Kaycee Feild

Kaycee Feild (born March 4, 1987) is an American professional bareback bronc rider and the son of World Champion all-around cowboy Lewis Feild. He won four consecutive bareback riding world championships between 2011 & 2014, and a fifth in 2020.[1][2] He is the first cowboy to win three consecutive bareback riding average titles.

Early life

Kaycee Feild was born on March 4, 1987 in Payson, Utah.[3] He is the son of Lewis Feild, who was the world all-around rodeo champion three years in a row in the 1980s.[1] As a child, Feild and his brother, Shadrach, often traveled with their father as he rode the rodeo circuit.[4]

At age 13, Feild began practicing riding bareback broncs.[5] His goal was to become the best bareback rider in the world.[6] Feild was a scrawny child, however. His father was afraid he would be hurt, and refused to allow him to practice or compete regularly until he turned 17. The limited opportunities to practice whetted Feild's appetite. He said that "starting at that age made me want to do it more and crave it more. It made me put my mind to it instead of getting out there and just doing it."[5]

Feild attended Utah Valley State, where his father was the rodeo coach.[5] Feild won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association bareback title in 2008.[7]

Career

Feild qualified for the professional National Finals Rodeo (NFR) for the first time in 2008, and then again in 2009 and 2010.[7]

Since 2009, Feild has volunteered with the Wrangler National Patriot Program and has traveled to the Middle East to visit American troops over the Memorial Day holiday. In his first five years with the program, Feild visited forward operating bases in more than 10 countries. He credits the visits with keeping him grounded and helping him to focus more on his goals.[8]

During the 2011 season, Feild earned $319,986, a record for members of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).[7] That season marked his fourth appearance at the NFR as a bareback rider. He won six rounds of the bareback competition, setting a record for most round wins at the NFR. He won the PRCA bareback riding title, the world title, and the top gun award.[7]

At the 2012 National Finals Rodeo, Feild again won the bareback riding championship and the world title, beating Will Lowe. He ended the season with $276,850 in winnings.[9] According to Feild, the second championship was more difficult to win the first. "I don't know why, but I found that to be true. To come here and stay on top the whole time in Vegas and stay strong was tough. Bareback riding is simple. It's just having the right mindset.[9]

In 2013, Feild and fellow rodeo competitor Wesley Silcox began working with Cowboy Outfitters USA to offer free rodeo camps to teenagers interested in improving their bull and bronc riding skills.[10] Feild completed the 2013 season with $239,465, enough to make him the world champion bareback rider. He also won the aggregate title at the NFR, with a combined score of 823.[11] This win made him the first cowboy to win three consecutive aggregate titles, and the first bareback rider to win three consecutive world titles since 1975.[12]

Feild again clinched the world title as a bareback rider in 2014, edging out Austin Foss. He was only the second man to win four consecutive world championships at the NFR, after Leo Camarillo, a team roper header who won from 1968-1971.[13]

Feild competed at the NFR again in 2015. He won or placed second in five of the first nine rounds. Going into the tenth and final round, Feild had a lead of $34,00 on each of his competitor but was second in the average standings, behind Steven Peebles. He drew Times Up for the last round. His score of 77 placed him outside the money-earning top six. Peebles won the bareback title and Feild came in second.[14]

In 2015, Feild joined 54 other elite rodeo competitors to launch the Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA).[15] Their goal was to create a professional rodeo circuit, similar to the Professional Bull Riders, to allow the top rodeo performers to compete at a limited number of events per year. Feild explained that he joined the ERA because of its larger payouts. On the PRCA circuit, Feild must compete in 70-90 rodeos per year to what he describes as "a living - but not a great living".[16] As part of the ERA, he expects to earn more money than that competing in fewer than half the number of rodeos annually, potentially allowing him to stay healthier and extend his rodeo career.[16]

In response, the PRCA changed its bylaws, prohibiting their members from owning shares in the ERA. The ERA sued.[15] In 2016, the PRCA won the lawsuit. Feild, along with other world champions such as Lowe and Trevor Brazile were denied PRCA membership, prohibiting them from competing at PRCA rodeos and rendering them ineligible for the National Finals Rodeo in 2016.[17]

On February 25, 2018, the annual RFD-TV's The American was held again in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Feild rode C5 Rodeo Company's Virgil, the current Bareback Horse of the Year. Feild and Orin Larsen tied in the first round of the short-go with a score of 88.25. In the second round, Feild posted the highest score of 90.75, Larsen posted 88.50, and Steven Dent posted 85.00.[18] Feild won $100,000 for his bareback win and a share of the $1 million side-pot as a qualifier, equal to $433,333.33. Feild's ride of 90.75 points brought him the big prize. He shared the prize with Cort Scheer, who won saddle bronc riding and Matt Reeves, who won steer wrestling.[19] The ERA went out of business after only one competitive season, and Feild returned to compete in the PRCA.

