Manuel rides into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame

Loretta Manuel was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame on July 18 in Colorado Springs, Colorado as part of the Class of 2026. Loretta currently resides in Texas, but she hails from Indiana, born on a farm in Pulaski County on Aug. 19, 1939. Manuel is well known for her accomplishments both aboard barrel horses and all-equestrian event horses. She joined the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) in 1961 and won her first world championship in 1963, riding a black horse registered as Full of Pep, that she called Spade. She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo a total of nine times (1962-67, 1969-1971), winning the coveted WPRA World Championship in 1963 and 1967 with a reserve finish in 1965. At the age of 14, Loretta began her riding career at dude ranches. She partially credits her success in rodeo to her days as a teen performer in Wild West shows starting in 1955 at Henson's Wild West Rodeo and Black Diamond Wild West with her sister and brother-in-law. In 1956, she started trick riding and Roman riding, including driving a six-horse hitch with the 105 Ranch Rodeo. Spade proved to be very fast and agile, so she transitioned from trick riding to barrel racing shortly after getting him. She thought he was well suited for the cloverleaf pattern, so she trained him. Loretta believes they only hit a barrel twice during his whole career. Biographical info courtesy of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.