ST. GEORGE — Before he made a name for himself as a popular author, lecturer and executive director of the Zion Natural History Association, Lyman Hafen gained fame as a rodeo rider. In his youth, he became a horseman on the family ranch in Clover Valley, Nevada, then went on to be named Utah State High School Rodeo All-Around champion in 1973.

On Thursday, July 16 at 7 p.m., this 5th generation Southern Utahn, who has been writing about southern Utah’s history, culture and personality for more than three decades, will share his experiences with a horse and a rope as the Third Thursday Art Conversation speaker at the St. George Art Museum. This program is one of several scheduled during the current cowboy and western art exhibit at the museum.

Hafen, the co-founder of St. George Magazine in 1983, has written nearly 500 magazine articles in publications as diverse as Northern Lights and Western Horseman. He is the author of a dozen books of memoir, history, biography and fiction.

He currently serves on the board of directors of the Utah Arts Council and the National Association of Partners for Public Lands. He and his wife Debbie live in Santa Clara.

The Third Thursday Art Conversation is an adult gathering created to bring art patrons to the museum to learn more about the artist and his medium.

The St. George Art Museum is open at 47 E. 200 N. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The city-owned and operated arts center exists “to educate, through quality exhibitions from all periods, cultures and media, and to collect, conserve, inventory, exhibit and interpret art and artifacts from Utah and the West.”

For more information, call 435-627-4525.