Back When They Bucked with Chuck Sylvester

he 2022 Ben Johnson Memorial Award honoree fits the requirements to a T! Charles Walter Sylvester Jr., better known in rodeo as “Chuck” is the recipient this year which will happen during the Rodeo Historical Society’s Rodeo Weekend at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City on November 12th. Chuck becomes the 24th cowboy to receive this award. The honoree has been given annually since 1998 when Clem McSpadden was chosen to receive the prestigious award.
The requirement of the Ben Johnson Memorial Award, given annually to a living person who has been involved in the rodeo industry for a number of years and has contributed to the growth and betterment of professional rodeo. Involvement with youth and/or community activities also is a pre-requisite for the honor. The recipient must be someone who, like Ben Johnson, Jr., creates a positive image for rodeo and the Western lifestyle.
Chuck was the General Manager of the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo, from 1978 to 2003. This important January Denver event has so many different activities going on it is mind-boggling to imagine his responsibilities. During his leadership the ‘National Western’ changed from a nine day event to sixteen days and the attendance increased considerably. Chuck brought the Draft Horse Show to ‘National Western’ in 1981, the event’s 75th anniversary. In 1985 he brought Jerry Diaz, well-known Charro, with his amazing roping artistry and many more talents which spawned a new addition — the Mexican Extravaganza & Rodeo which became one of the night shows of the ‘National Western’. Chuck was also responsible for expanding the facilities with the addition of the building of the Event Center. It took Chuck, and Board member Pat Grant, speaking with every business group in Denver to raise the interest for a bond to be passed that was necessary for the building to happen.
In 1995 the new building, called Equestrian Center, was opened. The horse show events moved in, as well as the Dancing Horses Night Show. The Mexican Extravaganza & Rodeo took the place of equestrian events in the Coliseum, along with Professional Bull Riding. When Chuck retired in 2003 he was quoted to say: “My job description for forty years was finding someone else to do the job! They are the ones to put on the show.”
During Chuck’s tenure as General Manager of the ‘National Western’ he served on the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) Board of Directors two different times. The first, in 1985, was when the National Finals moved to Las Vegas. He admits it was enjoyable but tedious. The Vegas location brought bigger crowds, but the need for more seating. They added seats, between the arena fence and the original first row, and called them Gold Buckle Seats. The additional revenue from seat sales helped pay expenses. Chuck decided to do the same thing at ‘National Western’, by adding more seating and call them God Buckle Seats. They sold out, and ‘National Western’ made an extra $100 thousand the first year. His second time to be on the PRCA Board, was between the mid-1990s and his retirement at NW. Although the circumstances were different he considered it “a real enjoyment but challenging serving on the PRCA grievance committee. Harry Vold was Chairman along with Dean Oliver and Bill Smith.” One of Chuck’s highlights on the Board was promoting and getting final approval to introduce and start “Extreme Bull Riding.”
It is obvious that Chuck Sylvester thinks ‘outside the box’. When asked to be the chairman of the National Western’s 100th Anniversary in 2006, for the parade he chose to have over 200 loose ewes herded by Border Collies down 17th Street, through the heart of downtown Denver.
A special event Chuck never misses happens once a year – the Roundup Riders of the Rockies, of which he has been a member for 35 years. They take a week-long horseback adventure in the back-country of Colorado during late July; many memorable moments have happened during this time for him. He was selected “Colt of the Year” his rookie year, 1987, and “Roundup Rider of the Year” in 1999. He became a Life Member in 2012. 2022 is the 74th year for Roundup Riders of the Rockies.
Chuck’s great-grandfather, Charles E. Miller, homesteaded the family farm in 1866. It is located on the South Platte River, in LaSalle, CO. Chuck and wife, Roni Bell, are the fourth generation of the family to live there. He was born in 1937, the youngest of four. He always felt fortunate that his parents were hard working farm people. In jest, Chuck said he felt like Abraham Lincoln because the house he lived in had no electricity, indoor running water, plumbing, telephone, TV and toilets. However, there was always food on the table and lots of love from his parents and family.
