OKLAHOMA CITY – PBR announcer and MC of the Heroes & Legends ceremony Matt West called the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum the center of the world when it comes to appreciating cowboys.
Fittingly, the museum—home of the PBR Hall of Fame—hosted the best and brightest of the PBR on Thursday, when the Heroes & Legends class of 2024 was honored.
It was an emotional evening as more than one man stood at the podium and choked back tears, some more successfully than others.
One who couldn’t help but let the tears flow was Paulo Crimber, 10-time PBR World Finals qualifier and Florida Freedom head coach, who was inducted into the Ring of Honor.
“I never thought I’d get this award, to be honest, because I was not a World Champion. When Sean called me, I was just – I’m sorry,” Crimber said, voice choked with emotion. He paused as the crowd cheered. “When Sean called me for this award, I was so happy and excited. This is my life. PBR, my family. To be able to come to a country that you don’t know, you don’t know what you’re going to come and see – I just came knowing I was going to get on bulls in America, and that was something so big and so special.”
RELATED: Crimber’s Ring of Honor induction honors his immeasurable impact on PBR
Crimber came from humble beginnings, growing up in Olimpia, a small town five hours outside Sao Paulo, Brazil. His father left when he was 6 and his mother had to work, so young Paulo was mostly left to fend for himself.
“One thing I was noticing was that everybody up here (accepting awards) had a great family or someone to point them in the right direction or guide them through stuff. And I didn’t have that,” Crimber said. “When I was 12, I was getting a little bit more serious about bull riding, and I always liked to work and run and do all the stuff to be more fit, and that kept me away from (destructive things). And I can say bull riding saved me. God used that to save me. That’s what makes it so special for me to be here today.”
Crimber credits America with essentially being his father – teaching him how to be a better man, be a better friend, be responsible, help people.
Finding out his wife, Maria, was pregnant with his son, John Crimber, was a clarifying moment.
“One thing I always thought from that moment forward was never to want my kids to feel how I feel for my dad,” he said. “Because I don’t know him. I don’t feel anything. I’m not proud to say that, but I didn’t have weekends, lunch, meals – I was always by myself, and I had to learn everything. I dedicate my life to my family.”
It was this that helped him pull himself out of a dark place. When he was 28, he broke his neck for the first time. On his first bull back after five months on the sidelines, he broke it again, and his career was over.
Crimber was stuck in a recliner for six months, unable to work, let alone ride bulls, and says he contemplated taking his own life.
“I feel like (those struggles) made me a better man, also, because I learned through the years to see, in every bad moment, if you look deeply into it, something good comes out of it,” Crimber said. “It’s not easy to see, but it’s there.”
Ultimately, Crimber was hired as the PBR’s official translator, allowing him to be a surrogate father for the scores of Brazilian bull riders who have come after him. Countless riders have stayed at his home in Decatur, Texas—always rent-free—with around 50 now living in the area. Crimber goes with injured riders to the hospital to translate and help them with paperwork and assists with visas and event entry fees.
It's a truly invaluable role, and it’s one he doesn’t take lightly.
“To be able to be there for those guys, and to help them and their families, is something so special and gave me the opportunity to be around the PBR again,” Crimber said. “That’s where I always want to be.”
Two-time YETI World Champion Bull Smooth Operator received the prestigious Brand of Honor, which commemorates the animal athlete’s display of consistent championship-caliber performances and career statistical records.
Stock contractor Chad Berger accepted the award and got emotional as he reminisced about not just Smooth Operator, but 2018 Brand of Honor recipient Pearl Harbor, who passed away in April of 2018 when he was the No. 1 bull in the world.
RELATED: Smooth Operator to take his place among the elite with 2024 Brand of Honor
“It still hurts,” Berger said, choking up. “I think God works in mysterious ways. I think he handed everything over to Smooth Operator. The next two years, that bull was bucking like he was 5 again. He wins (the world title) at 9, wins it at 10.
“This means a lot for me to get this award for him, because he was a superstar.”
Legendary bullfighter Frank Newsom received the Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing those who throughout their life and professional career have significantly contributed to the advancement of the sport of bull riding and rodeo.
Newsom fought an addiction in his younger years to become one of the greatest bullfighters of all time. He cowboy-protected at 20 PBR World Finals until his retirement in 2022.
RELATED: “The Fearless One” Frank Newsom to be honored as 2024 recipient of Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award
Former PBR entertainer Flint Rasmussen presented Newsom with the award, stating that his friend should be known for more than just being tough – he should be known for being the quality person that he is.
“I’ve been very blessed,” Newsom said. “I had good parents. I was around good men my whole life. Worked hard, knew how to get things done. They took time to pour into me and teach me stuff. A lot of times, I needed a butt-chewing, and they took the time to do it. That’s how you learn.”
Tiffany Owens, wife of former bull rider and PBR judge Donald Owens, received the Sharon Shoulders Award, honoring the great women of professional bull riding and Western sports whose work, partnership, and faith have been as integral to the sport as the athletes themselves.
“Each day is met with a peak and a valley,” Owens said. “Life is made up of a series of seasons. Keep your faith close. It is so easy to get lost in the bright lights and in the darkness of your struggles. He is the only one who can build them into pieces that we all find in us. I can’t stand up here and pretend that our life has been perfect. I know that if not for our faith, our marriage would not have survived this long. But it’s okay to ask for help. Life is hard. Pray, keep your faith, and just remember that it’s important to know who your friends are – people who hold you accountable, celebrate you, and let you lean on them when you need a little extra support behind you.”
RELATED: Tiffany Owens joins sisterhood of Sharon Shoulders Award recipients
Rodeo legend Casey Tibbs posthumously received the Ty Murray Top Hand Award. Created in 2018, this honor is given annually to individuals who, through their own efforts, have made significant and lasting contributions to enhance the sport of rodeo.
Between 1949 and 1955, Tibbs won six PRCA saddle bronc riding championships, plus two all-around cowboy championships and a bareback riding championship. He went on to co-found the Rodeo Cowboys Association, as well as write and star in several movies. Tibbs passed away in 1990 but was working to improve rodeo until the very end.
Tibbs’s daughter, Beth Donley, accepted the award on his behalf.
“I think his most famous saying is, ‘Thanks for making me look good. Hell, I was good,’” Donley said, “And I want to thank you all for remembering that he was good.”
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media
