“The word ‘cowboy’ and the name Otis Jennings are synonymous.”
– Jo Vanatta describing Otis Jennings.
Otis Jennings, born March 4, 1923 in Burr Oak, Kansas, is Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame’s Working Cowboy Inductee for 2004.
Other than taking a short-term job in Colorado, Otis lived out his entire life in Kansas. As a child, he moved to Garden City with his parents, Roy and Mae Jennings. Soon after settling in western Kansas, Otis met a gentleman who owned racehorses and worked as a horse trader; soon after his interest in working with horses and cattle grew into a life-long passion. The horse owner purchased soured or spoiled horses, which he turned over to Otis for retraining. Though Otis later recalled the danger his job entailed, the training allowed him to build a solid reputation that led to other jobs of breaking horses.
In 1943, Otis married Shirley Haflich and went to work for her family’s farm east of Garden City. The new job mostly required farming, but horses remained Otis’s true passion. During this time, he kept a few ponies and began working with colts from neighboring farms. He also started working as a “contract cowboy” who looked after others’ cattle for pay.
In 1962, Otis and Shirley purchased a quarter section of land west of Lakin. After moving, Otis vowed, “They were going to do whatever they had to make a living in the horse and cow world.”
Next, the State of Kansas hired Otis as a Brand Inspector. Intent on sharing his workload, Otis made Shirley his deputy. Besides their brand work with feedlots in Kearney County and the sale barn in Syracuse, the couple kept busy riding neighbors’ colts and continuing Otis’s “contract cowboy” business.
In 1972, Otis and Shirley built an indoor arena on their home place in Lakin. Otis performed all of the construction on the building’s interior, thus providing him great pride in being able to bring people together to gain an interest in livestock.
In 1978, the couple purchased a sting of rodeo stock; thus creating J-J Rodeo Company. At the time they started producing rodeos, there were only three Little Britches Rodeos in western Kansas; however, their hard work and dedication led to twenty various Little Britches Rodeos being produced in the area. When asked why he never worked the pro-rodeos, instead of working with children, Otis always replied, “Kids have to start somewhere.”
In 1995, Otis received the Bob Payne Memorial Award at the Kansas Ranch Rodeo Championship as a tribute to his dedication to his family, his job, his integrity, honesty and willingness to help others.
Unfortunately, Otis suffered a debilitating stroke in 1996, which left him paralyzed on his left side. He had spent the day before in the saddle, just as he had everyday before that; he now worried about whether or not he would be a cowboy anymore. All who cared about Otis quickly reminded him that once a cowboy, always a cowboy.
Otis passed away on Saturday, January 11, 2003 in Lakin, Kansas. The following Tuesday, cars lined Highway 50, filled drivers and passengers wishing to pay their last respects to Otis “Pappy” Jennings, the man who had led many of the town’s rodeo parades and had provided many years of entertainment for rodeo fans.
