CHARLES POGUE

“Ellensburg is a place where you can catch your breath, hang around, meet people,” recalls team roper Charles Pogue. “Even work in a little golf. It was just a nice hub for me.”

Pogue’s Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee interview triggered a few memories of good horses, good partners and good times here. “Ellensburg was a place that I always had a little bit of luck, but looking back it was one of the places that was definitely good to me,” he said. “I had some good heelers. I was very fortunate. You gotta have a partner you can depend on.”

Pogue won Ellensburg buckles four times as a team roping header, each time with a different partner on the other side of the roping chutes.  The Oklahoma cowboy found immediate success in the rodeo city as a rookie. The header partnered with Brett Tonozzi to win the average with a 22.6-second aggregate on three runs in 1987.   “I can remember not really having a clue what was going on,” he said of his rookie year, including his stop in Ellensburg. “Every place was a brand-new place. Maybe that’s why I did well in Ellensburg, and I liked it there was because my first year I had good luck.” Whatever the reason, the good fortune continued.  Pogue can attribute a huge part of his success to a big transaction in 1990. That’s when he bought six-year old horse Scooter. “He didn’t face great when I got him, but I placed on Scooter as soon as I started hauling him,” Pogue told Kendra Santos of the Team Roping Journal in 2022. “I could already tell he was going to let me win, and it didn’t take long to get him finished.” Pogue could tell Scooter was different, but no one could have predicted his legacy. Scooter won the AQHA’s Head Horse of the Year six times (1991-1993 and 1997-1999). Scooter and fellow head horse Cowboy joined Pogue during many of his 15 trips to the National Finals Rodeo.  Scooter was in Ellensburg with Pogue for his wins here in 1991 and 1994. Pogue partnered with Steve Northcott for a 20.9-second average on three in 1991, before going 21 seconds flat with Bobby Harris three years later.

Pogue had one more in him. In the twilight of his career, he partnered with Dennis Gatz for a 17.5-second set of three for his fourth gold buckle from Ellensburg. “I liked the ones I did best at, so obviously Ellensburg is right up there,” he said. “Bigger arena. Looking back, I really enjoyed places with the big arena and a little bit of a longer score. Where Ellensburg falls, you’re winding the really busy summer run down. It was always nice to get a boost there. You’re coming off of July and August where you’re just bouncing all over. It never stopped.”

Winning did not stop in Ellensburg either as Pogue won NFR average titles twice (in 2000 with Britt Bockius and 1988 with Ricky Green). He was a three-time Bob Feist Invitational winner as well. He is certainly appreciative of the ropers around him, and initially picked up roping from his dad.   “I was around it from a young age,” Pogue remembered. “I calf roped a little bit. I just always enjoyed team roping, whether it was jackpots or roping with my dad and he would start taking me to rodeos. “I always liked the team roping,” he continued. “No matter how good you got at it, there was always room to improve.”

But there was a new focus about 20 years ago. “Once my kids started school I just didn’t want to be gone,” he said. “I still have great memories, but I sure don’t miss some of the long nights. I was pretty content and ready to see what the next chapter was. I miss competing, but I don’t miss the work it takes to be competitive.” That drive continues, but it manifests itself differently, as he’s focused on training horses. “I don’t compete anymore, but I train horses for guys. Horses are ready at a younger age today. I always have several horses. I enjoy that part of it too.”  And he certainly enjoys keeping the friendships going that started decades ago in arenas, practice pens and in a truck cab. “I still talk to a lot of the guys that I rodeoed with. Some more than others, but you spend that amount of time with someone, and no matter the time you don’t talk, you just pick up where you left off.”