Page 8 - Special Edition • Morrow County Fair and Rodeo • Heppner G azette-Tim es, W ednesday, August 7, 2002
Talent and fond memories still live on in the Neil Beamer Memorial
By Sue G ib b s
Laughter, friends and a love
for roping best describe a special
man named Neil Beamer. Many
people in Morrow County and
surrounding areas were proud to
know Neil. He was a talented
man who had a love for ranch life
and rodeo.
Neil was bom in the Heppner
Hospital on June 20, 1936. As a
child, instead of playing ball or
marbles like many young boys did.
he loved to play with ropes. This
obsession as a child turned into a
love of calf roping by time Neil
was 12 years old. Neil Beamer
soon felt the desire to press his
boundaries and begin competing
in this sport.
He grew up on the Balm
Fork ranch and this is where he
began testing his skills. Ropings
were held at the ranch for friends
and family to gather, rope and test
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their individual skills. It was said
that as a young man Neil was
amazed that all the “old guys”
could beat him roping. Cornett
G reen o f H eppner (now
deceased) bet Neil that he could
beat him roping and in a foot race
from the arena to the house. Well,
Neil lost on both accounts but he
also learned a lot from those
years. Soon Neil branched out
to other competitions at the local
“Wranglers” riding club and local
ropings.
His education started in
Heppner. He went to primary and
junior high in the old junior high
building that was recently tom
down this summer. He graduated
from Heppner High School and
furthered his education in both
LaG rande and Portland. He
majored in ag business and then
returned to the ranch on Balm
Fork, but his favorite spot was
their ranch in Ukiah. He spent a
great deal of time at this ranch and
ran about 250 pair. His education
improved but he never left his love
of roping.
His roping progressed over
the years. He competed in many
large rodeos such as Joseph, The
Pendleton Round-Up, the Cow
Palace, and at Portland and many
others around the Pacific
N orthw est. His top honor
included the 1965 Northwest Calf
Roping Champion. This included
Oregon, Idaho, Washington and
California. He won numerous
saddles, blankets and buckles. All
these proved that Neil was truly
a great roper. However, one of
his most cherished trophies was
in 1958 when he won the
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Amateur Calf Roping Saddle in
his hometown of Heppner. This
award always held a special place
in Neil’s heart.
All those awards showed
Neil’s talent but he also knew he
was blessed with awesome horses
to complete his roping talent.
Several horses were special to
Neil. “Grey” was a horse that
brought home many o f those
saddles and buckles in his early
years of roping. “Mackey” was
a horse with drive and stamina.
Neil and Mackey were a true
team. “Toni” is still at the Balm
Fork ranch. Today he gives rides
to the occasional small child, but
in his time he shone above all
other horses at a rodeo. Most
other horses in the arena had their
heads low and relaxed, but not
Toni; his head was always held
high and his ears forw ard
watching the action. He loved to
be ridden. “I never had to break
Toni because he just loved to be
ridden;” this was a statement from
Neil himself. This horse never
missed a trick and his place was
with Neil calf roping and riding.
They both had the passion and
love for calf roping.
Neil loved kids and he wanted
to share his talent with them. He
often spent time helping kids learn
to rope. He shared his talent at
Wranglers and with any kid who
had the desire. His wife Janet told
a story about one of those kids.
This “kid” would go to the ranch
real early in the morning, knock
on Neil’s window, get him up and
have Neil run some calves for him
before school. T his young
individual was Jerry Gentry. Neil
always was willing to help as long
as the kid had the drive to learn
how to rope. He helped out any
way he could. In 1978, when a
young roper came across some
hard times with his good roping
horse, Neil was there to lend his
roping horse “H andy” to the
roper. He helped haul him from
rodeo to rodeo that year. All the
efforts paid o ff because this
young roper, Kyle Robinson,
made the NRA finals that year.
Neil’s talent lives on through these
Neil Beamer showing his skill at
calf roping
individuals.
People loved Neil because he
was a quiet man who was friendly
to everyone. He never expected
much from people and his
kindness showed. He enjoyed the
simple things in life the best. He
enjoyed the mountains and his
“beautiful whispering pines” at the
Ukiah ranch. Neil was known for
his b rief but com ical stories
because he loved to hear people
laugh. Elk, deer and bird hunting
were other sports he enjoyed, but
he looked forward to the roar of
the rodeo crowd on the weekends.
N eil passed aw ay from
diabetes in 1995 at the age o f 59.
His talent and fond memories still
live on and a memorial award is
given each year at the Oregon
Trail Pro Rodeo in memoiy of this
Heppner resident and his love for
the sport. The Neil Beam er
Memorial Spurs are given to the
fastest c a lf roper in the Pro
Rodeo show. It is an award that
any c a lf roper is honored to
receive.
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