Rodeo: Four-time world champ bareback rider Kaycee Feild ready for Days of ’47

Four-time world bareback champion Kaycee Feild is healthy again, just in time for rodeo's biggest week of the year in Utah.

Field, who lives in Spanish Fork, underwent surgery for a torn labrum on March 31. He was sidelined for three months and, while recuperating, slipped from first to 19th on the season money list.

No problem.

Field tied for first at Nampa, Idaho, last week and earned nearly $10,000. He made another $1,600 for finishing fifth in the final round and the average at Salinas, Calif.

The two paychecks enabled Feild to move up to 12th on the money list with earnings of $47,839, which is significant because the top 15 in each event qualify for the $2 million Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December.

To assure himself a spot in what would be his eighth consecutive National Finals, Feild needs to continue cashing checks, starting with Utah's top three events of the season.

The Days of '47 Rodeo in Salt Lake, the Fiesta Days Rodeo in Spanish Fork and the Pioneer Days Rodeo in Ogden offer a combined purse of about $600,000. Feild and any other competitor with an eye on qualifying for the National Finals can take giant step in that direction by doing well in Utah this week.

"I'm feeling great," Feild told prorodeo.com. "I'm not quite back to 100 percent, but I'm getting better and closer to normal range of motion with every ride. I'm rodeoing the same as any other year from here on out."

At Nampa, Feild posted scores of 86 and 83 to share the average title with Winn Ratliff of Leesville, Ala., who is currently sixth in the world bareback standings.

"This win feels really good," Feild said afterward. "I'm staying positive and will keep going at it. … Winn is riding [well] and making the most of his opportunities. I'm not a fan of being second, but I'm happy with the split."

Feild, 28, won his fourth straight world championship last year by amassing $294,980 in earnings. He also won his fourth straight average title at the National Finals.

Next stop: Utah.

The Days of '47 Rodeo starts Tuesday night at EnergySolutions Arena. This is the third straight year it has been held in downtown Salt Lake, after a four-year run at the Maverik Center in West Valley City.

The Days of '47 has enjoyed a rebirth since the move, with price money doubling to nearly $250,000. In 2014, about 30,000 fans attended five nightly sessions.

"We felt like we belonged downtown for a lot of reasons," CEO Dan Shaw told the Tribune at the time of the move. "It's important for the businesses down here. We also wanted to restructure the board and wanted downtown people to help us do that. We felt that would help with tickets sales quite a bit, which it has."

The Days of '47 has also become a destination-of-choice for the competitors because of the increased prize money and the perks provided by the rodeo committee, which includes a family dining area, gas cards and on-site medical care.

"We are trying to treat them like customers, which they are," Shaw said. "We treat them with respect and recognize what their needs are."