Weathering the Wild West
Flying U Rodeo Company in Marysville provides 60 years of roping and riding
BY Graham Womack | PHOTOS BY Hector Amezcua
If there ’ s been a theme to Cotton Rosser ’ s life — he is now 93 years old — it ’ s finding a way to keep a good show going .
Creating Western-themed businesses has given his family more than 60 years of prosperity and made him a revered figure in the rodeo world . But those decades have not been without their challenges , especially in more recent times .
On a quiet Saturday morning outside his business Cotton ’ s Cowboy Corral , wildfires raging throughout Northern California have given the air a strong smell of smoke . Inside the Westernwear store , a Marysville fixture since 1956 , it ’ s empty except for employees . Upstairs , Cotton , the founder and president , and Karin Rosser , his wife of 43 years and co-owner , sit in their office . It ’ s been a tough year or so for the family business .
The family ’ s other business , Flying U Rodeo Company , hasn ’ t been doing much better with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic . In a normal year , the company produces about 60 rodeos . Last year , it produced two . If the family is lucky , they ’ ll do 10 rodeos in 2021 .
Born Horton Alexander Rosser in Southern California in 1928 , Cotton had been an intercollegiate riding champion at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a professional rodeo cowboy thereafter , investing some of his winnings in 1954 to purchase a ranch near Marysville with his first wife , Linda ( he has been married three times ). He has credited Gene Autry , the “ Singing Cowboy ” who rose to fame starting in the
1930s , with being a major influence on his interest in being a showman .
In 1956 , Cotton broke both of his legs while using a power post hole auger at his ranch and was hospitalized . Doctors saved his legs from amputation but told him he ’ d never walk again . Cotton would go on to prove them wrong , though the accident ended his professional rodeo career . Friends from the rodeo world , including
“ I would say he ’ s by far the greatest innovator that the Western sports industry has ever seen .”
RENO ROSSER Vice president , Flying U Rodeo Company
celebrated Western actor Ben Johnson , organized a benefit show that raised $ 8,000 to $ 10,000 , according to estimates Karin has read . Cotton used the money to purchase his store , entering the rodeo production business shortly thereafter .
“ I would say he ’ s by far the greatest innovator that the Western sports industry has ever seen ,” says Reno Rosser , vice president of Flying U Rodeo Company and one of Cotton ’ s five children , and whose mom was Cotton ’ s second wife , Joan . “ When you come to our rodeos , I mean , God , you ’ re going to watch guys do backflips on motorcycles ( and ) kids on sheep .”
It ’ s always been about putting on a show for Cotton and his family and not just being stock contractors that provide livestock to get ridden in rodeos . While they ’ ve just recently started to let their 1,000 head of livestock be used as rodeo stock , due to the challenges of the times , it ’ s not anything that comes naturally .
“ Stock contractors are kind of a dime a dozen ,” says Katharine Rosser , marketing director for the family business , and Karin and Cotton ’ s only child . “ Rodeo producers are producing the entire event , everything from the announcer to the specialty act , coordinating all of the talent there . Throughout my dad ’ s career , he ’ s always prided himself on being a rodeo producer .”
This focus led Cotton to be enshrined in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1995 , with three streets named after him in Yuba County and a statue in Reno , Nevada . On Aug . 5 , Cotton ’ s birthday , the city of Marysville made it Cotton Rosser Day . As for Cotton , he has words of advice for anyone who ’ d like to start a family business : “ The harder you work , the luckier you ’ ll be .”
Graham Womack is a freelance writer based in Sacramento . His work has appeared in a variety of publications , including the San Francisco Chronicle , The Sacramento Bee , and Sacramento News & Review . On Twitter @ grahamdude .
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