OklahomaHorses Magazine July 2023

24 OklahomaHorses • July / August 2023 Riley Duvall, Sam’s son, is continuing the tradition at the PRCA level, qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021. He claimed the Na- tional High School Rodeo Championship in 2008 and 2009 and the Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association title in 2008, 2009, and 2010. He is currently on the ro- deo trail working toward another shot at a world title in the 2023 NFR in December. Horses Contribute to Championships Horses from Checotah have also received top honors in the Checotah steer-wrestling lineup. Baby Doll Combs, a 14.1-hand bay mare owned by Willard Combs, won the hearts of cowboys on the rodeo circuit in the 1950s and was said to “know bulldoggin’ better than some of the guys who rode her.” Foaled in 1947, the little mare was by Oklahoma Star Jr by Foundation Sire Oklahoma Star and a Bert mare named Miss Boctick. From 1953 through 1960, Baby Doll earned more than $400,000 for her riders and was a regular mount for Combs and other contestants. She was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979, the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2010. Baby Doll is buried at the Combs Ranch near Checotah, and a statue of a horse stands in the pasture in her honor. Another Checotah horse, owned by Roy Duvall, was also inducted into the PRCA Hall of Fame in 2022. The 1967 chestnut gelding Mighty Eye, aka Whisky, was the PRCA horse of the year in 1980. Whisky was by Eye Good (TB) and out of Higear Bars by Mighty Bars. Whisky’s dam’s sire, Mighty Bars, was a son of American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame horse Three Bars (TB) who, according to Duvall, was the toughest horse he had ever seen in the rodeo business. Duvall and his wife, Karen, bought Whisky in 1979, and Duvall spent nine years com- peting on him. Bill Duvall’s horses Cadillac (1985) and Whitey (1995) were honored with awards for Horse of the Year. The Duvall Bulldogging Jackpot Today, some of the top names in steer wrestling gather in Checotah every spring to compete in the Duvall Bulldogging Jack- pot, with 2023 marking the forty-fifth year for the annual event. It is called the World’s Largest Steer Wrestling Jackpot. The first event, commonly known as Roy’s Jackpot, was held at Roy Duvall’s home arena when he and others decided to host an event similar to Don Huddleston’s bulldogging jackpot in Talihina. The Huddleston jackpot celebrated its fiftieth year in May and proudly maintains the title of World’s Longest Running Steer Wrestling Jackpot. The Duvall event grew each year, but according to Spud Duvall, “It really took off one year in the early 1970s when Benny Craig, a young bulldogger from Braggs, won the Calcutta by winning the fastest time. Back then the payout was cash, so Craig went home with $10,000 in a paper sack.” The younger Duvalls now manage the jackpot, which has been held at the Checo- tah Round-up Club arena since 2007. The three-day event remains a reunion for hundreds of steer wrestlers of all ages, their families, friends, and fans. Aside from the competitions for specific ages (19 and younger and 40 and older), all other com- petitions are open to anyone. The Duvalls have hosted steer-wrestling clinics through the years, sharing their knowledge with many young cowboys. Roy and Bill Duvall, now in their eighties, are still involved in one way or another. Aside from running the spring jackpot, Spud and Sam Duvall still help in the practice pen. The Duvalls also help Tom’s son, Nathan Duvall, who just graduated from high school and will compete on the Connors State College Rodeo Team in Warner this fall. He placed second in this year’s Oklaho- ma High School Finals Rodeo and qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyoming, in July. He also won the competition for 19 and younger at the Huddleston Jackpot in May. Ote Berry now manages Ote Berry’s Junior World Steer Wrestling Champion- ships throughout the United States, helping young steer wrestlers to qualify for the 10-day Junior World Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December. His son, Denver, was the 2017 College National Champion steer wrestler, representing Southeastern Oklaho- ma State University in Durant, and is now competing in the PRCA. Many of the local young guns and others find their way to the Duvall practice pen whenever possible to learn from some of the best the sport has ever known. The Du- vall name is synonymous with steer wres- tling and the family is first and foremost — and Checotah most likely will always be known as the Steer Wrestling Capital of the World. 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