When the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association gallops into town, fans can expect high-energy excitement as world-class riders and award-winning stock show off their skills. The Fort Herriman PRCA Rodeo on May 28-30 is the first pro event of the year as cowboys, cowgirls and fans alike look forward to the start of the season.

“We have real good bucking horses and bucking bulls, champion calf ropers, team ropers and steer wrestlers, top-of-the-line barrel racers and breakaway ropers show up to our events,” said Herriman Rodeo Committee Chair Dee Oakeson. “It is a really good production with lots of excitement.”

Oakeson has worked on the rodeo since he moved to Herriman in 1999, when fewer than 2,000 people lived in the city. Now, with a population of more than 65,000, Herriman boasts its well-deserved participation in the PRCA circuit. 

While the event has been going on for nearly 30 years, the Fort Herriman Rodeo reached pro status 20 years ago after meeting the rigorous high standards associated with the PRCA, which includes having a certain grade of animal. The purse paid to the cowboys and cowgirls who participate also has to be at a high level.

“We get some awesome athletes that come to Herriman, world champions that come to our rodeo every single year, religiously, and that just increases the production of our rodeo and increases the actual value of the show that our community gets to see,” said Herriman Event Manager Lorren Mitchell. “We’re getting world champion riders coming to Herriman City, of all places.”

Events include bucking broncs and bulls, calf-roping, barrel racing, steer wrestling and bullfighting, plus family activities like a petting zoo, a mechanical bull and stick-horse races. 

Organizing the rodeo takes a concerted effort that begins just weeks after the event is over. Hiring a rodeo clown and an announcer, finding bullfighters, getting contracts in place, connecting with quality rodeo stock organizations and even finding the right fireworks provider takes months of effort.

Not only does the Herriman Rodeo Committee help organize, run and promote the rodeo, it also raised money to construct the rodeo grounds by hand. The dedicated group of volunteers has helped to build and maintain the rodeo tradition in Herriman, introducing pro events to new generations of residents. 

“Our city is built on that Western lifestyle. Herriman, even 20 years ago, had a lot of arenas, a lot of horses. It was very important to residents who are still living here today,” Mitchell said. “The founding families of our city donated our rodeo grounds that we’re still using today… So it’s important to those families and all the volunteers that helped build the arena, and the families that continue to live here, to let [the rodeo] live on.”

Animal welfare and safety are top priorities for rodeo organizers. Mitchell said the PRCA requires the highest levels of animal care during the event, with a vet on site at all times. Stock contractors who provide animals for the rodeo mandate a gold standard of care to keep animals safe.

“I didn’t understand how seriously animal welfare was taken until I got to know the inner workings of the PRCA. It’s a big deal to them,” she said. “They consider the cowboy athletes and they consider the animals athletes.”

Visitors are encouraged to get tickets early as the event tends to sell out. The Fort Herriman PRCA Rodeo will be held at W&M Butterfield Park (6212 Butterfield Park Way), May 28-30. For more information, or to volunteer for the event, visit herriman.gov/rodeo.

“Last year, I think we ended up with 27 national finalists that came to our rodeo,” Oakeson said. “Everything is just fabulous.”

The Herriman Rodeo Committee has been key in building the event since it first started. Committee members are (back row, left to right) Phil Spainhower, Dee Oakeson and Ronnie Gunn. (Middle row, left to right) Larry Farnsworth, Cody Stromberg and Jared Goulding. (Front row, left to right) Bonnie Spainhower, Raquel DeLuca, Lisa Oakeson, Heather Bennion, Shawnee Wright, Aaron Sivertson and Bart Bennion. Not pictured: Tim Straup. (Photo courtesy Herriman City)