Winston Bruce
Rodeo Athlete - Inducted 1998
Winston Bruce was an outstanding rodeo athlete for 15 years. He is recognized by his peers as one of the finest bronc riders ever. The son of a former stock contractor and saddle bronc rider, Winston Bruce grew up around cowboys, bucking horses and rodeos. He started bronc riding at the age of 14 and by the time he turned 17 he had won his first of two Canadian Novice Saddle Bronc Championships. He then joined the professional ranks where he won the World Rookie of the Year and twice won the Canadian Professional Saddle Bronc Championship. Winston Bruce became World Champion in 1961 and held reigns in the World Top 10 rankings for nine consecutive years from 1959-1967. He retired from competition in 1969.
Along with his rodeo career, he also ran his own rodeo college and served on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Board of Directors. In 1970, Winston Bruce became the Arena Director for the Calgary Stampede Association, a position he still holds today. Winston Bruce was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1995.
After Induction
Winston retired as the Calgary Stampede Manager of Rodeo in 2002. He joined the CPRA’s board of directors and also sat on the advisory committee. The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association named him the “2005 Cowboy of the Year”.
Winston passed away on July 10, 2017.
