Wednesday, August 19, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Announced the 2025 Class of National Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductees and Honorees, with breakaway roper Lari Dee Guy receiving the Tad Lucas Memorial Award.
The Tad Lucas Memorial Award is presented each year by the family of Tad Lucas, the most decorated cowgirl in American history whose career spanned seven decades; to recognize a living woman whose actions promote the values Lucas embodied.
Lari Dee Guy’s Resume
Lari Dee Guy grew up on her family’s ranch outside Abilene, Texas, where she learned to rope before she could read. By age 9, she was winning roping contests, and she didn’t stop, racking up 11 consecutive American Junior Rodeo Association world titles before moving on to claim two National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association national championships at Vernon Junior College and Texas Tech University.
Throughout her extensive career, Guy became one of the winningest ropers in history, with eight Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) world championships spanning breakaway roping, heading and heeling, plus the WPRA All-Around World Championship in 2014.
Her impact, however, goes far beyond her own gold buckles. Guy has been a driving force in advancing opportunities for women in rodeo, including founding the “Rope Like a Girl” movement and teaching clinics that have reached thousands of ropers in North America, Sweden and Australia.
Her leadership has helped put breakaway roping on major stages, inspiring the next generation of ropers and proving women’s rodeo belongs in the spotlight. That influence has earned her induction into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame (2020) and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame (2021).
Today, when she’s not competing, Guy is training elite rope horses on her family’s 10,000-acre ranch and continuing her life’s work: building a stronger future for the sport she’s helped shape.
More about the National Rodeo Hall of Fame
Since 1955, the National Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum has honored the legends of rodeo, preserving their legacies for generations. This fall, that tradition continues as a new class of inductees will be celebrated during National Rodeo Hall of Fame Weekend, presented by the Dellora A. and Lester J. Norris Foundation, Nov. 7–8, 2025.
The weekend includes inductions into the National Hall of Fame as well as presentations of the Ben Johnson Memorial Award, the Tad Lucas Memorial Award and the Directors’ Choice Award.
“For 70 years, the National Rodeo Hall of Fame has been the iconic home for honoring and preserving the great names and traditions of rodeo,” said Pat Fitzgerald, president and CEO of the Museum. “Induction into the Hall remains the sport’s highest honor — a recognition that transcends age, background and discipline.”
Nomination and Selection Process
The process began with Rodeo Historical Society (RHS) members, a global community dedicated to preserving rodeo history, submitting names for consideration. The RHS Advisory Board reviewed the submissions, selected a slate of finalists and official ballots were mailed to RHS members on June 1, 2025. Voting closed on August 1, and the final class of inductees has now been announced.
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 2025 Inductees and Honorees
LIVING
• Chad Berger
• Larry Allen Clayman
• Joel Edmonson
• Monty “HP” Evetts
• Bobby Goodspeed
• Charlie Throckmorton
DECEASED
• Neal Gay
• Wiley McCray
BEN JOHNSON MEMORIAL AWARD
• Mike “Hud” Hudson
DIRECTORS’ CHOICE AWARD
• Jon Taylor
TAD LUCAS MEMORIAL AWARD
• Lari Dee Guy
