Jim Heird, MS, PhD, executive professor and coordinator of the Equine Initiative at Texas A&M University, is a 2017 inductee into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame—the highest honor bestowed on individuals who have shown excellence in competition, business, and support of rodeo and the western lifestyle in Texas.

Heird is the second vice president of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and a former AQHA director for Texas and Colorado. He has also served as chairman of the judges committee, shows committee, international committee, show council, and the animal welfare commission. Heird is also an honorary vice president of the Uruguayan Quarter Horse Association.

“Dr. Jim Heird is one of the finest men I know,” said Charles W. Graham, DVM, owner of the Southwest Stallion Station in Elgin, Texas. “He deserves to be in the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. Texas is a better place because of Dr. Heird, and I am so grateful to know him and see what he has done and continues to do for the Western life style, our great state, and our future through the students he teaches.”

Heird is the former extension horse specialist at North Carolina State University, a former instructor/professor at Texas Tech University, and has held various dean/director positions at Colorado State University in the colleges of agricultural sciences, and business and equine sciences program. Heird holds the Dr. Glenn Blodgett Equine Chair at Texas A&M University