Benny Reynolds

Who was Benny Reynolds?

Benny Reynolds was an American rodeo champion. Born in Twin Bridges, Montana, he was of English descent. Both his mother and father rode saddle broncs and his brothers also competed in rodeo.

Reynolds entered his first rodeo in Butte, Montana at age 6, where he rode one calf and was bucked-off another. Reynolds was about 15 years old when he seriously began competing in rodeos. Improvement came with practice on his father’s team of work horses—using them for both bareback and saddle bronc stock. That practice paid off when Reynolds went professional and joined the Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1956. He went on to win 1958 RCA Rookie of the Year Award, competing in saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, bull riding and steer wrestling.

Reynolds was a guest contestant on the CBS-TV quiz show, Name That Tune in the late 1950s. While endorsing Wrangler Jeans and Tony Lama Boots, print advertising featuring Reynolds appeared regularly in such publications as Rodeo Sports News and The Western Horseman.

His most successful year in rodeo was 1961, when he won the World Champion All Around Cowboy title, $31,309, a saddle, a silver buckle, silver spurs and a life-sized fiberglass horse. He went on to win the 1966 Linderman Award, given to the contestant earning the most money in a combination of three or more rough stock and timed events.