By Mike Rainone and Inge Sybrandi for the News
One of the powerful limited edition prints that will be featured at the annual Art Auction and Art Show during the 2015 79th annual Ponoka Stampede from June 24 to July 1 will be a magnificent action photo of perennial CPRA champion Ponoka born Bull rider John Dodds in a rugged 8 second confrontation with Harvey Northcott’s bull Confusion. Exquisitely prepared by renowned Alberta western artist Gaile Gallup, the limited edition print is a perfect complement to the ‘working cowboy’ and all of the skilled contestants of the vastly popular rodeo world over the years, as well as to those amazing artists who vividly portray every thrilling move of both the contestant and the stock in a split second span.
A salute to the great career of John Dodds
John Dodds was born in 1948 in Ponoka, Alberta and grew up on the family farm just south of town. He began his rodeo career at the age of nine in the boy’s steer riding, immediately demonstrating his natural skill for it, and was a quick study. In the following years, keen competition would allow John to hone his skills, toughen his mentality and sharpen his strong determination to become a top competitor in the rodeo arena. He carried these attributes at his core for the rest of his very active life.
John Dodds became a member of the Cowboys’ Protective Association (now Canadian Professional Rodeo Association) in 1965 and went on to compete in both the bull riding and the bareback riding events. During his performances, his unique riding skills could all too often make it look too easy because he was blessed with the natural ability to adjust himself to how different bulls moved, understood these powerful animals well, and used that to his advantage. John also owned the great gift of consistency, and was able to handle the ongoing pressures of the many different circumstances and experiences of being a highly respected professional bull rider.
‘Spook’, as he was fondly known throughout the rodeo circuit, completely dedicated himself to rodeo, as it had become his full time occupation. He competed all year round throughout Canada and the United States, and enjoyed with a passion the travelling and being able to meet so many new people along the way. John went down the road from rodeo to rodeo, mostly with his fellow colleagues, as they excelled competing against each other, occasionally finding a little trouble, and ultimately raised their families together.
During his lucrative and colorful career, John Dodds won four Canadian bull riding titles in 1969,1971, 1972 and 1977 and qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo six times in bull riding and once in the bareback riding event in the 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980 and 1982 editions of the competition. The congenial Ponoka cowboy also qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in 1971, 1972 and 1977 and by 1982, he had managed to stake his claim to some of the best bullriding performances and skills in Canadian rodeo history. It was that very same year that he would make the tough but definite decision to end his exciting 15 year career, and in a nonchalant interview plainly stated, ‘I wasn’t cravin’ ‘em anymore..’
Following his retirement, John became one of the original members of the Pro Rodeo Official Judging team which was started by the CPRA in 1983, as well as becoming a popular rodeo school instructor who liked to stress to his young students the right mental attitude, how to handle different circumstances, and always challenged them to bring out the best in themselves in order to make a good ride. At most rodeos, he was always ready to help out competitors at the bucking chutes, and one of the most consistently mentioned and enjoyed character traits of John Dodds was the lighthearted view he had on life, his great sense of humour, and his passion for having just plain fun and being a life-long ambassador of the popular and exciting sport of rodeo.
John’s bull riding career peaked around the end of the time period sometimes referred to as ‘the golden age of rodeo’, when cowboys in the movies, on TV, and in the arena were a dominant part of culture in Canada and the U.S. and had reached an almost iconic status. Like so many other colorful and free spirited rodeo stars, John Dodds left his permanent mark on rodeo history, and proudly added to his legend in his later career as a stunt performer and wrangler in such movie classic as Lonesome Dove, Days of Heaven, Legends of the Fall, The Edge and on and on. Considered the epitome of a real cowboy, he was honored as Cowboy of the Year by the Canadian Professional Association in 1984, was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1999, and will always be remembered for his amazing rodeo skills and a great love for life, which he never hesitated to share with family, friends, fans and everyone else who were lucky enough to watch him ride or to make his acquaintance. The Dodds family and so many others have carried on the proud traditions of rodeo and the Ponoka Stampede for over 80 decades.
Gaile Gallup the artist.
Raised in the foothills around Longview, Alberta, a small town situated in the heart of ranching country, Gaile Gallup has a passion to portray the lifestyle of the working cowboy, a way of life frequently romanticized by artists. Referring to the colorful subjects of his many works, Gaile expressed the fact that these are real people doing real things, and as a rancher himself, he draws from his own hands on experiences during his work day of branding, doctoring, and moving cattle to create his images and works of art.
Gallup refers to his style ‘impressionism combined with realism, adding that this is what comes most natural to him as he loved working with oil, charcoal, pen and ink, as is witnessed in the many prestigious art shows at which he has shown thoughout Canada and the United States. Adding to his inspiration are his experiences wrangling on several movie sets, which is where he crossed paths years ago with John Dodds, and vividly described him as a very congenial man, tough mentally, proficient in the work at hand and possessed with an incredibly positive attitude and a great sense of humour.
The amazing skills of the professional bull rider and the western artist have certainly been combined in the superb creation of this year’s featured limited edition print that will be available at the 2015 Ponoka Stampede.