For the first time in decades, a familiar figure will be missing from the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

Cleo Hearn, the longtime rodeo producer and founder of Cowboys of Color, died last November. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Hearn will not ride out during the annual Cowboys of Color rodeo at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo — a moment many say will be deeply felt.

Hearn began producing the Texas Black Rodeo in 1971. In the 1990s, it evolved into Cowboys of Color, an event created to honor the often-overlooked diversity of the Old West. The Smithsonian Museum estimates that one in four cowboys was Black, working alongside Hispanic vaqueros and Native Americans to help settle the West.

"We were there. We rode the West, back with herding the cattle, driving them west," said Jim Austin, founder of the National Multicultural Western Heritage Foundation. "People really love seeing the diversity of Black, Native American and Hispanic cowboys."

Those who knew Hearn say his influence on rodeo culture, and on the people around him, spanned generations.

"Well, Cleo was the man when it comes to rodeo," Austin said, recalling a friendship that lasted more than 30 years. "Cleo was a rodeo cowboy. He lived it, he participated in it and he raised his four boys in that element."

Hearn's impact dates back more than five decades. As the founder of Cowboys of Color, he worked to open doors for riders who had long been left out of mainstream rodeo events.

"I don't know, can y'all ride? That's the first thing they asked me," Hearn once said. "I said, well just come and see us."

This year's event will go on in his absence, something organizers say will bring a mix of pride and sadness.

"There'll be a poignant moment where you wish for yesterday," said Matt Brockman with the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

Austin said learning of Hearn's death was painful, but his legacy will continue through the event he built.

"I've been doing business with Cleo for about 30 years. When I learned that he passed, it was very hurtful," Austin said.

Organizers say this year's Cowboys of Color rodeo will honor Hearn's memory while continuing his mission of celebrating diversity in cowboy culture.

"He showed us how to be a cowboy, how a cowboy should act, how a cowboy should treat others, how a cowboy should treat his horses and his livestock, and how a cowboy should just live his life," Brockman said. "He set an example for all of us to follow."

"Just being a real, true cowboy," Austin added.

Cowboys of Color takes place Monday, Jan. 19, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The event begins at 2 p.m., with tickets available online at fwssr.com.