Eddie Taniguchi, Jr.
Year Inducted: 2000
Makaweli Ranch | Kauai
They said he might never be a cowboy, after an accident when he was 9 years old. I guess they didn’t realize it would take more than a kick in the face by a horse to keep a Taniguchi out of the saddle! Instead he followed in the tradition of his father and his father, as a Makaweli Ranch paniolo on Kauai and now he is the ranch foreman.
Eddie learned many things about being a paniolo from his father. There’s a story about his father’s favorite horse that would’nt eat when Eddie’s dad was in the hospital. So Eddie packed up Big Jim and drove him to the hospital and parked him outside his father’s window so he could talk to the horse. When Eddie got him back home, Big Jim started eating again. Eddie’s skill as a horse trainer must run in his veins.
Besides ranching, Eddie loves rodeo riding and roping, and he has a taro farm. Most of all he loves being with his family and spends a lot of time passing on the tradition to his grandchildren in the true paniolo tradition.