Marty Wood
Encyclopedia
Martin Roy Wood is a celebrated rodeo
cowboy from Bowness, Calgary, in the province of Alberta
, Canada
.
Marty was born in 1933 in Carstairs, Alberta
, to Dorothy and Harry Wood. His great grandfather was Henry Wise Wood
, the founding president of the United Farmers of Alberta
, who had settled in Carstairs in 1905. Marty's family moved to Bowness, then a small hamlet just outside of Calgary
, in 1940 or 1941, and he attended school there. His parents built a house and opened the Wood's Riding Academy, where Marty learned to break, ride and show horses. He took up rodeo in the early 1950s and soon specialized in Saddle broncs
. He won his first professional rodeo championship in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1953.
During the fifties and sixties, Wood was one of the best Saddle Bronc riders in the United States and Canada, winning at all the major rodeos and, when he didn't win outright, often coming in a close second. He was Canadian Champion Saddle Bronc Rider in 1954, 1955 and 1963, World Champion in 1958, 1964 and 1966, and won the Calgary Stampede
a total of five times, in 1954, 1957, 1961, 1964 and 1965. He also won at the Cheyenne, MadisonSquare Garden, San Francisco Cow Palace, Fort Worth, Houston, Salinas, Boston Garden, and Oklahoma City rodeos.
Wood was married to Jean Roth in the 1950s and the couple had one son, Chip. He was divorced in the late 1960s. During his career, Wood suffered many injuries, including seven broken legs, fractures of both feet and ankles, broken ribs and a broken collarbone. Because of the cumulative effect of his injuries, he retired in 1974, going on to train quarter and thoroughbred horses for racing and jumping.
Marty Wood was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame
in 1991, the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the Ellensburg Rodeo
Hall of Fame in 2004, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum® Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2008. He now lives in Pendleton, Oregon
.
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
cowboy from Bowness, Calgary, in the province of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Marty was born in 1933 in Carstairs, Alberta
Carstairs, Alberta
Carstairs is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 2A, south of the provincial capital, Edmonton, and north of Calgary, the nearest major city. The closest neighbouring communities are the towns of Didsbury and Crossfield...
, to Dorothy and Harry Wood. His great grandfather was Henry Wise Wood
Henry Wise Wood
Henry Wise Wood was an American-born Canadian agrarian thinker and activist. He became director in 1914 and was elected president of the United Farmers of Alberta in 1916. Under his leadership the UFA became the most powerful political lobby group in the province...
, the founding president of the United Farmers of Alberta
United Farmers of Alberta
The United Farmers of Alberta is an association of Alberta farmers that has served many different roles throughout its history as a lobby group, a political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. Since 1934 it has primarily been an agricultural supply cooperative headquartered in Calgary...
, who had settled in Carstairs in 1905. Marty's family moved to Bowness, then a small hamlet just outside of Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, in 1940 or 1941, and he attended school there. His parents built a house and opened the Wood's Riding Academy, where Marty learned to break, ride and show horses. He took up rodeo in the early 1950s and soon specialized in Saddle broncs
Saddle bronc and bareback riding
Bronc riding, either saddle bronc or bareback bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding on a horse , that attempts to throw or buck off the rider...
. He won his first professional rodeo championship in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1953.
During the fifties and sixties, Wood was one of the best Saddle Bronc riders in the United States and Canada, winning at all the major rodeos and, when he didn't win outright, often coming in a close second. He was Canadian Champion Saddle Bronc Rider in 1954, 1955 and 1963, World Champion in 1958, 1964 and 1966, and won the Calgary Stampede
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway,...
a total of five times, in 1954, 1957, 1961, 1964 and 1965. He also won at the Cheyenne, MadisonSquare Garden, San Francisco Cow Palace, Fort Worth, Houston, Salinas, Boston Garden, and Oklahoma City rodeos.
Wood was married to Jean Roth in the 1950s and the couple had one son, Chip. He was divorced in the late 1960s. During his career, Wood suffered many injuries, including seven broken legs, fractures of both feet and ankles, broken ribs and a broken collarbone. Because of the cumulative effect of his injuries, he retired in 1974, going on to train quarter and thoroughbred horses for racing and jumping.
Marty Wood was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame
ProRodeo Hall of Fame
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame is dedicated to the preservation of rodeo artifacts and continued interest in the sport. It is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and run by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's board. It claims to be the "only museum in the world devoted exclusively to the...
in 1991, the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the Ellensburg Rodeo
Ellensburg Rodeo
The Ellensburg Rodeo opens every Labor Day weekend along with the Kittitas County Fair in Ellensburg, WA. Started in 1923, the Ellensburg Rodeo has grown from a local competition among ranch hands to the Professional event of today with over 500 contestants and prize money in excess of $250,000...
Hall of Fame in 2004, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum® Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2008. He now lives in Pendleton, Oregon
Pendleton, Oregon
Pendleton is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Pendleton was named in 1868 by the county commissioners for George H. Pendleton, Democratic candidate for Vice-President in the 1864 presidential campaign. The population was 16,612 at the 2010 census...
.