Tonight’s the night Reg Camarillo will be inducted at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City with the Rodeo Historical Society’s Class of 2024.

Rodeo will always remember the roar of The Lion. Leo Camarillo was a four-time world champion team roper who in 1975 also won the coveted world all-around crown, and still holds the record for the most National Finals Rodeo team roping average wins with six. Leo’s little brother, Jerold, is also a world champion team roper and ProRodeo Hall of Famer. Cousin Reg was the quiet one, and best known as the consummate consistency king. But make no mistake, Reg was a steady wind beneath Leo and Jerold’s wings, and a pivotal player in their revolutionary roping careers.

Everyone who witnessed that legendary era of team roping will be thrilled to see Reg celebrated with the National Rodeo Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s November 9, induction ceremonies in Oklahoma City. True to form, Reg is honored and humbled by the unexpected recognition.

“I didn’t see this coming,” said Reg, who’s 79 now and lives in Fresno, California, with his wife, Kimberly. “Hall of fame induction just wasn’t something I was looking for or expecting. It’s a big deal, and a huge honor. But what the hell did I do?”

The Glory Days

Let’s see now…Leo and Jerold were Rodeo Cowboys Association rookies in 1968, which was the year Reg finished up his two-year stint in the Army during the Vietnam War.

“I always say I was drafted twice—into the Army, and by Leo and Jerold,” Reg grins. “And I say I served in two wars—Vietnam, and the team roping wars.

“I heeled a lot early on and was considered a heeler at one time, but Leo and Jerold wanted to heel. I couldn’t heel like they could. I went and stayed with Leo and Jerold one winter before I went into the Army, then I went to visit them at the Cow Palace (rodeo in San Francisco) right after I got out. It was the fall of 1968, the end of their rookie year, and Leo said, ‘It’s time. You’re coming with us.’ I joined the RCA in 1969.”

Reg was Leo’s first partner, and at the go-twice rodeos Reg also roped with Jerold. Reg and Leo won the National Finals Rodeo average three years in a row from 1969-71. Reg also won the NFR average with Jerold in 1975.

Reg roped at 11 NFRs, eight of them with Leo. Reg and Jerold roped at two NFRs in 1975 and ’79, and Reg headed for young Allen Bach his rookie year at the Finals in 1978, before Bach won his first world title in 1979. The Lion is still king, with a record six NFR average titles (Leo won his first NFR average as a rookie heeling for fellow Californian Billy Wilson in 1968). But Reg’s four says it all about his consistency, and how he was counted on by his famous cousins.

Cowboy Calculator

The finances at the Finals must be mentioned here. And remember, folks, most of the major rodeos didn’t even include team roping in the Camarillos’ heyday. At Reg’s first NFR in 1969, he and Leo placed in three of that year’s nine rounds and won the average, for a total of $1,039 a man. Allow me to run the inflation calculator for you on that, which in 2024 would still only be $8,912.

“The first year we made the NFR, I didn’t really even want to go,” Reg remembers. “They said the go-rounds were going to pay $300 a man to win them. But then, a lot of rodeos didn’t pay that at that time.”

Reg and Leo won two rounds, placed in three others and won the 10-head average at that next NFR in 1970, and each won $1,732. They won their thirdstraight NFR average in 1971 by placing in four of 10 rounds, and got out of town (Oklahoma City) with $1,145 apiece.

Back then, a turtle could have outrun the pace of NFR-payoff progress. When Reg and Jerold won the 1975 NFR a few years later, they placed in two rounds along the way and with the big average check still only left town with a less-than-grand total of $1,491 a man.

“I was very blessed to have two of the best partners in the world in my cousins,” Reg said. “They could really rope, and rodeoing was Leo and Jerold’s passion. I was mostly interested in winning money. Winning championships wasn’t my passion, like it was theirs.”

You’ll never hear it from Reg, but his cowboy contemporaries haven’t forgotten that he, too, should have a gold buckle. There were three years, 1976-78, when the PRCA-predecessor RCA ran a failed experiment that crowned the world champions based on sudden-death NFR earnings after wiping the regular-season earnings slate clean.

Leo won $30,761 and Reg $26,723 in 1976, which that year made Leo the lone PRCA champion (that was before headers and heelers were crowned separately). Bucky Bradford and Ronnie Rasco were the high-money winners at the Finals with $2,256 a man, and were named the world champions.

Reg and Leo were the reserve world champions with $2,180—so Reg missed out on a world championship and Leo lost out on a fifth gold team roping buckle by $152. Leo always regretted having to two-loop their last steer, which kept Reg from winning the world that year.

