Cowboys of Color Rodeo founder and professional rodeo trailblazer Cleo Hearn has died at 86 years old.
According to a statement from the family and the Cowboys of Color Rodeos, Hearn died Sunday, Nov. 9, and will be remembered for breaking “barriers in rodeo and American history.”
Originally a native of Seminole, Okla., Hearn is credited with paving the way for cowboys of different cultures. He was the first African American to win the calf (tie down) roping at a major rodeo in 1970, and the first African American to attend college on a rodeo scholarship.
Hearn was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1961 and was chosen as one of the first eight African Americans to serve in the Presidential Honor Guard under President John F. Kennedy…