IS LEO THE GREATEST ROPER OF ALL TIME ?

ALI or Frazier? Palmer or Tiger? Elway or Montana or is it Namath? An endless conversation going back since the beginning of time on who was the greatest at what. Was George Patton a better General than Ike or Montgomery? One can make an argument from the pure statistical standpoint on who was the best at what event or sport. For instance, from a pure stastical standpoint Dan Marino was no doubt a great, great quarterback. But for me one has to also look at the heart and the internal drive. For me I have to put Terry Bradshaw way above Marino for a couple of reasons. While his numbers are not close to Marino's, the one thing Bradshaw has that Marino doesn't is Championship rings ! This to me is far more important, because it shows me that Bradshaw has the heart of a winner. Bradshaw would do or sacrifice whatever it took to win that ring and the title of the " The best of the best " for that year. And that is what Leo has.

Allow me to introduce you to Leo Camarillo. Leo in my opinion was the toughest competitor to ever go down the road in the sport of rodeo. Not only physically he was tough, but he was mentally tough. Leo did what Ali did to his competition, he dissolved them into quivering masses of jelly prior to their performing. He beat them before they ever backed into the box. And he did it with a tenacity that I believe has been lost. Another subject, but I believe America is weaker today and she is not as strong as she used to be primarily because America has lost that fighting and never say die attitude that she once had. That is the attitude that Leo possesses. He has that George Patton attitude. The attitude of " I am not going to die for my country, I am going to make some other poor S.O.B. die for his".  Allow me to explain it this way. If I am going to play Tiger Woods heads up on 18 holes of golf, I am beaten. I am beaten before I ever get to the golf course. Simply because I know in my heart I cannot win. Tiger could spot me 2 strokes a hole and I know I am still going to lose. And that is what Leo did. He had so much drive and so much self confidence that it exuded from every pore on his body. People knew it, and they wanted it, but did not know how to get it. Today Leo still exudes it. He exudes the self confidence that America as a whole needs to get back to. Bottom line is Leo is a man's man with an incredible level of belief in himself and those he cares about.

What made this man a living legend? What made him the envy of everyone that ever bothered to pick a rope or try the sport? Was it a tough father, was it in his DNA, was he born with that drive to be so competitive or was it that he felt the need to prove something to himself or others. Personally I do not know the answer. But I can tell you this much, he is the best that has ever been at the sport of roping.

Leo did not just take a sport and try to be good at it. Imagine if you will taking up golf and trying to be good at it. You work on your swing, you spend countless hours putting and working on your sand wedge. And because of all that work you get pretty good at it. Now while your doing your practicing, your neighbor is behind the wooden fence not only practicing but inventing a way to hit the ball where it flies 150 yards farther when he drives it. He immediately takes one shot off each hole. This is what Leo did. Back when every other roper in the world was trying to perfect the art of " trapping "  those rear heals, Leo was perfecting the art of roping them out mid-air. Thus cutting the time of each run by seconds and I say that plural. He literally reinvented golf or roping as it were. The Wright Brother's invented getting into the air and Chuck Yeager reinvented it by breaking the sound barrier and teaching us how to dog fight at 750 mph. There is a difference.

Leo not only perfected the art of mid-air catching, he also reinvented the art of " going down the road ".  He was one of the first to make the fine art of chasing World Championships a true science. For his rewards? Let's take a look at what this dedication does to one's resume.

A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ALL AROUND TITLE, 4 MORE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BUCKLES FOR TEAM ROPING, AN NFR AVERAGE CHAMPIONSHIP, BUCKLES FROM THE LARGEST RODEO'S IN AMERICA (multiple times), 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE WORLD TIMED EVENT CHAMPIONSHIP (where he still holds the arena record, an incredible lifetime achievement in and of itself). AND IF THIS IS NOT ENOUGH FOR A LIFETIME AN ENTIRE BOX FULL OF BUCKLES SAYING "WORLD CHAMPION" from the Senior Pro Rodeo Association and several other associations. Totalling over 30 World Championships in 4 different associations.

His record is so staggering that for many years the hierarchy at the United States Team Roping Association or USTRC would not even let him compete. It would have been like putting Mike Tyson in the ring with Golden Gloves boxers.

I once used this example to explain a greatness. While Tom Landry was a pretty good football player in his day, he was a phenomenal coach because he was able to teach. I know great, great bull riders, some of the best that has ever been, but they simply do not have the ability to teach others how to be great. Then you have good bull riders that have even been to the NFR and several that won world titles, but by far and away not the greatest. However they have turned out riders that went on to win 4, 5 and more titles. They simply are great teachers. Leo falls into that category. He has not only been the Chuck Yeager or Wright Brothers, he has been the instructor at the academy that has taught hundreds to become champions at the level that they sought. Yes, up to and including World Championship Buckles. Leo is without question in my opinion the greatest ever. He built, taught and has continued the sport of roping because of his love for the sport.

Beyond his prowess of hunting like a lion in the arena, he is also a true gentleman. Yes, back in the day, Leo needed some instruction on how to be one. But like roping, he learned. In some cases the hard way, but he took it all in and he learned. Today, Leo is one of the nicest fellows and a true example of cowboy gentleman you would ever know. Yes, one bad story just to keep it balanced. I once had the opportunity to meet Leo in Oklahoma City at the National Finals Rodeo. He had just won another title and I being a young man of 18 walked up and asked for his autograph. He shunned me, turned and walked off. Many years later, I told Leo the story. He actually had a tear in his eye and apologized to me for being so rude. Time changes people and I believe we all should forgive and I did.

Month's after that little meeting, it was my 50th birthday. Leo and his wife Sue called me to come out to their house. Doing nothing else for the evening, I accepted. My wife and I travelled the 50 miles up to their home for dinner that evening. I walked into the " Lion's Den " to find Leo sitting behind a desk and talking on the phone. He hung up and handed me a little box wrapped neatly with a bow on top. Sue and my wife Sonya looked at me and smiled. I was shell shocked. Leo giving me a birthday present? O.K.? I opened the little box up and handed it back to him, saying "Leo I cannot accept this " and tried to give it back to him. It was then that Sue put her arm around me and said, Leo will be offended if you do not take it. He wants you to have it Ken. Never in my life have I been more touched. This greatest of all time in Team Roping had just given me his 2004 World Championship belt buckle and told me to wear it. Yes, I have won many buckles over the years in various endeavors. Mostly high school buckles, so not and some have been pretty nice buckles. But nothing to compare to this.

Is this a puff piece on Leo?  Some will make that argument and to me it is long overdue for the Lion. Many over the years have criticized him for his demeanor. And in some cases, yes it is well deserved. But time changes all things. The Grand Canyon gets deeper, the Mountains become smoother from the winds. Taxes seem to get higher as does gasoline. And Leo has mellowed. But make no mistake about it, if you back into the box he will still whip your tail and take names. And afterward, put his arm around you and buy you a coke. So, is this a puff piece? Yea, probably, but it is one he earned the hard way.

Today the Lion has two beautiful children still living at home. An addoring wife named Sue who needs some gormet chef lessons, but she does try hard. He still trains and turns out the best roping horses in the country. And he teaches others how to have and develop that heart of a lion. If you want to learn to win, tune a horse up, buy a champion roping horse, or a good one for the beginner, learn to be better or just learn from the ground up, drop me a line and I will hook you up with the Lion. He has the facilities and can take you in and train you. If you want to learn from a PRCA Hall of Fame Roper drop me a line at ( kwrcrow@gmail.com ). I will put you in touch.

Others have won more such as Clay O, Brazille etc in the PRCA, but none have come to close to the heart of the champion named " Leo the Lion".