Johnny Jackson is synonymous with the Woodlake Lions Rodeo. Although the Lions founded the Woodlake Roundup in 1953, it was Johnny who expanded and brought the rodeo to its current location. This cowboy endlessly promoted the rodeo and his beloved hometown, Woodlake, California.
Johnny, along with his wife June and children Sandy and Craig, moved to Woodlake in December, 1957. Originally from New York City, Johnny had moved to Reno with his mother and twin brother, Nick, in 1935. When his mother married a cattle rancher, Johnny discovered a passion for breaking horses and riding with bulls, and eventually the local rodeo.
Rodeo comes naturally to Clarence Ritchie. It’s not that he started out roping as a youngster, but it represents what is most important to him–family,friends and traditional values. Rodeo is a pure American sport that brings families and friends together in celebration of our western heritage.
In the early 1930s, Virgie and Floyd Ritchie brought their young children, Clarence, Juanita and Ruby, from the Oklahoma dust bowl to the Central Valley to begin again in farming. They settled in the Visalia area, where they had four more children, Clyde, Doyle, Floyd Jr. and Ilene.
In June of 1944, young Clarence graduated from Visalia High School and one week later found himself at Coronado Island Naval Base for amphibian training.
