Wacey was born to Bob and Ruth Cathey on June 29, 1953, in Big Spring, Texas. Coming from a ranching family it is no surprise that he began his career in rodeo at the age of 16. Entering bareback and bull riding events, he progressed through the AJRA ranks and was the AJRA Champion in 1972. After graduating from Coahoma High School, he attended college in Snyder, Texas, being an active member of their rodeo team. After two years, Wacey decided to follow his heart and rodeo full time. Unknowingly at the time, this passion would consume Wacey for the next twenty years.
His career is one of the longest in bull riding history. During these years, he would win and place at all the major shows in the United State. Wacey qualified for the National Finals Rodeo for fourteen years. He attended the NFR in Oklahoma City for seven years and followed the NFR to Las Vegas for seven years. Some of the larger rodeos that he won are as follows:
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Cheyenne, Prescott, A, Oakdale, Ca, San Angelo, Big Spring, Ellensburg, WA, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Sikeston, Mo., Dallas State Fair, Greeley, Colorado, Edmonton, Canada, Madison Square Garden, The summit Presidential Rodeo, North Platt, Colorado Springs, and won the $50,000.00 purse in Calgary, Canada in 1983 and 1990. His accomplishments also include the Texas Circuit Championship in 1982 and the Pro Tour in 1985.
Wacey was blessed to live his dream for twenty plus years. A career that spans for twenty years leaves on with a lifetime of memories.
Wacey and Lee Ann Hutto married and raised two children, Shelley and Sloan Cathey. Shelley and husband Clay Burk have added Kayley, a granddaughter to the Cathey family tree. Sloan was taken from us on July 5, 1995, due to an accident at the age of 16.
Since retirement, Wacey has returned to his roots in Big Spring, Farming and ranching. “Rodeo was a large part of my life for many years, and I hope that, in my own way, I gave something back to the sport.”
