'An all or nothing proposition'

Oct. 13—After nearly a year since a model of the planned bronze statue of rodeo legend Cotton Rosser was unveiled in Marysville, officials with Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture said "two anonymous major donors" have now come forward to help with the needed funding to make the future landmark a reality.

Rosser, who passed away in June this year, was widely considered a hometown hero for Marysville. He owned Flying U Rodeo and Cotton's Cowboy Corral, a western store in Marysville. In 1995, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport.

"For decades Cotton Rosser has been a legend in the sport of rodeo," Rosser's family said shortly after his death. "His name is synonymous with the great family entertainment of the Flying U, but beyond the well known exterior was a man that loved his animals, his family and entertaining generations of families and creating memories that will last them a lifetime. Cotton peacefully tipped his hat for the last time this morning, June 22, 2022. His legacy will live on through his wife Karin, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Long live the King of the Cowboys, Cotton Rosser."

In October 2021, David Read, executive director of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture, said the bronze statue project had been in the works for years.

"Local community leaders came together and felt that honoring Cotton because of the positive impact he's had on the region and his national reputation was the right thing to do," Read said previously. "Public art for a cause is important especially when it is done to honor a group of people or an individual who has done so much to help create the identity of a place, in this case Marysville and all of Yuba-Sutter. There is also an economic development component to what Cotton has accomplished over his many years in business. The Cattle Drive, Marysville Stampede Rodeo and ancillary events like Sodbusters have been going on for decades and are part of the fabric of our community."

The plan, according to Read, was to create a one and a quarter times life size bronze statue of Rosser on horseback doffing his hat to an admiring crowd as he enters the rodeo ring, which will be about seven tons of patinated bronze sitting atop a concrete and brick base. Marysville City Councilman and designer Stuart Gilchrist created several renderings of the statue.

The statue, once funding and the related work is completed, will be put in place in Plaza Park on First Street in Marysville, just to the right of the Silver Dollar Saloon and Bok Kai Temple — a location chosen so Rosser can look over the Yuba-Sutter Cattle Drive each year.

On Oct. 23, 2021, artist Jeff Wolf, who signed on to create the monument, unveiled the sculpted model with Rosser in attendance at a Meet the Artist event in Marysville. Rosser almost immediately began to clap and the audience followed his gesture, the Appeal previously reported.

"Cotton is an icon," Wolf previously said. "There isn't anybody in the rodeo industry or any other western sport that doesn't know the name of Cotton Rosser. So in that respect, it's a tremendous honor to do something like this and as a young kid, I'd live 16 miles north on a ranch from Nephi, Utah. Cotton's been putting that rodeo on for probably 60 years, and as a kid I would go watch the stampede every year. I didn't know Cotton Rosser, but I knew the Flying U. So when I was little, I'd draw all these pictures of bucking horses and cowboys, and they all had the Flying U brand on them."

So far, the committee that has come together to help raise money for the project has raised just over $100,000, Read said. In total, the project's budget is $250,000.

On Tuesday, Read announced that two "major donors," who want to remain anonymous, have come forward with a challenge grant.

"They have offered $75,000 as a match for every dollar raised between now and the end of the year," Read said in a statement. "In other words, if we can come up with $75,000, they will match it and that will give us an additional $150,000 or most of what we need to move the project forward to completion. The catch is we need to raise the full $75,000 for the match. It is an all or nothing proposition."

Read said a bronze table top of the statue can be viewed at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Marysville.

"Do not miss this very special opportunity to help us create the first large scale monument in Yuba-Sutter in honor of a very special member of our community," Read said. "Contributions of all sizes are welcome by Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, which was chosen as the fiscal sponsor for the project and is accepting cash, checks and credit card donations."

For more information, contact Read at david@yubasutterarts.org.