WILLCOX Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees
Kelly Glenn-Kimbro (135)
1961 -
2023 COWBOY HALL OF FAME
Kelly was born August 15, 1961, to Warner and Wendy Glenn. Kelly grew up ranching on the Malpai Ranch with her parents and brother Cody; and on the J Bar A Ranch with her grand-parents Marvin and Margaret Glenn.
The earliest Glenns homesteaded the Buckhorn Ranch in 1896. In 1907, the J Bar A was purchased and in 1961, the Malpai Ranch was added. The Glenns have been ranching in Southeast Arizona for over 125 years.
Kelly understands the significance of her family´s hard work. Kelly said, "They were setting up a ranching tradition and a legacy to be inherited...we are continuing that".
Kelly started dry-ground lion hunting and hunting deer and javelina at an early age of 12. She has held an Arizona guide license for 41 years. Kelly said, "Dad and Marvin never blinked at teaching us every aspect of hunting, and I ate it up."
Kelly attended Cal Poly State University at San Luis Obispo, California majoring in Animal Science. In 1992, Kelly married a Texas team roper named Kerry Kimbro and they have one daughter, Mackenzie, who also works on the ranches.
A little tidbit of information I´ll add right here. ... In 2013, Kelly was featured in the Western Horseman magazine as a "Woman of the West". And this month, October of 2023, daughter Mackenzie, is featured in Western Horseman as a "Woman of the West".
Throughout the years, Kelly has been active in multiple projects and events. She volunteered to resurrect the Douglas High School 3.7-acre land lab. She played a role in the formation of "The Malpai Borderland´s Group", and helped to create the non-profit "EARN YOUR SPURS". Throughout the years, she has also worked in the entertainment industry as a location scout, casting director and security detail for 33 feature films.
In 1988, the Sturm Ruger & Co. was looking for a young woman in the western genre who carried a gun in everyday life. In walks Kelly Glenn-Kimbro and "The Ruger Girl" was created. For 31 years, Kelly represented Ruger as their ambassador/poster model and authentic "Cattle Rancher and Guide" who packed a gun.
Kelly said, "It was an easy gig...we would shoot an ad or campaign photo and then I would spend a few weeks a year making convention appearances, signing posters, talking to youth and the general public about gun safety and hunting traditions. The rest of the year she was on the ranch.
Kelly said, "My favorite things have always been to work cattle and hunt lions. All the rest of the things you must do in both the ranching and hunting business, are the responsible things you have to accomplish to be able to do the fun part of it."
Not every hunting trip was full of fun and games. The first story I will tell you is called "The wreck of December 30, 2015". Long story short, Kelly was on her mule on a mountain full of boulders and bluffs everywhere. The mountain was tall, rugged and steep. Not the ideal place for your mule to stampede down the mountain side with your foot hung in the stirrup. Finally, the mule stepped on her leg to jerk her free, but that broke her leg and sent her tumbling face first into a pile of rocks. Her eye socket was shattered and her leg was broken in 7 places.
When Warner got to her he knew the leg was broke, as the toe of the boot was pointed in the wrong direction. Warner said, "It was the hardest thing he ever did." But without hesitation he turned it over and lined the toe up with the knee... unknowingly he lined up the 7 breaks within 1/16th of perfection. The rescue part of the story could be made into a movie with so many local heroes doing their part to help get Kelly off the mountain. Warner rode to the bottom of the mountain to get a stretcher. They loaded her on the stretcher and had to carry her up the mountain 175 yards where an itty-bitty helicopter waited. The pilot had just returned from Afghanistan and knew how to land on a rocky mountain side. The stretcher hung out of the bubble as they headed for the Animas Football Field. Here was where she took her first pain meds as she was flown to Tucson where two good surgeons put her back together.
All I can say is WOW.
You know when you tell a fairy tale it begins with "Once Upon a Time"... But when a cowboy tells a story it usually begins with, "You ain´t gonna believe this"
Well ladies and gentlemen, You ain´t gonna believe this...
It was March of 2019, and Kelly and Warner were on a lion hunt looking for the Tom cat that had killed a calf. Things were pretty normal with the tracking, the chase and finally they had the Tom lion treed in a tall pine. Normally when the lion is shot and falls from the tree it is dead when it hits the ground. This one was not, it was wounded and on the fight. Of course, the hound dogs swarmed in for the fight. Meaning now Warner and Kelly waded into the fracas to get the hounds back. The lion turned on Kelly and reached out with both paws and grabbed her right leg, jerking her to the ground and proceeded to bite her in the right calf.
Warner was literally beating the lion with his fists; the hounds were in high attack. It was a frenzy. Luckily the lion opened his jaws to turn and snarl at the hounds and let go of her calf muscle. The lion broke and run off down the mountain, with Warner and the hounds in hot pursuit.
Kelly tested the leg to find nothing was broke, but lots of blood from the puncture wounds. They bandaged it up with Warner´s wild rag the hood of her sweatshirt and wrapped it with some electrical tape. They got the bleeding stopped and then the long ride back to civilization and then on to the emergency room at the Douglas Hospital. Treatment was a rabies shot in each of the 14 puncture wounds and one more shot in her hip for good measure. And then antibiotics for 75 days. And we are not surprised to learn that she went hunting two days later.
They say the rabies shots last a lifetime... so we are pretty sure she is covered on that. You have just heard two unbelievable stories of pure grit and toughness.
Kelly, is keenly aware of the ranching traditions established by her family. Kelly said," I owe my mom, Wendy, for so much of what I have done on the business side of the ranching, dealing with the politics, the permitting, handling the issues and opinions, and then the day-to-day work ethic, honesty, conservation ideas, and how to get ‘er done. She was amazing.
Kelly said, "I am so proud to still ranch in all three places.
Warner, Mackenzie and I have our plate full... but love it and are determined to forge ahead. Thanks to a strong family upbringing, good friends and neighbors, people who believe in us, Warner´s faith in Mackenzie and I, and God willing... the Glenn ranching tradition will continue in southeast Arizona!"
Kelly Glenn-Kimbro