A longtime Vernon cowboy has ridden his last ride.
Charlie Louis from the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB), a competitive saddle bronc rider in the sport of rodeo, lifetime member of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association, and honoured member of the B.C. Cowboy Hall of Fame , died Jan. 17 at the age of 85.
Louis, his father, Ben, and his seven brothers were inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in the 2015 Class.
"They have rodeoed in B.C., throughout Canada and the U.S.," reads their induction plaque on the Hall of Fame website. "They have been involved as judges, organizers, and competitors in amateur, professional and Indian rodeos. They have been great promoters of the sport as well as winning their fair share of trophies and trophy saddles..."
Louis and his family started the Head of the Lake Rodeo in the early 1970s, and the event is believed to be the first, and only, pro rodeo held on Reserve land. The Head of the Lake Rodeo attracted more bronc riders than any other rodeo in Canada.
"He was top 15 in saddle bronc, which he did on weekends," said Louis' son, Leo. "He would come home during the week to look after his family after he was finished logging."
Charlie worked for many years as a logger and was a rodeo cowboy specializing in riding bucking horses.
Leo said his dad made friends everywhere he went, echoed by a pro rodeo close to Charlie's Westside Road home and heart.
"The Falkland Stampede has lost another great friend," said event chairperson Jason Churchill in an online tribute. "He rarely missed a Falkland Stampede, and he was one of the friendliest faces to run into, no matter where you saw him."
Among Louis' admirers was the late American cowboy Larry Mahan, a six-time World All-Around champion, including five consecutive titles from 1966 to 1970. Mahan was the subject of the documentary The Great American Cowboy, which won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
"He taught me lots, including not to be afraid of who I was but to be the best I could in and out of the arena," said Mahan, who died in 2023 at age 79. "At least we got to know each other. He taught me not to worry about the past, but to think about the present and not the future."
Louis met his wife of 66 years, Cecilia, in Enderby after Cecilia was out of the Kamloops Residential School, where she spent 12 years. It was an experience, Charlie said in a 2021 interview with The Morning Star, she never talked about with her family.
Louis had grown up on Six Mile Creek off Westside Road, and attended school on the Okanagan Indian Band Reserve until Grade 3.
Cecilia spent 37 years as a bookkeeper for the Round Lake Treatment Centre in Spallumcheen. The couple had four children, two of which died before the age of two, and Leo's sister Rebecca passed away in 2020 from an illness. Cecilia died in 2018.
The funeral service for Charlie Louis will be held Saturday, Jan. 25, at 11 a.m. at the Head of the Lake Hall.
"Whether you knew Charlie from the rodeo arena, the land, or as part of the community, we welcome you to come together to remember the laughter, love and life of a cowboy who shaped all of us," said the OKIB in an online post.