Same thing happened to Jerold when he won the 1977 regular season, and the Motes brothers won the world based on NFR earnings. Ditto on 1978 regular-season champs Doyle Gellerman and Walt Woodard, when George Richards and Brad Smith won the most at the NFR and were crowned the world champs.

Familia

Reg was the fourth of Rudy and Pearl Camarillo’s six kids, who also included late brother Sonny and four sisters, Ruth, Carolyn, Sylvia and Virginia. They grew up in Southern California, and would venture north to Santa Ynez for weekends, holidays and summers with Rudy’s brother, Ralph, and his wife, Pilar, who were Leo, Jerold and little sister Christie’s parents.

“My dad was a welder who roped a little when he was younger,” Reg remembers. “We always had a roping dummy and a bucking barrel around, and he was more instrumental than anyone in teaching me my roping fundamentals. My dad got into cutting horses, but Uncle Ralph was serious about roping. And when I went to stay with them, it was always a roping match on the swinging steer with Leo and Jerold and Sonny to see who had to do the dishes after dinner or clean the corrals.

“We were like the four stooges. We laughed, we fought and we challenged each other every which way, like four brothers. Whoever got their jeans on last in the morning had to go do chores. Everything was a competition.

“It was Leo and Jerold’s passion to be champions. I wasn’t as worried about it. When we got to rodeoing, Leo and Jerold paid attention to (world championship) points, but if a roping paid more than a rodeo, I’d just as soon go to the roping.”

Roping Revolutionaries

The Camarillos will go down in history as team roping game changers, Reg included.

“We opened the eyes of a lot of people,” Reg said. “People started practicing more, because it was evident how good Leo and Jerold were, and that working harder was the only way to stand a chance against them.

“I have a lot of fond memories from our rodeo days, though a lot of the big rodeos didn’t even have team roping, much less equal money. It was always a fight to try for equal money, because the other directors thought it was taking money away from their event.

“During that time, things started getting more rapid when people started watching Leo and Jerold rope steers around the corner, like they did. Guys started picking up on how they timed steers, and it changed everything. I was a little more conservative. I was always going for the win in the average. When we went out of the average, we had good luck in the rounds. But my consistency was pretty fair, and I wasn’t reaching like HP (Evetts).”

These Days

Reg trained horses when he left the rodeo trail. He now works for Kovak Ranch Equipment, and he and Kimberly just became first-time grandparents. Their daughter, Lacey, followed in her father’s military footsteps.

“Lacey’s a combat medic who’s been to Afghanistan three times,” Reg said proudly. “Her husband, Travis Womer, flies Black Hawks (helicopters). His day job is as a U.S. Marshal, and they both serve in the National Guard. Lacey and Travis live in Oklahoma, and had a baby girl, Remington Pearl, on August 9. They call her Remi.”

Reg Camarillo Fan Club

Reg has always been a man of many admirers. His family, friends, teammates, contemporaries, friendly rivals and cowboys who came behind him have all looked up to him.

Cousin Jerold

“Reg and Sonny were around a lot when we were kids,” Jerold remembers. “We were family, and everybody thought we were four brothers. Reg was one of the most consistent headers of all time. He didn’t take big chances to win first, but he roped every steer and always gave Leo and I a chance. We relied on Reg. We loved roping with HP (Evetts), too, but he threw a lot of line and took a lot of chances. Reg was a sure thing.

“At the go-twice rodeos, Leo and I roped with Reg and HP. They were opposites as ropers. We might win first or nothing with HP, and win second or third with Reg all day long. HP went for the gusto every time. Reg took that sure shot and made sure we won something.

“Outside of the arena, Reg didn’t like to party. He liked good food, but was pretty frugal. When you needed something done, you could count on Reg. He’s always been a very dependable person. Reg never cared about the spotlight. When people wanted interviews, Reg and I were most likely going to go take care of the horses and let Leo handle the media. He loved it, and that was good by us.”

HP Evetts

“Reg ran to the hip, and he always had a good horse,” said 1974 World Champ Evetts. “You never knew with me, but you were going to get a good throw with Reg. Reg was cool. Him and Jim Wheatley were big buddies, and when they rented an apartment in Mesa, Arizona for the winter a few years, I stayed with them. Reg was funny.”

Tee Woolman

“I came along right after Reg quit rodeoing, but Reg flagged the Finals a few times (seven) when I roped there, and did a great job,” remembers three-time World Titlist Woolman. “I thought it was outstanding to bring somebody in there who knew what team roping was all about. Reg was a team roper, so he knew the rules and how the game was played.

