Sutton brought an appreciation for the history and a vision of the future that would set the bar for professional rodeo across the U.S.

ONIDA, S.D. – ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor Jim Sutton Jr. passed away Sept. 3 in Pierre, S.D. He was 91 years old.

The South Dakota native ran Sutton Rodeo Company with his father, James H. Sutton Sr., beginning in 1968, and transformed the outfit into one of the top firms in professional rodeo.

When asked how he’d want to be remembered during Rodeo Rapid City (S.D.) this past February, he gave a simple answer.

“Probably the way it is,” Sutton said to the PRORODEO Sports News ahead of his 91st birthday. “All the family is involved, and it looks like they’re going to continue to be involved for quite a few years.”

The Sutton family hosted the first rodeo on the family’s ranch in the river hills of Sully County in 1926 and sought to see which local ranch had the best cowboys.

Edwin Sutton, Jim Sutton’s grandfather, saw potential in the rodeo business and sought to grow the company from a family pastime to a profit center.

He quickly partnered with George Fairbank and began a successful touring rodeo before the Great Depression slowed operations until the 1940s.

Jim’s father, James H. Sutton Sr., launched the next iteration of the firm in the 1950s by partnering with fellow South Dakotan Erv Korkow to form Sutton-Korkow Stock. Sutton-Korkow was one of the first contractors to join the Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Jim, who was born April 20, 1935, in Hughes County, South Dakota, was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2020 in Colorado Springs, Colo. The South Dakotan was raised in the stock contracting business, but it wasn’t his only option as he also was a star basketball player.

One of the state’s finest shooters, Sutton led Onida to the 1953 state Class B prep championship.

In high school, he earned four letters in basketball and track and three in football. He qualified for the state track meet in the 880, discus and pole vault as a junior and senior, placing high in the 880 and winning the pole vault.

Sutton was recruited by several NCAA Division I schools to play basketball (including Kansas State, a national power at that time), but went to South Dakota State in Brookings instead. At that time, freshmen could not play on the varsity, but he started as a sophomore.

A co-captain his junior and senior years, the 6-foot, 170-pound Sutton was the second player in SDSU history to score 1,000 career points. He was selected all-conference in 1956 and 1957 as State won North Central Conference championships.

In college, Sutton gained recognition for his long jump shots, and he led the conference in field-goal percentage in 1956 and ’57. As a free-throw shooter, he may be the best the state has ever produced. In 1957, he shot 92 percent on free throws (127 of 138, including 32 in a row), a national record at the time. He still holds SDSU records for free-throw percentage for a game (100, 12-for-12), season (92) and career (86.3). Sutton played basketball competitively until age 44, helping Onida win the state amateur championship twice.

Sutton, a 1957 South Dakota State University graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in animal husbandry, was the first South Dakota State player drafted by the NBA, going to the Minneapolis Lakers in the ninth round.

Sutton attended the team’s preseason camp and made the first cut for the team while trying out with legendary Hall of Famer Jerry West but ultimately decided to return home to work the family ranch with his father, James Sutton Sr., and grandfather, Edwin Sutton. Jim Sutton Jr. was inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

“It just gave you something to think about,” Jim Sutton said of knowing his calling from a young age. “You didn’t have to worry about anything to do. It was all right there.”

Two years later, Sutton-Korkow, in partnership with the Korkow family, hauled their stock to the first National Finals Rodeo in Dallas, Texas. Sutton-Korkow was one of the first stock contractors to join the Rodeo Cowboys Association – the predecessor of the PRCA.

James and Jim formally partnered in 1968 and launched Sutton Rodeo Company, transforming the contractor into one of the top firms in the PRCA.

They supplied stock from their Onida, S.D., ranch to rodeos across South Dakota and the Northwest. By the late 1970s, Sutton was raising more than 90% of his own bucking stock and developed a breeding program that is one of the best in the business.

The program has produced three PRCA Horse of the Year winners: saddle bronc horse Deep Water (1979), bareback horse Big Bud (1985), and saddle bronc horse Chuckulator (2012). Chuckulator also won Top Saddle Bronc Horse of the National Finals Rodeo in 2012. Their horses and bulls won all three categories at the Badlands Circuit Finals Livestock of the Year Awards in 2011. The program has also earned Sutton four nominations for PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year.

James Sutton Sr. was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1982 and received an award of merit from the RCA in 1970 for his contributions to the sport.

James Sutton eventually passed management responsibilities to his son Jim. But remained intimately involved in PRORODEO until his death, Feb. 1, 1991.

Jim’s wife, Julie, also took on a lot of responsibility in Sutton Rodeo. In addition to helping support operations, she served as an NFR timer in 1970 and passed the skill on to her daughter-in-law, Kim Sutton.

Jim and Julie took the company to the next level with a focus on production and innovation.

To draw attendance to the rodeo, the Suttons hosted the inaugural match of the Wrangler ProRodeo Bullfighters Tour at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo in Rapid City in 1979. They also hosted the Bailey Bail-Off, World Championship Wild Horse Race, Bull Poker, and Teeter-Totter. Sutton’s pageantry and showmanship earned him National Finals Rodeo Opening Ceremony credits in 1995 and 1996.

The Suttons have had stock at every single National Finals Rodeo.

“I guess for me, to the end, Jim was always very proud of his innovative rodeo productions,” Kim said. “He and Julie both were laser-sharp on production. They would get the best stock, hire the best contract personnel and run the best production. He ingrained that into all of us.

“Jim also was just a great person. Whatever you needed he was there for you.”

Jim and Julie received the Donita Barnes Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. Julie Sutton passed away July 21, 2021, at the age of 85 – four days before Jim was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame – after a prolonged battle with cancer. Jim and Julie were married for 68 years.

“This is terrific to be recognized for an award like this at this stage of the game,” Jim said about receiving the Donita Barnes honor. “The best part of the whole thing is our entire family is involved in our farming and ranch operation.”

Jim Sutton continued to hit the road for Sutton Rodeo’s biggest productions, including Rodeo Rapid City, which he started in 1978 as the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo. The rodeo has been nominated 25 times as the PRCA Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year, winning the title seven times (2002-03, 2020-21, 2023-25).

“I wish I had a few more years,” Jim Sutton said. “This show in Rapid City, there are no better rodeos anywhere. We always get the top cowboys and try to bring the best stock we can. That’s just the way it is.

“All my life, we’ve tried to get rodeos like this and keep them going. Rapid City is (the result) of what we’ve been trying to do for years. It’s all kind of fallen into place.”

Today Jim’s son, Steve Sutton, serves as the president of Sutton Rodeo Company with his wife, Kim, and their children, Brent, Brice and Amy as all partners in the business.

In a Sutton Rodeo release, Jim was described as believing in hard work, high integrity, superior performance and had a true love for competition, quality livestock, production & entertainment.

“His wisdom was earned through a lifetime of experiences on the ranch, in the arena, on the court, the field and the rodeo road. His influence was felt throughout the Western industry, leaving behind a legacy that is far from finished. It lives on in the values he taught, in the land he loved, and the stock he raised.”

Public visitation for Jim Sutton Jr. will be from 10-11 a.m. (CT), Sept. 14, at the Onida School Gymnasium, followed by a celebration of his life at 11 a.m. Burial will be at the Onida Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, Jim asked that donations be made to the basketball and rodeo teams at South Dakota State, the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center Museum in Fort Pierre, S.D., and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs.