RICHARD RUDNICK
June 3, 1945 - January 13, 2021
St George, Utah. June 1965. A hot summer day, temperature 110. His name was “Bar O”. A big, grey gelding saddle bronc horse. Loaded in the chute, a handsome twenty year old college kid looked down on his bronc. He nodded and they opened the gate. It was that day that Richard Rudnick won the 1st go-around of the 1965 College National Finals. It was the finest ride he ever made and it was against some fellow competitors who would later become world champion saddle bronc riders. This was one of Richard’s proudest moments in the rodeo arena.
Richard was born on June 3, 1945 to Marcia and Marcus Rudnick in Bakersfield, California. He was the oldest of eleven children and grew up in a cattle ranching family. His father Marcus was a big influence in his life. He said his father taught him “hard work and a lot of go”. Richard grew up riding and working cattle at the various family ranches and feedlots in California and Arizona. It was Les Jenkins, however, that Richard looked up to as a true cowboy. He was the cow boss at the Onyx Ranch when Richard was a young kid. Richard thought he was, “one of the best cowboys that he’d ever known” and was very influential in Richard’s training when he was young.
Richard was a third generation California cattle rancher and being a cowboy was the favorite part of his career. He and his wife Sandy (Kearney) were married for 53 years and were together since he was seventeen years old attending Bakersfield High School. He graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 1967 with an Agricultural Business major with an emphasis in Farm and Ranch Management. He participated on the Rodeo Team riding saddle broncs and team roping.
Together with Sandy, Richard raised horses and ran cattle on the Onyx Ranch in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains for forty years. Richard was a founding partner of Cholla Livestock in 1972. He ran 12,000 cows on the Diamond A and Double O Ranch. The Diamond A Ranch is the largest ranch in Arizona consisting of 750,000 acres on the southern rim of the Grand Canyon. At one time he was the largest livestock operator in the state of Arizona with his partner from 1972 to 1997. He owned and operated Kern Valley Meat Packing Company in Bakersfield California from 1976 to 1995. Kern Valley was known for its “Smokehouse” brand of bacon and meats.
Richard served as the president of the Rancheros Visitadores from 2008-2010. He always looked forward to seeing his friends at the ride each year in May and competing in all the horse events. He cherished his good friends and especially his camp mates from Los Flojos. He continues to be the only man in the history of the RV to win the 1 man / 1 horse all around cowboy three times. He won the O’Brian trophy for “Outstanding Horseman” in 1980, 1982 and 1989 and the Harold Pauley trophy for “Ranchero of the Year” in 2010. He was a five time winner of the “Best Horseman” award.
For years Richard served on the Bureau of Land Management’s California Desert Multiple Use Advisory Board representing livestock grazing on public lands. He served on the Kern County Cattleman’s Association Board of Directors and the California Beef Council. He was also on the Harry Jackson Art Council in Cody, Wyoming.
As a young boy riding and gathering cattle on the desert, Richard said he would look up into the sky and see airplanes and jet trails overhead. He said he thought that looked like fun and said that’s something that I want to do when I grow up. Richard received his pilot’s license in 1968. He achieved ratings in single, multiengine, and instrument. He earned his rating to fly seaplanes in Seattle, Washington and he even flew a jet simulator with his son, Chad, an airline captain who Richard taught to fly. He was a proud member of AOPA and owned and operated many planes. He was an accomplished bush pilot and could fly an airplane as if it were part of him.
His favorite airplane was the Cessna 185 taildragger (bush plane). He was known for showing up and landing on a cow trail and taxiing right up to the corrals to work his cattle for the day. You would always know Richard was near, when in the distance you could hear the crack of the propeller as he flew over the ranch and cowboy crew making sure the landing strip was clear. As he got out of the airplane he would grab his saddle, bridle and spurs; get on his horse, then sort the cows and ship the steers. He always said never fly an airplane with your spurs on. He accumulated over 7,500 hours of total flight time with many trips to their summer house on Crane Island in the San Juan Islands.
He particularly enjoyed helping and mentoring young people to become horseman and cowboys. These young kids came from Israel, Australia, Denmark, England and Spain to work on the ranches and learn the cowboy way. For many years Richard donated colts to Cal Poly for their colt classes. He was always grateful to his cowboys and employees who returned the favor in lifelong loyalty to him.
He and Sandy packed horses with their family into the Golden Trout Wilderness on many pack trips in the summertime. One memorable pack trip began at Soda Flat to the headwaters of the Kern River. Eventually reaching Crabtree Meadow at the base of Mount Whitney. Two families and thirty eight horses for almost three weeks. Horseback, pack string in hand with a huge smile on his face, Richard was never happier than in the mountains. He ran cattle in the Sierras on grazing leases for many years. The cow camp in Manter Meadow was one of his favorites.
In 2006, Richard and his son Jack and friends, rode 80 miles of the John Muir trail. Beginning at Yosemite Valley and ending at Reds Meadow, they completed a challenging yet rewarding 10 day pack trip.
Richard passed away peacefully at his home with his family by his side in Bakersfield on January 13, 2021. He was seventy five years old. He died from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. Richard is survived by his wife Sandy, his son Charles, daughter Jane and son Jack; his son in law Scott Larrabee and daughter in law Allison. His seven grandchildren Collin, Cooper, Holly, Madelyn and Russell Rudnick. Lily and Lauren Larrabee. His mother Marcia Rudnick and ten sisters and brothers. His brother and sister in law, Vinton and Mimi Sommerville and family.
A celebration of life will be held at a future date when it is safe to gather. Donations can be made to the Cal Poly Equine Unit.
We know that Richard is heading off into his beloved high country riding his best horse Vinniegaru.