RODEO: Covering cowboys

Las Vegas native reports on rodeo scene for CBR

Advertisement

When Pam Minick was just a young girl in Las Vegas, riding horses up and down an empty desert road, she never imagined that road would one day be an extension of the Las Vegas Strip, or that riding horses would lead her to a busy, successful career.

Minick, who graduated from Valley High School in 1971, recently returned to the area where she used to live and ride -- as a youth her family resided near Sunset and Bermuda roads -- but now things are a lot different.

In fact, the former Miss Rodeo America used to ride horses right next to the spot now occupied by the South Point's Equestrian Center, the site of the CBR World Championships on Jan. 6 and 7. Minick is known as the face of CBR -- Championship Bull Riding -- and handles television commentary and interviewing duties for CBR events.

"Now the Beltway goes right through where my house used to be. It's a little weird," Minick said. "My sister and I used to ride our horses up the Strip, and back then there were medians in the road and pomegranate trees growing in the medians. So we'd ride up and pick pomegranates. It's kind of shocking to me to see things in this area now."

One of the unique experiences of her Vegas upbringing was attending Paradise Elementary School.

"Back then, a lot of stars lived here, and all of their children went to Paradise with me," she said. "So I went to school with Lorna Luft, Judy Garland's daughter, and Tony Prima, who was Louis Prima's kid. It was real interesting growing up in Las Vegas."

While she was growing up, she was honing her rodeo skills. She was active in high school competitions and became a state champion in barrel racing.

"There was only one high school rodeo in Las Vegas. All the rest were in places like Elko or Battle Mountain, so when I wanted to compete, I'd have to drive hundreds of miles," she said. "That's what I had to do to win state. Las Vegas was not as big a rodeo town as it is now."

Her after-school job was exercising horses at a friend's ranch. One day, when she was poking fun at rodeo queen contests, her friend dared her to enter.

"I was a macha cowgirl. I didn't take rodeo queens too seriously. I thought they were fluff," Minick said.

But she ended up accepting the dare and winning the Miss Helldorado and Miss Rodeo Nevada titles. She eventually became the only Las Vegan to win Miss Rodeo America.

"It happened so fast, I didn't really get a chance to prepare my speech on world peace," Minick joked.

Miss Rodeo America obligations included plenty of opportunities to travel, speak and basically become a public relations representative for rodeo, and as the sport began to grow and gain television exposure, Minick was called upon to work on live broadcasts and interview competitors.

Because of her own experiences competing -- which she still does, though now she specializes in the team roping events -- Minick is a natural behind the microphone during and after events like the CBR World Championships.

"Since I'm aware of the variables of competing and I kind of know what they're going through out there. I think I just know how it feels to be a part of this sport," she said. "You know when these bull-riders are not happy, when they're showing emotion; that's part of the sport. They're passionate about it, and I understand that because you have to be passionate to succeed. So I know when to back off them (in an interview)."

Covering events like the recent one at South Point keeps Minick pretty busy, but representing rodeo is not her only gig. On Thursday, she'll be in Fort Worth, Texas, to receive the honor of being named Great Woman of Texas, a recognition of her charity and volunteer work. She also received the Pioneer Award in 2005 from the Women's Professional Rodeo Association and was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2000.

Minick and her husband, Billy, manage Billy Bob's Texas, a 100,000-square-foot entertainment center and concert venue in the Fort Worth Stockyards. The couple also competes in team roping events together.

Minick spends her spare time -- what's left of it -- in Argyle, Texas, with her husband and travels several times a year to Las Vegas, where the couple also own a home.

"I still love Las Vegas," she said. "If my husband's business wasn't in Texas, if I didn't ever have to leave here, that would have changed things drastically. Once you live somewhere else, you realize that you might have taken the convenience of Las Vegas for granted."