Chuck began rodeoing in high school at Greeley and continued when he went to Colorado A&M in 1955. As a Rodeo Club member, in college, he helped produce the ‘Little National Western Stock Show Skyline Stampede Rodeo’ at Colorado A & M (now named Colorado State University). While in college he won the bull riding in Logan, UT, and placed in the saddle bronc event at Pocatello, Idaho. Chuck graduated with a degree in Animal Science in 1961 and a masters in Ag Economics in 1985.
Employment for Chuck always involved agriculture, rodeo or the western way of life. He worked for A.S.C. and Soil Conservation Offices; for Farm Chemical as a salesman; and as Assistant Boulder County Agent. His interest in helping youth began by working with County 4-H programs. His judging team won the ‘National Western’ Livestock judging contest in 1965. He also was involved with the Boulder County Fair and the Longmont Jaycee Rodeo. This set his career course for life with fairs, rodeos, livestock and equine events.
The Colorado State Fair hired Chuck as Assistant Manager in 1969. During his tenure he helped plan the Fair’s 100th Anniversary in 1972. As part of the anniversary he re-introduced the Draft Horse Show and inaugurated the Colorado Centennial Farm Award, which is given to family farms that have been working farms for over 100 years in the State of Colorado. This Award requires the families of farms qualifying for this Award to complete a written form proving their eligibility.
Seeing the need for a non-existent organization to handle certain ag-related, rodeo-related or stock-related events Chuck was never hesitant to form a new organization so those active in the program could be treated or judged fairly. He did so by helping form the Association of Rodeo Committees and the Colorado Association of Fairs and Shows. He held the office of President with both groups to get them up and running properly.
When Chuck retired from the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo he never missed a beat. He soon became the Executive Producer of “There’s Got To Be A Pony,” written by Roni Bell under the pseudonym Arem Roder. It was a performance requiring a huge cast blending Pueblo Symphony, Dr. Jacob Chi conductor, symphonic music with equestrian performers presented at the Evening with Dancing Horses. Some of the cast members who were also associated with rodeo included Jerry Diaz, Vicki Adams, Hadley Barrett, Austin Anderson and Greg Whitaker.
A cattle-raiser on his Wyoming ranches for over fifty years Chuck finally sold all his cattle in 2009 and presently leases his ranches. He continues to buy land in Wyoming because, “Wyoming is more ‘agriculturally friendly’ than Colorado.”
A past President and director of the Godfrey Ditch Company Chuck has also been on the Weld County Fair Board, a member and former director of the Greeley T Bone Club, past board member of Colorado Boys Ranch, the Continental Divide Trail Alliance, just to name a few of his additional activities.
Protecting private property rights hit a nerve with Chuck and in 2007, he and wife, Roni, co-founded the so-called Good Neighbor Law, and subsequently helped with three more Good Neighbor programs. In 2009 Chuck co-founded Land and Water USA which gathers facts, truth and solutions that will protect one’s Land and Water rights. He and wife, Roni, have worked with scientists, educators, politicians, attorneys and research analysts from around the world to teach people what constitutes private property, and how to defend that property on federal land.
In September, 2013 a flood devastated their 145 year old farm and 110 year old farm house. After seven months of restoration, they were finally able to move back in to their home and their Colorado Centennial Farm. You can find Roni on her old Ford tractor, she named ‘Bar B’, and Chuck on his front-end loader, as they work together to move dirt and trees to make their farm the best it can be.
As the 2022 honoree of the Ben Johnson Memorial Award Chuck Sylvester joins the following earlier recipients of this prestigious honor: Clem McSpadden, Buster Ivory, Dale Smith, Chuck Sheppard, Don Harrington, A. J. “Jack” Cooke, Jim Shoulders, Mel Potter, Cotton Rosser, Larry Mahan, Billy Minick, Neal Gay, Dean Oliver, Walt Garrison, Bill Smith, Tater Decker, Joe Beaver, Mike Cervi, Jack Roddy, Kelly Riley, Clyde Frost, Doug Clark, and Carl Nafzger.