Vicki Adams (born May 13, 1951) is a

ProRodeo Hall of Fame The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, pr ...

cowgirl.

Life

Vicki Adams was born Vicki Herrera on May 13, 1951, on the

Yakima Indian Reservation The Yakama Indian Reservation (spelled Yakima until 1994) is a Native American reservation in Washington state of the federally recognized tribe known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The tribe is made up of Klikitat ...

Toppenish, Washington Toppenish () is a city in Yakima County, Washington. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,854. It is located within the Yakama Indian Reservation, established in 1855. Toppenish calls itself the city of Murals, as it has more than 75 ...

. She is of mixed Native American heritage. Adams' mother was enrolled Yakama. Adams' ethnicity was Yakama, Snohomish, Puyllap, Cowlitz, Cayuse, and Umatilla. However, Adams choose Cowlitz to be enrolled. This was due to her great-great grandmother's mother being full blood Cowlitz. Her given Indian name is Le Yi Ah. This name means "women who sews fast". Her father was a rodeo champion who taught his daughter rodeo. She was a

barrel racer Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur and ...

in an Indian association. She also performed

trick riding Trick riding refers to the act of performing stunts while horseback riding, such as the rider standing upright on the back of a galloping horse, using a specially designed saddle with a reinforced steel horn, and specialized kossak loops for h ...

. In 1969, she was an alternate

Miss Indian America Miss Indian America was a pageant from 1953 to 1989 that was part annual All-American Indian Days festival in Sheridan, Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Monta ...

. At 18, she met and married Leon Adams.

Career

For five decades, Leon and Vicki were a team who entertained rodeo audiences with their roman riding, trick riding, dancing horses, and trained bulls. They performed throughout the United States and in some other countries. They resided in

Stuart, Oklahoma Stuart is a town in southeastern Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 180 at the 2010 census, down from 220 in 2000. History In the late 19th Century, a settlement known as ''Hoyuby'', Indian Territory, existed at this sit ...

. The Adams operated a 2,500 acre ranch in Stuart. Both of them competed on the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National F ...

, the top circuit in the United States. In 1982 Leon was awarded the PRCA Specialty Act of the Year; in 1984 Vicki received the award. After that, they both won the award in 1987 and 1997. For 19 straight years, they were nominated for the award.

Honors

Along with the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Adams was inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame in 2005. Adams was presented with the Tad Lucas Award from the

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Ame ...

in 2012.

Retirement and Leon's death

Leon retired from competition into 2005. Adams retired in 2006. Leon was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2008 and died on October 30, 2017, in Stuart, Oklahoma.

References

External links

Women's Professional Rodeo Association

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association

National Finals Rodeo

Vicki Adams Tad Lucas Award 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Vicki 1951 births Living people People from Toppenish, Washington American barrel racers Trick riding American female equestrians ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Native American sportspeople 20th-century Native American women 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native Americans