5 Ways a Local Rodeo is Keeping a Legacy Alive: The Days of ’47 Takes You Behind the Scenes of a Real Utah Rodeo

This article is presented by the Days Of ’47 Lewis Feild Bulls and Broncs Utah Rodeo happening this year at the Maverik Center in West Valley, Utah, February 2 at 7:30 p.m. Don’t miss your chance to see America’s Original Extreme Sport. 

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If you’ve ever been to a rodeo, you know how much fun they can be. The danger and allure of bucking broncs and bulls, which can throw those riders at a moment’s notice. It’s so exciting that you’ll be on the edge of your seat. Days Of ’47 Lewis Feild Bulls and Broncs Rodeo takes you inside the rodeo, and why this sport has become so beloved.

The Competition

In most other professional sports athletes are paid salaries regardless of how well they do at a particular event. However, in rodeos, cowboys generally pay to enter. If they place high enough to win money, they have a chance to make a profit. But if they don’t, they’ve lost their entry fee and any travel expenses. That means that every entry is a gamble. This gamble means that the riders pit the odds on a chance for loss and physical injury against the chance for a financial windfall and athletic glory.

Rodeo Livestock

The sport of rodeo was created after ranches matched their best bronc riders against another ranches’ bronc riders on the top horses they owned. Horses were raised to be tough and last all day long to work the big round-ups of cattle. These horses were often either wild mustangs or trained breeds brought over on ships from Europe. The rodeo animals of today are “BORN TO BUCK”. It’s in their blood. A horse or bull may only buck four to six times a month. This means that each animal works an average of only ten minutes a year.

Bar T Rodeo – Stock Contractor

A stock contractor is responsible for the animals used at a rodeo. This includes all aspects from buying or breeding them, raising them, feeding them, watching over them, providing veterinary care and transporting them safely between rodeos and their home pastures. Bar T Rodeo will be supplying the livestock for the 2019 Lewis Feild Bulls and Broncs Utah Rodeo. Bar T was founded in the Red Rocks of Moab, Utah, over 60 years ago by Hall of Famer D.A. Swanny Kerby and his wife Verda Kerby. In fact, they took stock to the very first National Finals Rodeo in 1959. In 2002, Bar T Rodeo helped produce the Olympic Command Performance Rodeo in Farmington, Utah, held during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Utah Rodeo Namesake

The late Lewis Feild who was born in Salt Lake City and lived his entire life in Utah made a national name for himself and Utah by winning five world titles in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). There Feild collected three all-around and two bareback riding titles. After his competitive days in the arena, he was a well-known stock contractor and worked as a pickup-man at the 2004 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. He was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and several others. He was a fierce competitor in the arena but was a quiet and respectable man outside the gate. His son, Kaycee Feild, has followed in his father’s footsteps winning four bareback riding world titles in the PRCA.

What’s At Stake?

Although 2019 marks just the second year of the Days of ’47 Lewis Feild Bulls and Broncs, the event is quickly becoming a must stop for the top bareback, saddle bronc and bull riders. The winner in each of the events will not only pick up a paycheck but will automatically qualify for the $1 Million Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo in July. The Days of ’47 Rodeo is one of Utah’s longest-standing traditions – celebrating Utah’s heritage since 1857. The rodeo and other Days of ’47 events, commemorate the day – July 24, 1847-when a determined company of Mormon pioneers realized their dreams upon entering the Great Salt Valley.

The 2019 Komatsu Equipment Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo presented by Zions Bank in Salt Lake City is a one-of-a-kind Gold Medal Rodeo that will kickoff Utah rodeo action on Friday, July 19 and will award Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals to the top three in each event on Wednesday, July 24.

This year’s Days of ’47 Lewis Feild Bulls and Broncs Utah Rodeo is a celebration of the old days of rodeos, tipping its hat to old traditions, while still pushing the envelope with modern techniques and more daring riders. This event is great for the whole family.
You can even bring your family early for free pony rides before the show and autographs from the featured performers. The Days of ’47 Lewis Feild Bulls & Broncs Utah Rodeo will be happening Saturday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Maverick Center.