Bull riders bring rodeo out of chute

Brad Harmon runs a 200-employee company where every person earns the exact same salary: nothing but the satisfaction of making the Days of '47 Rodeo run smoothly.

Harmon is chairman of the Days of '47 Rodeo, which came out of the chutes Saturday night with the Xtreme Bulls PRCA event.

The rodeo will take the day off today before running nightly Monday through July 24.

Harmon believes the rodeo is the most historically accurate way to honor Utah history.

Not to mention the most fun, in his possibly biased view.

"(The rodeo) is the truest you're going to get to your pioneer, Western heritage," he said.

Harmon's own heritage is tied not just to rodeo in general but specifically to the Days of '47 Rodeo.

In his seventh year as chairman of the event, Harmon took over the voluntary duty from his father, Flip, who chaired the event for 40 years before passing away.

Harmon wears a belt buckle he got last year honoring his 25th year with the organization, but as he proudly points out, 25 is just the "official" total. He has been helping since he was seven or eight, but his dad wouldn't let him on the committee until he graduated from high school.

"As a kid growing up, we didn't really take vacations; we did the Days of '47 Rodeo," he said.

Harmon, a deputy sheriff of Salt Lake County, pointed out that it's the same way now with his own three children. His 16-year-old daughter's cheerleading squad is helping to hand out the programs and his two sons, 12 and 10, also help out and participate.

Following in his father's footsteps was "tough and scary," Harmon said, but he had the training to do it.

"I grew up running around, learning how to make this celebration work," he said.

Harmon even sent himself to event management school to learn how to wear the many hats the job requires besides the white cowboy hat on his head.

"You've got to be a good marketer, a good promoter, a good volunteer. You need to find out how to make others good volunteers," he said.

Providing a show to entertain all ages makes the job a challenge.

"I have a tough crowd because this is a family tradition for so many families," Harmon said. "This started the year after the pioneers got in town, so there is a lot of pressure to make sure the celebration lives up to what those pioneers wanted and their legacy."

While Harmon worries about preserving Utah tradition and heritage, Saturday's bull riders-only event was won by a 19-year-old from El Campo, Texas.

Clayton Foltyn scored an 89 to win an event featuring many of the country's top bullriders.

"I didn't think I was going to win first," he said, "but the bull I had just turned out a little bit, then turned to the right and really bucked. About halfway through, I was in a little bit of a bind and just went to spurring, scratching for all I had. It was a bunch of fun."

Foltyn's next ride will be on a plane to compete in a rodeo in Calgary, Canada, hoping for a shot at a $50,000 prize.

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E-mail: RBurton@desnews.com