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Pete Fredericks

Modern-era Rodeo

Inducted 1999

Pete Fredericks was active in high school rodeo. In 1953, he won the National High School Rodeo State Championship in bareback riding and in 1955 was the National High School Rodeo State Champion saddle bronc rider and steer wrestler.

The next year, Pete earned the all-around champion title. He was a North Dakota high school champion in three events–bareback and saddle bronc riding and steer wrestling. Pete gave up a scholarship to New Mexico State College to attend Dickinson State Teachers College where he helped organize the first rodeo team in 1958–the beginning of intercollegiate rodeo in North Dakota.

In 1959, Pete rode in Madison Square Gardens where he placed in bareback riding. He was also named the National Intercollegiate bareback and all-around champions that year. In San Antonio, he became the bareback champion in 1961 and saddle bronc champion in 1962.

Pete went to the National Finals Rodeo four times, including as runner-up to Jack Bushbaum in 1961. He rode all 10 of his horses that year and finished as the #4 bareback rider in the world. His total winnings topped $16,500, good enough to rank him 15th in the world all-around competition.
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Even after his days of competition, Pete has remained important to the sport by helping rodeo grow. He wrote the original concept for the National All Indian Rodeo, which was approved by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. As a gold card member of the PRCA, he stays active in rodeo and is always willing to help people, young and old, who are interested in rodeo.

Pete is vice-president of the National Indian Rodeo Association and was a member of the Indian National Finals Rodeo Commission. He was co-recipient of the Indian Rodeo Man-of-the-Year Award in 1976.

He now owns a ranch north of Halliday which he started in 1956 with a cow-calf operation that has grown to 250 head. He also raises saddle horses and spends much of his time in the saddle as a true cowboy. He is soft-spoken, a good businessman and a movie star–he and his son had parts in “Dances with Wolves.”