Burr Andrews moved to Clarksville, Texas in 1937 from Kilgore to manage a ranch for his dad Mr. Sam Andrews. In 1939, he married Betty Burford and had two children, Sammy and Vicki. Burr was a natural horseman and started roping and dogging in area events and arenas. He got his RCA card in 1941. The lifestyle was to his liking, so he proceeded to form his own rodeo company, with events in 12 states and 13 annual rodeos at his ranch in Clarksville.
Burr ‘B.D.” couldn’t just produce he competed in some shows and always worked as pickup man on Rattler, a red roan horse that could back up faster than most could go forward. Early on he liked good horse flash, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise for him to pay $3500 for his doggin horse Rags, back when you could buy a fleet of cars for that figure.
Many professional cowboys and young ones followed Burr, also known as Chief Long Hair, year around and wintered in the bunk house on the ranch. Extended family must have come from the rodeo life, since many of the fellows became part of the Andrews family for life. Hub and Jim Whiteman were often up in the Andrews Rodeo or working as judges and directors Marie Whiteman was the bookkeeper, timer and the “The Boss”. Locals that competed in Burr’s shows were Bud Kemp, Button Yonicks, Clark McIntire, Toddy Whatley, Buck Rutherford, Bill and Johnny Williams, Frank Rhodes and Bear Kat Partin. Some of Burr’s rough stock had quite a reputation, a little bareback horse named Flap Jack, a old saddle bronc called Suitcase and a little black angus bull #18 alas Candy, that was rarely ridden out of the chute, but could be ridden with a halter and switch.
After many years on the rodeo trail Burr and family hung it up and retired to the ranch in 1954. Most of the stock was sold to Ira and Jiggs Beutler, but the bucking horse mares started producing many of the horses used on the ranch. So any day could be a rodeo if you didn’t sit just right in the saddle and that’s just the way Burr liked it.
