DENNIS REINERS - PRORODEO HALL OF FAMER PASSES AWAY IN ARIZONA BY MATT NABER
Dennis Reiners, the 1970 world champion saddle bronc rider and 2003 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee, passed away Jan. 20 at Phoenix Mountain Nursing Center in Phoenix. Born in Clara City, Minn., Oct. 17, 1937, Reiners didn’t catch the rodeo bug until he was 14 years old and traveled to Clear Lake, S.D., to watch legendary cowboy Casey Tibbs ride a saddle bronc. After that, Reiners was hooked. “I went home and built a chute and tried to ride ‘em,” Reiners told ProRodeo Sports News in 2003. “I fell off more than I stayed on.” As luck would have it, as Reiners began his ProRodeo career in 1959, Tibbs became one of Reiners’ mentors, as did ProRodeo Hall of Famers Bill Linderman and Marty Wood. Reiners mug“Casey entered me in the spring rodeos, San Angelo (Texas), Fort Worth (Texas) and Houston,” Reiners said. “I think I probably got even with him, but Casey never asked for a dime.” Reiners’ persistence paid off, qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo nine times in saddle bronc riding (1963-66 and 1970-74) and twice in bareback riding (1965-66). The highlight of his career was winning the saddle bronc riding world title in 1970. He was the first cowboy to win NFR aggregate titles in bareback riding (1965) and saddle bronc riding (1973). Reiners was modest about his many accomplishments during a ProRodeo career that lasted more than 30 years. He continued to compete until 1990 when he was 53 years old, winning 11 “old timers” world titles before he was through. “I don’t have Alzheimer’s,” Reiners said. “I have half-timer’s disease – I only remember half the time.” After retiring from competition, Reiners remained active in rodeo by subcontracting bucking horses and driving teams of horses in parades such as the 2003 Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days parade. “I’m busy day and night,” Reiners said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Reiners was injured in a horse accident in 1991 and developed a neurological problem that progressed over time, leaving him paralyzed and unable to talk for the last five years of his life. Reiners was a practicing Lutheran and had a close relationship with the Lord. 12
MARCH 2020
