August 16, 2022
Press Release Provided
Dick Carr will be the first to tell a person he’s led a blessed life.
From the farm to riding bulls across the nation, then making bull ropes for the best bull riders in the world, Carr has done it with all his heart.
He was born in 1933 and grew up on the family farm near Canute. When the family moved to a place near the Beutler Bros. Ranch, the bull riding bug bit him.
At the age of seventeen, he began rodeo competition in the amateur ranks, then advanced to pro rodeos, as a bull rider and a bronc rider.
For the next several years, he competed full time across the nation, riding bulls from Madison Square Garden in New York City, to Prescott, Ariz., and Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days.
Even while in the Navy (1956-1957), he rode bulls, spending his off-weekends at local rodeos.
After retiring from riding, Carr judged rodeos. But his connection to rodeo wasn’t over.
His claim to fame is his bull riding ropes. He learned to plait from his grandpa. His first ropes were made of grass, but as technology advanced, they became poly ropes. He charged ten dollars a rope, a lot of money back in those days.
He’s made ropes for some of the most famous bull riders in the world: old-time heroes like seven-time world champion Harry Tompkins, fifteen-time world champion Jim Shoulders, Todd Whatley, Larry Mahan and Lane Frost. But even more current champs like Justin McBride and Cody Nance have used his ropes.
“I’ve made more (bull) ropes than any man that has ever lived,” he said. He’s also had an ad, advertising his bull ropes, in the PRCA’s Pro Rodeo Sports News, since 1953.
Carr is the first to admit that his past isn’t all glorious; he was an alcoholic who led a wild life and nearly died from drinking, having spent more than five months in the hospital due to alcohol.
In 1986, he gave his heart to Jesus and his craving for alcohol ended. “I’m a born-again Christian,” he said.
He prays over every rope he makes, praying for safety for the bull rider.
And he believes that whatever a person does, whether it’s riding bulls or mowing the lawn, he should be all-in.
“Riding bulls, you were either dedicated and you were going to ride that sucker, or you weren’t. There was no making excuses,” he said. “You’ve got to be dedicated, no matter if you’re mowing the grass or driving a car, whatever you’re doing.”
Carr makes his home in Elk City and can be found behind the chutes at the Elk City Rodeo of Champions. He competed at the rodeo in the late 1950s.
This year’s Elk City Rodeo is September 2-4, with performances each night at 8 pm. Tickets range in price from $9-$18 and go on sale August 29 at Circle A Western Wear, at the ticket booth at the Beutler Bros. Arena, and at the gate. For more information, visit the rodeo’s website (www.ElkCityRodeo.com) or its Facebook page.
For more information, visit www.ElkCityRodeo.com.
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