At the NFR held in Arlington, Texas, Feild competed again in December 2020. On December 20, in Round 10, Feild got a reride decision on his first horse. All the cowboys had to wait for the end of the round and Field's reride for the winner of the round and the championship. Feild delivered a 91 point ride on Junior Bonner to win the round and the championship, his fifth world championship.[20] Feild is now tied with Joe Alexander and Bruce Ford for most bareback riding world championship titles in the PRCA.[21]

Personal life

Feild married his wife Stephanie on July 31, 2012. They have a daughter born April 2, 2013, and a son born November 2, 2015.[3]

Sources
  1. Kantowski, Ron (Dec 2, 2015), "Kaycee Feild having fun following his father's footsteps in NFR", Review-Journal, Las Vegas, NV, retrieved Mar 31, 2017
  2. McDaniel, Jason (Mar 19, 2016), "Kaycee Feild's championship win an homage to his rodeo-legend father", Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, retrieved March 31, 2017
  3. "Cowboy Biographies". Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. www.prorodeo.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  4. Yack, Melissa (July 21, 2016), "Days of '47 Rodeo: First of the Feild brothers competes as father Lewis is honored", Deseret News, retrieved Apr 3, 2017
  5. Hoffman, Brett (Feb 2, 2009), "Rodeo: Former champ Feild guides his son's career path", Amarillo Globe-News, Amarillo, TX, retrieved April 3, 2017
  6. Shelton, Chris (March 14, 2013), "Hard work pays off for bareback rider Feild", Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, retrieved Apr 3, 2017
  7. Nowlin, Jack (June 7, 2013), "World Champion Feild finds new motivation", Casper Star Tribune, Casper, WY, retrieved Apr 3, 2017
  8. Whisler, John (Feb 7, 2014), "When he's not busting a bronc, he's raising soldiers' morale", San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, TX, retrieved Apr 3, 2017
  9. Freeman, Keith (December 16, 2012), "Jesse Wright, Kaycee Feild win world rodeo titles", Deseret News, retrieved Apr 3, 2017
  10. Hindsley, Grant (May 10, 2015), "Future Cowboys: Rodeo camp brings best of the best to Spanish Fork", Daily Herald, Provo, UT, retrieved Apr 3, 2017
  11. Freeman, Keith (December 15, 2013), "Cervi wins 4th barrel racing title with money in every NFR round", Missoulian, Missoula, MT, retrieved Apr 7, 2017
  12. Leach, Robin (December 15, 2013), "2013 Wrangler NFR photos: Champions crowned after Round 10; Trevor Brazile, Joe Montana at Lagasse's", Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas, NV, retrieved Apr 7, 2017
  13. "Rodeo: Utahns Kaycee Feild, Spencer Wright claim titles at NFR", Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT, December 13, 2014, retrieved Apr 3, 2017
  14. "Redmond's Peebles is world bareback riding champion", The Bulletin, Bend, OR, December 13, 2015, retrieved Apr 4, 2017
  15. Top 10 Sports Stories #4 - Pro rodeo turmoil, Billings, MT, KTVQ, December 29, 2015, retrieved Apr 3, 2017
  16. Branch, John (Dec 10, 2015), "Elit Rodeo Circuit? Whoa", New York Times, New York, NY, retrieved Apr 3, 2017
  17. Hoffman, Brett (Jul 20, 2016), "Pro rodeo icons not allowed to participate in PRCA", Amarillo Globe-News, Amarillo, TX, retrieved Mar 31, 2017
  18. "Bareback: Final Results!". RFD-TV's The American. www.americanrodeo.com. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  19. "Three Qualifiers Split The Million Dollar Purse". RFD-TV's The American. www.americanrodeo.com. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  20. "Dramatic Win for Kaycee Feild in Arlington". Wrangler Network. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  21. "2020 Wrangler NFR Round 10 highlights and results". Weatherford Democrat. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
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