ALPINE — Two of the most well-known faces from Sul Ross’ vaunted Rodeo Program received exciting news last weekend. Tuff Hedeman and Cody Lambert had their legacies cemented with an induction into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Hedeman and Lambert were members of the last national championship rodeo team for the Sul Ross State University Lobos back in 1982 and 1983. Hedeman, El Paso-born and West Texas tough, would go on from SRSU to claim his first title as world champion bull rider in 1986.
A New Mexico transplant, Lambert won the Men’s All-Around at the 1982 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Finals and his saddle bronc career spanned nearly two decades.
Some of their further accolades include Lambert placing third in bronc riding in 1982 and Hedeman placing second in bull riding the following year. They have embraced life both on the saddle and on the sidelines for what has undoubtedly been a lifetime dedicated to the rodeo.
The two cowboys have since returned to Sul Ross to help continue the success of the rodeo program by mentoring several current team members, prolonging their legacies with SRSU, the original home of college rodeo.