Kaycee Feild Refuels his Fire with Oakley Win
It may be hard to believe that a four-time world champion bareback rider would ever need to knock any rust off.
But due to the recent hiatus rodeo has taken because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaycee Feild did just that at the Oakley Independence Day Rodeo in Oakley City, Utah, July 3.
And, he looked as good as ever.
The Utah cowboy had an 86.5-point ride on Bar T Rodeo’s City Lights to capture the win.
“I’ve been hearing that Bar T horses have gotten some size to them and their herd is looking good so when I saw the draw, I was pretty excited,” Field said. “Caleb Bennett called me and let me know that he’s a pretty good horse and I had a pretty good shot.”
“When I got there, he was bigger than the rest of them and he looked good. He started awesome and had a few big moves right out of there and then just hung in the air and stayed close to the chutes. He was the kind you dream of getting on, not a lot of power, but one that you can show off a little and critique your style jump to jump so it was a lot of fun it was the perfect horse to come back on and kind of knock the rust off.”
Feild kept his momentum going on July 4, claiming the title at the Black Hills Roundup in Belle Fourche, S.D., with a 90.5-point trip on Powder River Rodeo’s Two Buck Chuck.
Feild earned $3,333 and $3,446 for the back-to-back victories. He will try and make it three wins for the weekend when he competes at the World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz., July 5.
“Rodeo is an amazing sport filled with amazing people,” Field said. “I’ve taken advantage of rodeo for a long time, and it was time to refuel the fire.”
Feild was no stranger to Oakley City.
“To have my first rodeo back in my home state and for it to be in Oakley where my dad (the late Lewis Feild) was born and raised, a town he left his legacy in and to have my dad’s brother there to watch was awesome,” Kaycee said. “I’m very proud of where I’m from.”
When rodeos were halted because of COVID-19 in mid-March, the wait for them to return was tough on Feild.
“The first few weeks was really hard on me,” Feild said. “I’d write my goals down and be upset in a couple days when I couldn’t achieve them. It took me those few weeks to realize it was out of my control and I needed to take advantage of the time at home and maybe focus less on rodeo and more on my family. When I changed my mindset, the break became so good for me.”
Feild was quick to praise Oakley’s committee for putting on a rodeo.
“Oakley’s committee is so awesome,” said Feild. “They have that old-school mentality that we don’t give up and watch things happen to us we get up and make things happen. I know a handful of guys who were told no several times and they put their heads down and made it happen. If it wasn’t for them Oakley would not have happened. They had some hoops to jump through and it was very impressive to see the committee come together with their city and make it work.”
Likewise, Feild is trying to navigate the new normal in the sport of rodeo because of COVID-19.
“I typically enter no less than 12 to13 rodeos over the Fourth of July weekend and this year I’m only entered at six,” Field said.
“I told my traveling partner, Tilden Hooper, on our flight (July 4) that I’ve done and seen a lot in my life and this is a hard time in people’s lives, but now after getting back to rodeo I’ve never been so happy in my life. A lot of good has come from it for me and my family. It’s so good at home, business is good and it’s so much fun to get back on the road and see the stock contractors, judges and the friends you develop over the long career like I’ve had. You start missing all those people.”
Other winners at the $159,091 rodeo were steer wrestler Cody Harmon (3.3 seconds); team ropers Charly Crawford/Logan Medlin (4.0 seconds) saddle bronc riders Isaac Diaz (87 points on Bar T Rodeo’s Bitter Dan) and Lefty Holman (87 points on Bar T Rodeo’s Painted Rose); tie-down roper Ryan Jarrett (7.4 seconds); barrel racer Jill Wilson (16.91 seconds); and bull riders Braden Richardson (87 points on Bar T Rodeo’s Big Easy) and Daylon Swearingen (87 points on Bar T Rodeo’s Scruffy) and all-around cowboy Justin Brinkerhoff ($382, tie-down roping and team roping).
For more coverage of the Oakley Independence Day Rodeo check out the July 10 edition of ProRodeo Sports News.
Courtesy of PRCA