Houston, Texas
Words & photos by Ivan McClellan
1994-2022
Ouncie was my friend. He was a light-hearted guy with a gentle demeanor. He’d let anybody stay at his house so long as you didn’t mind the pit bulls. I remember eating pounds of crawfish with him down in Houston. He was like a crawfish-eating machine, ripping the head off pulling out the meat with his teeth and sucking the tail before I could even get one out of the bag. He could have been a pro bowler or fisherman if he wanted to, doing both with the same energy and skill that he rode bulls. One time I came to visit his house and he flashed a big proud smile I immediately noticed that he got his crooked tooth fixed and we both laughed. When he came to Oregon for the Saint Paul rodeo we drove for hours to find him a cowboy hat that met his exacting standards. His dad Teaspoon got married in Vegas and Ouncie showed up at the rodeo the next day hung over from partying until 5AM. He rode his bull somehow that day and ended up winning the competition. When he rode he did it with the looseness that he lived life. He would hop in the chute, sit on his bull, dance a little bit to the music, and nod his head. This year he competed in the PRCA for the first time.
