Vicki Adams (trick rider)
{{short description|American trick rider}}
Vicki Adams (born May 13, 1951) is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowgirl.
Life
Vicki Adams was born Vicki Herrera on May 13, 1951, on the Yakima Indian Reservation in Toppenish, Washington.{{cite web |title=Vicki Adams |url=http://www.prorodeohalloffame.com/inductees/by-category/contract-personnel/vicki-admas/ |website=ProRodeo Hall of Fame |access-date=October 7, 2019}}{{cite web |title=Vicki Herrera Adams |url=http://www.cowboysofcolor.org/profile.php?ID=18 |website=National Cowboys of Color Museum and Hall of Fame |access-date=October 7, 2019}} She is of mixed Native American heritage. Adams' mother was enrolled Yakama. Adams' ethnicity was Yakama, Snohomish, Puyllap, Cowlitz, Cayuse, and Umatilla. However, Adams choose Cowlitz to be enrolled. This was due to her great-great grandmother's mother being full blood Cowlitz. Her given Indian name is Le Yi Ah. This name means "women who sews fast".
Her father was a rodeo champion who taught his daughter rodeo. She was a barrel racer in an Indian association. She also performed trick riding. In 1969, she was an alternate Miss Indian America. At 18, she met and married Leon Adams.
Career
For five decades, Leon and Vicki were a team who entertained rodeo audiences with their roman riding, trick riding, dancing horses, and trained bulls. They performed throughout the United States and in some other countries. They resided in Stuart, Oklahoma.{{cite web |title=Rodeo Hall Of Fame Inducts New Class |url=https://www.kktv.com/sports/headlines/24760699.html |website=KKTV |access-date=October 7, 2019}} The Adams operated a 2,500 acre ranch in Stuart.
Both of them competed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the top circuit in the United States. In 1982 Leon was awarded the PRCA Specialty Act of the Year; in 1984 Vicki received the award. After that, they both won the award in 1987 and 1997. For 19 straight years, they were nominated for the award.
Honors
Along with the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Adams was inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame in 2005. Adams was presented with the Tad Lucas Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 2012.{{cite web |title=Tad Lucas Award |url=https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tad-lucas-award/ |website=National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum |access-date=October 7, 2019}}
Retirement and Leon's death
Leon retired from competition into 2005. Adams retired in 2006. Leon was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2008 and died on October 30, 2017, in Stuart, Oklahoma.{{cite web |title=Leon Adams |url=http://www.prorodeohalloffame.com/inductees/by-category/contract-personnel/adams-leon/ |website=ProRodeo Hall of Fame |access-date=October 7, 2019}}
References
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External links
- [https://www.wpra.com Women's Professional Rodeo Association]
- [https://www.prorodeo.com Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association]
- [https://www.nfrexperience.com/ National Finals Rodeo]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGQY-v2OZf0 Vicki Adams Tad Lucas Award 2012]
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Category:People from Toppenish, Washington
Category:American barrel racers
Category:American female equestrians
Category:ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Native American sportspeople
Category:20th-century Native American women
Category:20th-century American sportswomen
Category:20th-century Native American people