Rodeo clown Cody Sosebee, the bigger gentleman on the left, and rodeo announcer Garrett Yerigan have been friends since Yerigan’s birth. When Sosebee was competing, he traveled with Yerigan’s parents. In their current posts, they work a lot of rodeos together. They will be part of the entertaining package during Utah’s Own Rodeo, which takes place Sept. 11, 12 and 14 during the Utah State Fair.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF GARRETT YERIGAN)
Sosebee, Yerigan’s relationship is more of a brotherly bond in arena
SALT LAKE CITY – Three decades ago, Cody Sosebee was a young bareback rider who was still figuring out how to handle his business.
He found others who were heading in the same direction, then he’d hitch a ride. That’s how he met Garrett Yerigan, with whom he shares the stage at Utah’s Own Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11; Saturday, Sept. 12; and Monday, Sept. 14, in the Days of ’47 Arena at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City. Tickets can be purchased at UtahStateFair.com/tickets.
“I’ve known Garrett since he was a baby, because he was in the truck with us going down the road, teething and pooping his diaper,” said Sosebee, one of the premier clowns in rodeo who returns to the Utah State Fair for the second straight year. “His dad and mom drug me up and down the road when I was a young, 20-year-old, cocky bareback rider.
“I thought I knew everything, and they kept me out of jail and kept me entered and got me to the rodeos, then got me home.”
Garrett Yerigan’s folks are Dale and Kathy Yerigan, who were superstars in the Oklahoma-based International Professional Rodeo Association. That’s where Dale Yerigan and Sosebee won championships. That’s where Garrett Yerigan cut his teeth and became one of the sport’s top announcers; he is a two-time PRCA Announcer of the Year.
Sosebee was coming off his IPRA gold buckle when Garrett Yerigan was in September 1994. Their relationship has grown over the nearly 32 years since. Utah’s Own Rodeo isn’t the only event they work together, but it’s another chance for the duo to share their familial bond.
“I have lots of great relationships with different clowns, but I don’t think there’s anyone that’s more deeply rooted than my relationship with Sosebee,” said Yerigan, who will turn 32 on the final day of Utah’s Own Rodeo. “When he was bareback riding in the IPRA, he was traveling with my parents in the rig.
“He was there when my mom announced to everybody that she was pregnant with me. I tell people that he’s known me since before I was even born.”
That tight-knit rapport is evident when the two are working in the arena together.
“I think a lot of it is just our brotherhood from me being a little bitty baby when he was still riding, then he obviously stepped away from bareback riding and went on to his clown career,” Yerigan said. “We separated for a few years, but we always remained friends. Then the more I got into announcing, we started crossing paths again. It just rekindled that old brotherhood and friendship.”
They work in unison with an understanding of the game and the importance of a well-groomed production when it comes to fan-enjoyment. Sosebee is the comic relief, but he also stands in during transitions from one discipline to another and during lulls in competition. That’s where the two shine brightest.
“Getting to work with Garrett at all these big rodeos is just awesome,” Sosebee said. “In my eyes, he’s definitely the best there is, and he’s only getting better and more talented.”
That’s high praise from one standout to another. Sosebee won the honor for the 2018 Comedy Act of the Year, has been nominated for PRCA Clown of the Year and was selected to be the barrelman at the 2017 National Finals Rodeo
“I just smile when he walks into the arena, because I know one of my best friends, my brothers, is over there with me, and he’s going to keep the crowd clapping and laughing,” Yerigan said. “We can pick on each other had have fun out there. We don’t plan on anything. It’s not scripted, but it just flows. I think people can genuinely feel that we’re just two guys having fun, and they can have fun right along with us.”
It’s a camaraderie that began long ago in a pickup pulling a horse trailer, and that bond continues in a different capacity that rodeo audiences can enjoy.