LIVING INDUCTEE

CHARLOTTE (JOHNSON) BARRY

DISTRICT 5 - YEAR 2026

On a cold day in January 1960, Charlotte Mary Johnson was born fighting for her life. The small baby’s body did not like her parents blood type combination and survived two complete blood transfusions. Charlotte has been a feisty cowgirl ever since her birth. 

Raised on a ranch on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in the small community of Del Bonita, Charlotte grew up riding horses alongside her parents Bill and Hazel Johnson, and siblings Bonnie and Arnie. 

Charlotte joined her family in all aspects of ranch work, riding her favorite kid horse, Baldy. They could be seen loping across the prairie to gather cows or barrel racing in local kids’ rodeos. Charlotte went on to be active in 4-H, junior events at high school and amateur rodeos, cross-country and track and field. She later graduated from Great Falls Commercial College.

Bill and Arnie Johnson, both champion calf-ropers, trained their own ranch-raised horses. While looking for potential calf-horses, they always kept an eye out for barrel-horse prospects for Charlotte, as they regularly warmed up their horses by running through the barrel pattern prior to roping practice. 

Charlotte’s first competitive barrel horse was Craze, whose reputation earned him his name. Known for her “I can ride anything attitude,” Charlotte and Craze chalked up the wins in high school and amateur rodeos in the U.S. and Canada.

Charlotte’s next calf-horse-turned-barrel-horse to load in the trailer was PJ. He was her 4-H project as a yearling and went on to compete in barrel racing at rodeos. Charlotte and PJ became best friends when they moved to Thermopolis, Wyoming, for her first job after college. 

Then along came Loppy! The “crooked-neck mare,” born and raised on the Johnson Ranch, and trained by Bill. As a young horse, Loppy contracted distemper. The illness left her permanently disfigured, appearing to have a crooked neck. Besides that, she was an outlaw. Arnie or Bill would ride her all day working cattle and at the last gate going back to the barn she would buck. Loppy was always looking for a reason to spook and was a challenge to ride. But there was just something about that mare. Loppy took Charlotte all the way to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 1989, 1990 and 1991 and the duo earned the 1989 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association Barrel Racing Rookie of the Year title.

Charlotte’s next super-star barrel-horse was a bay mare named Cola. Owned and trained by Isabelle Miller from Alberta, Canada, Arnie and Bill saw Cola run at a Senior Pro Rodeo as a six-year-old. Due to her own health reasons, Isabelle agreed to sell Cola to Charlotte, and soon another championship team was born. She took Charlotte back to the NFR in 1993, 1994 and 1996. Cola and Charlotte won the 8th round at the 1993 NFR, making a coveted trip to the Gold Coast Casino for the buckle presentation.

One of Charlotte’s fondest memories was making the final four at the Calgary Stampede, the first year barrel racers were eligible for the $50,000. She also competed at the Pendleton Round-up in Oregon, in 2001, the first year barrel racers were approved to run on the grass. After endless miles and numerous rodeos, Charlotte still recalls competing at the Houston Astrodome in Texas, as her favorite memory of all time. 

Charlotte won many of the major rodeos in Canada as well as the United States, including Red Deer and Strathmore, Alberta, Moses Lake, Washington, and Helena, Montana. She took home sizable checks from Houston and Calgary, to name a few. 

Charlotte qualified for the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals a whopping 16 times, winning the year-end championship twice. She also served on the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Board of Directors from 1994 to 1996.

Charlotte has carried on the rodeo legacy of her family including her dad, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and nephews. As a member of the Blackfeet Tribe and a Cut Bank High School graduate, she has always been proud to have Cut Bank, Montana, listed as her hometown on rodeo programs. For such a small community, it has been the birthplace of several rodeo champions. 

A huge part of a successful rodeo career is your traveling companions. Long hours and lots of miles on strange highways make for lifelong friendships. Charlotte had some of the best and to this day remains close with them. Honorable mention goes to Gizmo, the dachshund, who was loved by many and feared by a few would-be carjackers and thieves.

After her successful rodeo career, Charlotte and her husband, Walter Barry, settled on the family ranch at Del Bonita where they farm and ranch, raise Black Angus cattle, and grow hay and grain. While working side-by-side, they passed along the Western lifestyle to their two beautiful daughters, Macee and Mylee.

Photo by Springer