INFR pays tribute to 'Toughest Cowboy'

In every memory, there's Nelson Tsosie.

And that doesn't apply solely to his family either because at the 35th annual Indian National Finals Rodeo here, contestants paid tribute to what many proudly called "the Navajo Nation's Ty Murray" and "Indian Country's Toughest Cowboy."

Close friends of the fallen rough stock rider denied interviews but contestants walked around with armbands and red ribbons that read, "Riding for Nelson Tsosie INFR 2010" to honor Tsosie, a two-time INFR bareback world champion, International Indian Finals Rodeo world champion and a competitor on the reality television series "Toughest Cowboy."

News that Tsosie had fallen from a cliff to his death just seven days before his 24th birthday near his home in Sanostee, N.M., sent shock waves throughout Indian Country. He died April 10, 2010.

His parents Guy and Rose Tsosie, sisters Brenda and Colleen, wife Charmayne and three daughters stood in the middle of the 4,600-seat arena during a presentation for Tsosie. The lights dimmed and sorrow quickly filled the air during a five-minute video that chronicled Tsosie's career.

During a moment of silence, a paint horse on which Tsosie had ridden a victory lap during a past INFR was released and roamed the arena.

Outside the arena, many stopped by the Tsosie booth to pay their respects and support the family's cause - to raise money for a specially designed headstone.

Brenda, Colleen and Charmayne sold "In Memory of" T-shirts to raise money for a $7,460 memorial headstone made of Norway's blue pearl stone. Tsosie is buried in a family cemetery in Burnham, N.M.

Dominating the T-shirts is a sketch of Tsosie and a bald eagle. "In Memory of Toughest Cowboy Nelson Tsosie" is the likely wording for Tsosie's headstone.

"He represented himself in that way," said Brenda. "That's why he's the toughest cowboy. There wasn't anyone that he was trying to be because he was his own idol.

"He lived to the name," she added. "No matter how injured he was, he always got back on a bull or horse."

In addition, INFR's two-time saddle-bronc and two-time all-around world champion Rollie Wilson of Buffalo, S.D., earned the first-round gold buckle with an 83-point ride in the bareback event. He honored Tsosie by presenting his prize buckle to Tsosie's parents.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about him," said the late cowboy's wife Charmayne, who met Tsosie during their freshman year of high school. "There's always a memory with Nelson in everything we do and my heart and mind doesn't want to accept it."

Plaques, rodeo bib numbers that Tsosie autographed after each rodeo, and action photos still decorate their home in Burnham.

"His room is still the same," said Brenda, adding that Tsosie had cleaned out and prepared his gear bag the day before his death. "It was like he was getting ready for his next rodeo. But he never came back."

Tsosie left three daughters, ages five, four and one.

"There are days they ask for their dad," said Brenda. "They want to know where their dad is because they hear other kids telling them about their dad. Some days we don't know what to say."

Charmayne is left pondering about an uncertain future.

"I always wonder what it'll be like 10 years from now without Nelson," she said in tears. "But we're all working hard to give the girls what Nelson would have wanted them to have."

Younger sister Colleen, 17, is living life for her and her brother.

"I want to live life for the both of us," she said. "I'm learning new things everyday, I compete in rodeos more often that I used to and help take care of the kids.

"He kept smiles to our faces and brought happiness wherever he went," she said. "He was the main person I wanted to show that I could do it. He always supported me and told me to go to school."

As of today, Tsosie's death is still under investigation, according to Brenda, adding that the FBI continues to take information from those who have any information regarding the April 10, 2010 incident.

"It's hard to close the books and accept what everyone is telling us," she said. "He was scared of heights. He wasn't a person to be careless or to be walking along the edge like people said he was doing."

Funeral services were April 16, one day before his birthday. People came from as far away as Florida and Canada to attend his funeral in addition to calls from as far away as Alaska, Brenda said.

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