Former AQHA Judge, Dr. Jim Heird, to be Inducted into TX Cowboy Hall of Fame This Week

The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame honors men and women who have excelled in the sport and business of rodeo, and the western lifestyle in Texas.

Dr. Heird is currently the executive professor and coordinator of equine initiatives at Texas A&M University. He also holds the Dr. Glenn Blodgett Equine Chair at Texas A&M. He was on the executive committee of the National Western Stock Show and is an ex-officio director of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.

An AQHA judge from 1977 to 2015, he has judged AQHA world championship shows, as well as multiple international championships and National Reining Horse Association futurities.

A former AQHA director for Texas and Colorado, he has served as chairman of the judges committee, shows committee, international committee, show council and the AQHA Animal Welfare Commission. He is the former extension horse specialist at North Carolina State University, a former instructor/professor at Texas Tech University and has held various dean/director positions at Colorado State University in the colleges of agricultural sciences and business and equine sciences program.

Dr. Heird is an honorary vice president of the Uruguayan Quarter Horse Association.

He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.S. and M.S. and has a PhD from Texas Tech University. He and his wife, Dr. Eleanor Green, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M, live in College Station.

Other inductees to the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame this year include Ricky Bolin, Pete Bonds and Bill Casner. In addition, musician Pat Green will be honored with the Rick Smith Spirit of Texas award.

For more information on the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, visit www.texascowboyhalloffame.org. 

AQHA News and information is a service of the American Quarter Horse Association. For more news and information, follow @AQHAnews on Twitter and visit www.aqha.com/news.