There's a deep hurt in the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo community -- longtime supporter and booster Marty Richter died this week.
Richter served numerous roles with the FWSSR from his days as a bronc rider to the Calf Scramble Committee and Executive Committee.
Richter and longtime friend Charlie Geren brought the Calf Scramble to the rodeo back in the '80s. The idea was simple. Have a kid catch a calf and win money. It proved to be one of the most endearing parts of the rodeo.
Kids come into the Will Rogers Memorial Colisuem arena with clean jeans and white T-shirts. They take off after the calves, running and falling in deep dirt, knowing money is on the line. Once a calf is haltered and brought back to the middle of the arena, the job is done. The $500 prize is then used to buy a heifer to show at the Stock Show the following year.
Students also get the change to take part in a scholarship program. In 2018, the committee awarded 70 Calf Scramble Scholarships totaling $269,000.
Richer relished his role in helping kids.
He told the Fort Worth Business Press last year, “I’ll be in some random, Podunk little town at a help-yourself station getting diesel in my pickup and I’ll have some person come up to me and say, ‘Hey, you’re that calf scramble guy.’"
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Richter's connection to the FWSSR stretched back four decades - and he passed on that love to his three children Martin, Meredith Davis and Mary Margaret Richter.
“We have three generations involved in the Fort Worth Stock Show, but my son Martin has a 2-year-old daughter and Meredith has a 5-year-old son, and they’re going to be right behind us,” Richter told the Fort Worth Businss Press. “We have three generations involved so far, but when you consider my grandkids who are coming on, it’s like we’re going to blink and have four generations of involvement in the Stock Show.”
Richter leaves behind a wife, children, grandchildren and a host of friends.
"A big heart and a big smile is what I'll remember," said Geren.
Richter died at home on Wednesday at the age of 64. His funeral will be Monday, Feb. 19, 2 p.m. at the Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Avenue, Fort Worth.
