This is what Bob Talbman, the PRCA Rodeo announcer, read during the evening performance of the Grand National Rodeo and Stock Show during the evening performance on April 13 at the San Francisco Cow Palace. Smokes Dude and his manager, Shilo Bishop, entered the arena with the spotlight on them. Shilo rode Dude around the arena in a regular reining pattern complete with a series of slides and spins as Bob spoke:

"For a horse to be officially retired at the Cow Palace, the home of the Grand National Rodeo and Stock Show, the horse has to have done something. The horse entering the arena has done EVERYTHING. This is Smokes Dude, being ridden by his manager, Shilo Bishop. Dude is registered both with the APHA and the AQHA. He is an extraordinary performance horse, raised and trained in the California Vaquero tradition. His rider and trainer was Pat Hubbert. 

Together Pat and Dude won reining and working cow horse classes in APHA events at the Cow Palace from 1991 through 1996. Dude is the 1995 APHA World Champion Working Cow Horse and a National Reined Cow Horse Association Supreme Reined Cow Horse. Dude retired for the first time as an 11-year-old but he came out of retirement at the age of 17 to show again when he could also be registered as an American Quarter Horse. Pat qualified Dude for the 2002 AQHA World Show in Oklahoma City as a Working Cow Horse. Oklahoma City 2002 was the last time that either Dude or Pat showed in competition. In November of 2003 when Dude was 18, Pat was on crutches and he was joking about bringing “his” Mazerratti (Dude) out of the garage just to scare the competition after his back got better. That never happened because he had bone cancer. He never rode Dude again, and he passed away last August. 

Tonight is officially Dude’s last night in the performance arena. You just watched the finals of the AQHA working cow horse finals – now you are seeing what one of the finest working cow horses to ever do the event. He is here because his owner and the other people who love him want him to go around the arena one last time as our way of saluting the Cow Palace, the Grand National, and Pat for so many great shows and so many wonderful memories. From now on, Dude will be doing what a stallion should do—breed mares.

To salute this 21-year-old stallion, Miss Grand National is now presenting Smokes Dude with ones of its special Grand National Awards. We would also like to present another award to his owner, Jackie Robertson, for her love and devotion to this special horse."