As reported recently in the Star Telegram, the latest class of inductees into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame includes the Warvell Family: Jim, Jan, Toni and Sonna Warvell of Weatherford. The Warvell family performed trick riding, trick roping and comedy routines worldwide. Jim and Jan now own and train racehorses, Toni is active in judging horse events, cutting and training, and Sonna has starred as Annie Oakley at Disneyland Paris in its production of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (La Legende de Buffalo Bill) since the park opened in 1992.
Also to be inducted are legendary baseball player Nolan Ryan, Olympic gold medal winner and Hollywood stuntman Dean Smith, and James Jennings, the voice of Mesquite rodeos. The Hall of Fame, in the Fort Worth Texas Stockyards, will introduce the class at a January 14, 2010 ceremony. The honorees were chosen because of their excellence in competition, business, and support of rodeo and the Western lifestyle in Texas.
Sonna shared this news with the Wild West Show cast last week, with much pride and to much applause. One of my favorite pictures of her is at age 4, laying down a horse in a Wild West Show. She and her family are now officially living legends. Congratulations to Sonna and the Warvell family for this much-deserved recognition.
Friday, October 9, 2009
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4 comments:
Congratulations Sonn, Toni, Jim and Jan. What a well deserved award!
Marcia Merritt Maitin
Does anybody have a picture of annie oakley or a cowgirl on horseback trick riding while shooting?
well done Sonna you deserve this honour great news for the whole family
Loved my oppor. to be apart of Jim/Jan's White Horse Act in late fifties and early 60s. With Jan's passing the early part of this year, I still find myself thinking of her ever so often and fondly. What a great team they were. Karen Maher
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