LIVING INDUCTEE

SCOOTER (HAYWORTH) PASHA

DISTRICT 5 - YEAR 2025

Some heroes are honored with parades, awards and their names adorned on the marquee lights. Others who we never hear about are just as much a hero. True to her generous and kind nature, Scooter Pasha is one hero that has given generously and unselfishly to her family, friends, students and the western way of life. 

Scooter Hayworth was born June 29, 1940, and lived 22 miles northeast of Geraldine, Montana, on a small farm. The economics of the time made it very difficult to maintain ownership of such a place, much less make a living on it. Tragically, when she was ten, her mother passed away. At that time, Scooter and her four younger brothers, Herb, Pat, Mike, and Wes, all under the age of eight, were the children living at home. She quickly understood the challenges that faced her dad as a new single parent. Without hesitation, she made the decision to care for and help raise her younger siblings. A younger brother would later relate that his first memory after their mother’s passing was Scooter caring for them. 

Given the circumstances and her young age, she did the best she could to cook with limited food and no electricity, haul water, do laundry, clean house, learn to sew and help her brothers with their schoolwork, in addition to ranch chores. Scooter started high school when she was fifteen and after attending one year, she made the decision to quit school. Later Scooter admitted that she had been conflicted, but wanted to make sure her younger siblings were cared for and able to complete their education. 

Scooter wasn’t a typical high school drop-out and maximized her time out of school. When she began riding colts, it became apparent that Scooter was a natural at handling and training horses. Scooter acquired her first horse, Sunday, from her Uncle Cecil. This kicked off her involvement in rodeo and the western lifestyle. She was determined to train Sunday to barrel race competitively, which was a new event in the late 1950s. In 1958, she was the North Central Montana Rodeo Association barrel racing champion. For several years, Scooter was competitive and won many statewide barrel races. At this same time, she was in demand to ride and train horses for the neighbors. Always a natural teacher, Scooter taught many of the neighboring kids to ride. She mentored several local girls, teaching them to improve their riding skills and competitively show their horses. Scooter taught herself to spin ropes and took her rope spinning show on the road along with her brother, Mike. With his bucking burro, they enjoyed performing specialty acts at area fairs and rodeos. Had they not been limited by resources; they had a dream of taking their act to larger venues. 

In 1963, a close family friend told Scooter quite matter-of-factly that since two of her brothers had graduated high school and gone on to college and the military, it was time for Scooter to finish her education. She was 23, and had to get board approval to re-enroll at Geraldine High School. Even though she was considerably older than her classmates and almost as old as some of her teachers, Scooter stuck with it, graduated from high school in 1965 and went on to enroll at Montana State University. To pay for tuition, Scooter made the difficult decision to sell her current barrel horse and a small band of sheep her brother Pat had given her when he was drafted into the Army. She became involved in the MSU Rodeo Club by serving as the women’s event director and club secretary even though she didn’t have the resources to compete with the rodeo team. Working various jobs, she went to college year-round. Scooter graduated from MSU with a degree in elementary education in 1969. She then dedicated 32 years to teaching kindergarten. Always an advocate for education, she earned her Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling in 1993. 

In 1968, Scooter married Delbert Pasha, and they had a daughter, June, and a son, Trevor. During this busy time of her life, she passed on the joy of owning, training and riding horses to her children while teaching school full time. Scooter and Del shared the western way of life mentoring two high school kids, by helping them practice and taking them to numerous high school rodeos. Scooter found time to compete in barrel racing jackpots, open rodeos, PRCA and Senior Pro Rodeos for years while raising her family. She continued to support June and Trevor in the variety of activities they were involved with. 

In 1976, Scooter’s rope spinning reputation earned her an invitation from Blanche Judge to travel to Europe to promote Montana’s Western culture and spin ropes for the Person-to-Person tour. She humbly and politely declined, unselfishly putting her young children’s needs first. In summers from the late 1970s through the early 90s, Scooter would be with her family two nights a week, at the Great Falls Saddle Club competing in barrel racing and timing the team roping. She was the WPRA Barrel Racing Director for the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit 1984 to 1985. She held stick horse rodeos for her kindergarten students and would ask local cowgirls to come and help facilitate, again passing along the western way of life. Scooter served as secretary for the junior and high school rodeos in Great Falls for 12 years. From 1993 to 2000, she was honored to serve as State Secretary for the Montana High School Rodeo Association. This job was the best of both worlds as she was able to work with kids in a rodeo setting. Continuing to promote education, she and two state directors started a scholarship program for the MHSRA. While the scholarship dollars started small, the program expanded exponentially with the help of the Montana Pro Rodeo Hall & Wall of Fame.

At age 84, Scooter appreciates the companionship of her horse, Sissy, and treasures her time with her family, especially cooking and gardening with her grandson, Quentin. She continues to embody core beliefs of generously helping others, working hard, resilience, love of family, and life-long learning. Scooter is a Montana cowgirl through and through. She has touched innumerable lives with her generous spirit, all while promoting and modeling the western way of life she loves.