHA Vice-President Jim Dunn at the Airdrie Pro Rodeo.