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“When I was roping with Leo and all my horses were hurt, he said, ‘Let’s go see what Reg has.’ He had old Wildfire, his big bay he won so much on. Leo loved roping behind him. He was a huge monster of a horse (16 hands and 1,250-1,300 pounds, according to Reg) with a long mane and tail. Wildfire was really a pretty horse. I rode him, and I bought him.

“Leo and I were headed to rope at the Forum in Inglewood (California), and when we were leaving, Reg said, ‘OK, son, don’t let him get your rope.’ I was used to little quick horses, and he caught me off guard and ducked so hard on our first one that I lost my rope. But we won the second round.”

Jimmy Rodriguez

“Reg was a very good, consistent header,” said Rodriguez, who was an original 1979 inductee at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, but just last year inducted in Oklahoma City. “He never got all the praise he should have roping with Leo and Jerold, but he was very important to those teams. He scored good, and very seldom made a mistake.

“I always admired Reg. He was always a very good person. He was very quiet, but if he told you something, you could believe it. When he gave you his word, you could go by it. Reg flagged the Finals the year Leo and I roped together there in Oklahoma City (1981), and did a great job. I never thought Reg got the credit he deserved. I’m glad to see him being recognized now.”

Dick Yates

“We got acquainted with Reg the last year he was in the Army and stationed at Fort Carson (between Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado),” recalls 13-time NFR header Yates. “JD was pretty small, but Reg stayed with us some and went to a lot of jackpots with me, and rode my horses (including one he called Smokey). Reg was a great header, but he heeled a lot when he was here in Colorado, because he out-heeled most people in this country back then.

“Reg is a really nice, kind-hearted guy, and he became one of the family. JD and Kelly were pretty little when Reg was around here a lot, but they just loved him. When he left, they both cried.”

Jake Barnes

“Reg is a legend in my mind,” Barnes said. “When I was growing up, if you mentioned one Camarillo, you mentioned them all. They were the godfathers of team roping, and you can’t say the Camarillo name without mentioning all three of them. Growing up in a small town in New Mexico, all our news came from the Ropers Sports News. And it was all about the Camarillos.

Learn from Jake Barnes on Roping.com

“Reg was about done rodeoing when I came in in 1980. But I grew up hearing and reading how great he roped. And I know he always rode great horses. The cattle were big and the scores were long back then, and Reg ran in there and roped so many steers. No roper had a better batting average than Reg.”

Clay Cooper

“I thought Reg was one of the absolute greats,” Cooper said. “No. 1, he headed for The King. And if The King roped with Reg, that meant he trusted that Reg was going to do his job— which he did. Reg rode good horses. I loved his swing, his loop and his handles. He set runs up really nice.

Learn from Clay Cooper on Roping.com

“I watched Reg rope primarily at the big ropings—Oakdale, Chowchilla and Riverside (California)—and he was just an artist. He rode the barrier good, and his run with Leo was great looking start to finish. Reg turned every steer, and won a lot. He was also a nice person who always had a smile on his face. Reg was just a great guy in and out of the arena, and it was great for a young guy like me to see that.”

The Lion

Leo, Jerold and Reg were pioneers in roping and rodeo arenas, and also when it came to team roping schools. I was there for some of those schools, and took ropes off at the back end with my brothers while staying at Leo’s house. Leo was always so proud of Reg.

“I started amateur rodeoing with my cousin Reg in 1965, and we clicked,” Leo once said. “Reg was the epitome of a team-style roper. He was enthusiastic about winning, understood the game, and had a consistency about heading and handling steers extremely well. Reg went to Vietnam for two years, but when he made it back from the war in the fall of ’68, I immediately recruited him to fight the rest of his battles with me in professional rodeo.

“As part of the Camarillo Trio, Reg played a significant role in changing the game and introducing dally-style team roping to the world of rodeo. It wasn’t long before influential rodeo figures noticed our style, and Reg, Jerold and I became summoned ambassadors of the sport. In 1969, we put on the first dally-style team roping school in Sturgis, South Dakota. We had 60 students.

“Reg played smart, and he played to win. In both the team roping arena and the arena of life, Reg had it figured out. And in both arenas, he’s been the best partner I’ve ever had. The best friend I’ve ever had. And the best example of champion character I’ve ever known. Reg was both a revolutionary competitor and a leader. He was one of the founding fathers of team roping, but his heart and integrity were bigger than any award.”