STEPHENVILLE — Tarleton State University’s Rodeo Hall of Fame inducted five new members — Cassie Ward Ambrose, Kylie Ward Weast, Jake Self, Reggie Underwood and Tibba Smith — at the organization’s 16th annual steak dinner and auction Friday, Nov. 21, at the EECU Center.
The Rodeo Hall of Fame honors individuals and teams who have made exceptional contributions to the Tarleton State rodeo program. Induction reflects the university’s appreciation of their outstanding achievements and their commitment to excellence in a competitive environment. Since 2012, the Tarleton State Rodeo Hall of Fame has inducted more than 71 athletes, coaches and program supporters.
Proceeds from the event benefit the rodeo scholarship fund.
This year’s inductees include:
Cassie Ward Ambrose
A three-time qualifier to the College National Finals Rodeo in three events — barrel racing, goat tying and breakaway roping — Ambrose was high-achieving academically, as well. A 2011 graduate with a degree in business administration systems, she was recognized as the top student in her class. After completing her degree, she began a career in the arena, training barrel horses professionally.
In 2014, she married her husband, Austin, and became a stepmother to Calen. They welcomed Owen in 2016 and are now expecting their third child. A native of Addington, Okla., Ambrose and her family remain rooted in her hometown, where she lives and works while raising her family and continuing her career in the equine industry.
Kylie Ward Weast
Weast, a 2011 Tarleton State graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, left a legacy of success in competition. A three-time CNFR qualifier as a barrel racer, she also competed in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwest Region as a breakaway roper and goat tyer. After graduation she began training barrel horses and in 2018 she qualified professionally for the National Finals Rodeo in barrel racing. Today, she continues to train from her family’s ranch while competing in futurity barrel races.
Weast was raised in Addington, Okla., where she lives today balancing her career and role as a wife and mother. She and her husband Jay are raising their two children, 9-year-old Marcus and 6-year-old Marlie.
Jake Self
Self’s collegiate rodeo career included three CNFR qualifications as a bareback bronc rider for the Tarleton State men’s team. He finished fifth nationally in 2011 and was reserve champion in 2012. He graduated from Tarleton State with a bachelor’s degree in animal science-animal production in 2013 and a master’s in agricultural and natural resource sciences in 2015.
During his time at Tarleton State he met his wife, Shaylee, who was a member of the women’s rodeo team. They married in 2016 and moved to his hometown of Broken Arrow, Okla. in 2020 to return to his family’s farm and ranching operation, where Jake and his brother represent the fourth generation of the family business.
Reggie Underwood
To say Underwood was active during his Tarleton State career would be an understatement. The 1978 graduate was twice elected class president, Rodeo Club president for three years and served in the Student Senate for four years. He was a member of the Future Farmers of America, and competed in bareback and saddle bronc events as a member of the Tarleton State rodeo team.
Underwood retired from professional rodeo in 1988, topping 1,000 qualified bareback rides in his 19-year career. Still active at Tarleton State, he supports the rodeo program through his leadership as the past president of the Tarleton Rodeo Alumni. He has sponsored rodeo scholarships and has been integral in helping supply the needs of the university’s state-of-the-art Doty Rodeo Complex. Additionally, Underwood currently serves as an elder at the Cowboy Church of Ellis County and is the past president of the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches.
Tibba Smith
A 2003 Tarleton State graduate with a degree in business administration, Smith was a four-time CNFR qualifier, competing four times as a breakaway roper, twice as a goat tyer and once as a barrel racer. As a college rodeo athlete, she earned regional titles in breakaway roping, goat tying and the all-round.
Prior to her time at Tarleton State, she was a member of the 2000 national champion Western Texas College team. As a professional she has earned both the year-end and average championships in the WPRA Turquoise Circuit. Outside of the arena, she coached at Tarleton State including one year under former head coach Bob Doty and four with current coach Mark Eakin.
Now a Hobbs, N.M. resident, she works as an insurance adjuster, rodeos professionally and serves as NIRA Lone Star Region secretary. Her son Shane is a Cisco College student.
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