Jerri Duce
Rodeo Athlete - Inducted 2010
Jerri Duce was truly the queen of the cowgirls in Canadian barrel racing circles from 1964 into the 1980’s. She also became a legend in the world of trick riding.
Jerri is a nine-time Canadian professional barrel racing champion. In 1964, at the age of 11, she won her first championship and started an unprecedented parade of titles in Canadian Rodeo circles with titles also coming in 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, and 1974 to 1977. She was also the first Canadian barrel racer to ever qualify for the National Finals Rodeo held in Oklahoma City. She qualified for the NFR in 1973, 1976 and 1977.
Jerri’s other passion was trick riding. Teamed with her sister Joy, they became known throughout the world as the Flying Duces because of their high-speed horses. They performed acrobatic stunts on horseback across Canada, including Expo 67, the World’s Fair, the Calgary Stampede, and the opening ceremonies for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games. In the United States, Jerri and Joy performed at Madison Square Garden, NY, the Cow Palace in San Francisco, and at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, to name a few. Jerri also flew, saddle in tow, to Bermuda and Japan, training local horses before putting on a show.
In November 1997, Jerri became the first woman inducted into the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame. She was also the first crowned Miss Rodeo Canada at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton. Jerri runs a trick riding school near Carseland, Alberta, which she established in 2003. Currently, she owns and operates the Jerri Duce Trick Riding School in Carseland, Alberta, where she teaches trick riding, trains horses, and occasionally works as a stunt performer in the film industry. Jerri is the first female to be inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum for the sport of rodeo.
After Induction
When Duce became too old to compete in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association, she joined the Canadian Senior Pro Rodeo Association. In 2012 and 2016, she and her partners won the Ribbon Roping Over 60 championship. In 2012, she was awarded the Pattie McPeak Award and in 2014, she won the Ladies Barrel Racing Over 60 championship.
