SUPER STICK, aka “Stick”
Pedigree: Out of South Dakota X Horse Trailer
“The horse had neither breeding nor beauty to recommend him, and when Leo bought him for $2,500 the other cowboys hooted, telling Leo he could do as well riding a broomstick. Leo promptly named the horse Stick, and when Stick carried him to the team roping championship the next year he changed to Super Stick.”
“Super Stick”, a horse ridden by Team Roper Leo Camarillo, helped him win 4 team roping championships, 1 all-around championship, and 2 out of 6 NFR average titles.
An excellent horseman, Camarillo, born Jan. 25, 1946, in Santa Ana, Calif., roped off his horse named “Super Stick”, which many pros thought unsuitable for professional competition.
Leo “The Lion” Camarillo hammers a hereford on his legendary steed “Stick” at the 1975 National Finals Rodeo
“With a Rope, a Rabbit and a Stick”
The New York Times Archives, December 15, 1975
“Leo Camarillo roared down Interstate 35 toward Oklahoma City and the National Finals Rodeo, towing his roping horse, Super Stick, in a trailer. The N.F.R. is every cowboy’s goal, for only the top 15 in each event are eligible for this grand finale of the rodeo year. For Leo Camarillo the 17th stampede represented the impossible dream because, although his specialty is the team roping event, he was leading the world for the all‐around championship.”
“About 50 miles from Oklahoma City, the trailer hitch broke. Stomping on his brakes. Leo watched in the rear view mirror as the trailer somersaulted off the road, rolling over at least three time. Four times? Five? He couldn’t be sure, but he did feel a chilling conviction that no living creature could survive that crash.
The car screeched to a stop. Camarillo raced back and wrenched open the trailer’s rear door. Super Stick was lying on his side. Leo bent back the mangled metal roof to make a larger opening. The horse‐backed out and started grazing en the roadside. He had only small cuts and bruises. That was a week ago last Friday, the eve of the National Finals. In the next five days with Leo aboard Super Stick, the team of Camarillo and H. P. Evetts won two go‐rounds and in a third split first and second with another team.”
“Obviously, the horses are full partners in a team. Camarillo and his mount met four years ago at a team roping school in South Dakota. The horse had neither breeding nor beauty to recommend him, and when Leo bought him for $2,500 the other cowboys hooted, telling Leo he could do as well riding a broomstick. Leo promptly named the horse Stick, and when Stick carried him to the team roping championship the next year he changed to Super Stick.”
News Article & Photo Credits
- “Wrangler NFR 60 Greatest of All Time: Leo Camarillo” | October 23, 2018
- “Race in Rodeo” | ProRodeo.com | October 10, 2016
- Leo Camarillo, Team Roping Hall of Fame Inductee | ProRodeo Hall of Fame | 1979
- “With a Rope, a Rabbit and a Stick” by Red Smith | The New York Times Archives | December 15, 1975
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