06/17/2026
A true Legend
They call him "Big Al." Thirty National Finals Rodeos. A record nobody has ever come close to touching.
Growing up near Ellensburg, Washington in a family of five boys, Allen Bach's father was a water well driller who hoped his sons would join the family business. But Allen had other ideas — he loved basketball, was good with his hands and quick on his feet, but he was also riding horses and roping. To chase his real passion he moved from Washington to Arizona in high school just so he could rope longer hours.
He joined the PRCA in 1977 and made his first NFR the very next year. In 1979 everything came together for his first World Championship. But it was 1990 that became the stuff of legend — Bach climbed all the way from 15th in the world standings to first, becoming the only cowboy in NFR history to ever make that kind of climb and walk away with a gold buckle, winning it by just $500.
He won again in 1995 alongside partner Bobby Hurley — the very first year the PRCA crowned separate World Champion Headers and Heelers. Then in 2006, well into his career, he won a fourth World Championship — giving him gold buckles across three different decades. Nobody in the history of the sport has matched that kind of staying power.
Thirty NFR qualifications between 1978 and 2008 — the most of any team roper who ever lived. He fought hard behind the scenes too, pushing for fairer treatment and equal recognition for team ropers in an era when the event was treated as second class inside the PRCA.
When his competing days slowed he poured everything into coaching — running team roping schools and mentoring the next generation, including future NFR heelers who credit him directly for their careers.
In 2019 he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. A four time World Champion. The most durable team roper rodeo has ever seen.
That is Allen Bach. 🤠🪢
