A rodeo great from Weiser passes away at the age of 77

Hall of fame rodeo cowboy Ken Stanton died in Weiser on Feb. 3 at the age of 77.
 The rough and tumble sport of riding bulls and bucking broncs is a young man’s game, and Stanton was one of the best during his glory days in the 1960s.
 During his pro years, he entered 50 or so rodeos across the West every year. The guys at the top of the standings were competing in 100 rodeos. 
 During a decade of full-time rodeoing, he qualified for the National Rodeo Finals in two events six times and three additional years in bull riding for a total of nine consecutive years. 
 Stanton was born in 1941 in The Dalles, Ore. He moved with his family to Sisters, Ore. As youngsters, Ken and his brother might have been inspired to pursue rough stock riding after riding the family’s cows in the fields. 
 An exceptional wrestler who won two state titles in high school, he was offered scholarships to wrestle at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. He chose ranch life and the rodeo arena instead of college and academics. 
 His wrestling skills in high school might have helped when it came to riding broncs and bulls. He was short in stature but strong and could hold on for eight seconds and get a qualified ride.
 He received his Rodeo Cowboys Association pro card in 1960 and was a full-time cowboy for the next decade. He spent winters rodeoing in the south and headed to the Northwest for the summer rodeo season, according to a 2018 story in Rodeo News.
 He married Ginger Tarter in 1965 and they had three children. The family traveled together to rodeos. The money he was winning at the time wasn’t bad, averaging $22,000 annually over a decade.
 Many stories published over the years have chronicled Stanton’s rodeo career. He was inducted into the Pendleton Roundup Hall of Fame and the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2000, among many feats. 
 As a young man, he won the all-around buckle at Ellensburg in both 1963 and 1965. He came back to win the bull riding at Ellensburg in 1976 and also won Pendleton’s bull riding that year. He was mostly retired from active competition at the time due to injuries. 
 When he was inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2000, the story accompanying the honor had this to say about Stanton in his early rodeo days.
 “The wiry, 145-pound, two-event man was a flashy newcomer when he began his pro stints, barely past the voting age, and after only a couple of years he was an established pro.”
 Stanton’s rodeo career was cut short by frostbite injuries to his feet received outside the rodeo arena as a young man and later as an adult. His last year of full-time competition was in 1970. 
 He first got frostbite on his feet on the eastern Oregon ranch while feeding cattle. He was frostbitten again on his feet after running 11 miles in subzero temperatures for help following a car accident. 
 Later, while he was a deputy for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, he was called out to a 17-car pileup. The temperature was minus 18 degrees and Stanton was outside long enough to get frostbite again on his feet. The injuries plagued him for the rest of his life.
 His son, Scott, who lives in Boise, said his dad was considered one of the best on bulls and broncs by none other than world title holder Jim Shoulders, who holds the pro rodeo record for 16 combined titles.
 Shoulders was asked to list the top five bareback bronc riders and the top five bull riders. Kenny Stanton was on both lists.
 “He went to half as many rodeos and was still in the top 10,” Scott said.
 

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18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
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