Walton Poage
Calf & Team Roper
“Big Walt”
1908-1995
On August 8, 1908, Walton Poage (Big Walt) was born on a ranch out of Mertzon, Texas. He was destined to be a roper from the start and first entered the West of the Pecos Rodeo in 1938. He roped in Pecos for 50 years, last competing in 1988. Walton was the Calf Roping Champion at the Pecos rodeo 8 times and also competed in team roping.
In 1947, Big Walt won the ropings at Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Tucson, Arizona and he won at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1950.
When Big Walt was not competing on the rodeo circuit, he and his wife Helen, raised their two children, Genevieve and Bud, on the ranch. Walton Poage passed away on December 8, 1995, at the age of 87, and will always be mentioned as one of the ropers to beat at the West of the Pecos Rodeo.
Walton “Big Walt” Poage was inducted posthumously into the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame.