Utah’s Own PRCA Rodeo will feature rodeo champions in September

SALT LAKE CITY – There is a grand history of finding gold in the Beehive State.

Sure, miners located it around Salt Lake City, but there’s another branch of the element that is prevalent in Utah: Rodeo gold. It comes from being the best in a given task every year, and there’s quite a bit of that across the state.

Take the 2024 season, for example. ProRodeo dished out 10 world championship gold buckles, and three of them reside in Utah with bareback rider Dean Thompson of Altamont, saddle bronc rider Ryder Wright of Beaver and bull rider Josh Frost of Randlett.

“I was waiting for it to sink in, but when that buckle showed up, that was when I realized that was what I was waiting for,” he said of the wearable trophy, which he has donned since it arrived at his home several months ago with his name engraved on it.

In his mind, it’s an award that is meant to be worn.

“I go with this theory, which I learned from Robert Etbauer: He said, ‘If I worked my whole life to win this buckle. I’m going to work the rest of my life wearing it every single day,’ ” Frost said of his former coach at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. “That’s where I am. I stuck her on my belt the night it showed up.”

Gold is a vital element. It’s valuable, and the shine may dull, but the thrill of earning gold through competition is tough to beat. Ask an Olympic champion or any other athlete that strives for it. The only way to earn it is to beat an elite field. In rodeo, that happens every week.

There are 17 world champions – accounting for 38 gold buckles – scheduled to compete at Utah’s Own Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5; Saturday, Sept. 6; and Monday, Sept. 8, in the Days of ’47 Arena at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City. Tickets can be purchased at UtahStateFair.com/tickets.

From eight-time world champion Stetson Wright, who has returned to action on a blaze of glory after being on injured reserve for the 2024 season, to defending breakaway roping titlist Kelsie Domer, the elite will compete at Salt Lake City in early September. Nearly 500 cowboys and cowgirls put their name in the hat to be part of a proud rodeo.

Part of that is the chance to battle with the best, but another deciding factor is the increase in local dollars. Utah State Fair’s rodeo features $10,000 included in each event, and that money is then added to the contestants’ entry fees to make up the total purse. It’s an overall increase of $30,000 to the payout.

That’s also why, in addition to the world titlists, there are 80 other National Finals Rodeo qualifiers. This is a major event to kick off the final month of the 2025 regular season. Many in the Salt Lake City field are battling for one of the spots at the NFR, which features only the top 15 contestants in each event when the season concludes Sept. 30.

“This rodeo’s such an amazing event,” said Thompson, 23, who is among the top 10 on the bareback riding money list. “It’s one of the last ones where guys have a chance to make that push for the NFR. The competition there is phenomenal for that reason.”