He went to work for Ford Motor Company in their management training program after doing a commercial for Ford Tractor and worked for them 33 years before retiring as a Texas Zone Manager.

He was the first African American to win a National Tie-Down Calf Roping Championship in 1970 at the National Western in Denver, CO. Along with Black Cowboys Bud Bramwell, Marvel Rogers, Calvin Greeley, Rufus Green, Sr., Myrtis Dightman and others, he produced his first Black Rodeo for 10,000 youth in Harlem, New York in 1971. Cleo produced is first annual Texas Black Invitational Rodeo in 1985 as a fundraiser for the African American Museum Dallas which continues to this day. He changed the name to Cowboys of Color Rodeos in 1995 to be inclusive of all cultures, created a 7-City Tour (Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Oklahoma City and Tulsa) in the early 2000’s, and joined the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2010. He was a proud Professional Rodeo Cowboy finally hanging up his rope at 79-years-old and after 50 years producing rodeos to “educate you while we entertain you.”

In addition to, international Western Legend Mr. Black Rodeo, among his many awards, Cleo received his Star on the Texas Trail of Fame in the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Lane Frost Award, was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and the National Rodeo Hall of Fame. His adult hometown, Lancaster, Texas, proclaimed May 10th as Cleo Hearn Day to be celebrated annually.

Cleo was preceded in death by his father Doc, his mother Gertrude, his brothers Calvin Curry Jr. and Lucious Curry, his first wife Verna Hearn and his son of the heart Rodeo Announcer Kevin Woodson. He is survived by brother Charles Land, his second wife Wanda Henderson Hearn and her five children: Lisa J. Williams, Toni Williams-Allen, Nicole Jackson, John E. Haney II and Troy L. Allen (son-in-law), his four sons with Verna and their wives: Harlan and Vernetta Hearn, Eldon and Lisa Hearn, Robby and Debra Hearn, Wendell and Tiffiney Hearn, numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, great, great grandchildren along with rodeo friends and fans all around the world.

The New Blue Collar continues it's partnership with the Cowboys of Color Rodeo—the largest multicultural rodeo in the world. 

Together they'll use their platforms to educate further and bring awareness to the multicultural history of the American Cowboy through products, apparel, content, and experiences.

In celebration of the organization's founder Cleo Hearn, The New Blue Collar and Cowboys of Color Rodeo, released a graphic t-shirt.  
A portion of the proceeds will go towards educational programs within the Cowboys of Color Rodeo Organization.