Calf- roping champion traded the rodeo for a courtroom
One of the all- time great North American cowboys and the only Canadian to win the world tiedown roping ( then calf roping) title, has died. Jim Gladstone passed away on May 16 at his home on the Blood Reserve. He was 72.
Gladstone, who is a member of the Calgary Stampede, Canadian Professional Rodeo, Ponoka Stampede and Cardston halls of fame, as well as the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, began his competitive cowboy career when he was just 11, when he borrowed a pair of cowboy boots to compete in boys’ steer wrestling.
A versatile athlete who always strove for perfection, he switched to what became his specialty event four years later and continued to chase belt buckles for several decades, finally winning the National Finals Rodeo title in 1977 at Oklahoma City. No other Canadian — before or since — has won a timed event. He was also the only aboriginal North American to have won a world rodeo title in any event.
In a 2001 interview, Gladstone, who spent countless hours roping calves on his family’s ranch near Cardston to hone his skills, said his victory caught his U. S. counterparts off guard.
“I was always very good with my rope. I had very, very fast hands and was a good rider,” recalled the softspoken, tenacious cowboy. “But at first, I was inconsistent. It was after I started to rope every day I became consistent and began to do well in the States.
“All of the calf ropers in the world were from Texas at that time. It’s like hockey in Canada. When I won in 1977, it was quite a surprise to them. It never did hit me, really, until I started rodeoing the next year and they announced me as world champion.”
Gladstone also competed in three other NFRs, more than 30 Calgary Stampedes and numerous Canadian Finals Rodeos. He finished second in many CFRs and Stampedes but never managed to pull off a victory. He competed into his 60s.
Gladstone also came from famous stock. His grandfather James Gladstone was appointed by then prime minister John Diefenbaker as the first aboriginal senator in Canada and assisted the PM in enfranchising Canada’s aboriginal people with citizenship, voting and other rights.
The cowboy’s father, Fred Gladstone, was also Canadian champion in calf roping in 1949 and 1951, and later became a national wild cow milking champion. Fred Gladstone also had success in federal politics when he dealt with Indian Affairs to obtain funding.
Jim Gladstone switched careers and learned the ropes of law. He obtained his degree from University of Alberta at 42 and practised primarily criminal law with the same tireless work ethic. He was also legal counsel for chief and counsel of Siksika Nation for several years.
In 1997, Gladstone worked with Terry Semenuk, now a provincial court judge in Calgary, to win a key case at the Supreme Court of Canada. The lawyers successfully argued their clients — Gladstone’s cousins Harley and Randy McMaster — should have their second- degree murder convictions overturned because of their drunkenness defence.
The two men later pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He is survived by his six children, 12 grandchildren, a younger sister and brother. His funeral was held last Saturday at the Blood Reserve.