2025 PRCA Catori Canyon Heritage Rodeo

The 2025 PRCA Ca­tori Canyon Heritage Rodeo lit up Kanab, Utah, on May 30 and 31, drawing enthu­siastic crowds to the Kaneplex Arena for two evenings of high-energy rodeo action and heartfelt commu­nity celebration. As the biggest rodeo events in Kane County, the weekend honored both Western tradition and local heritage.

Left to right:

• Aerial drone view of the Rodeo courtesy of Kane County Sheriff’s Office.

• Photo by Barry Glazier.

• Photos courtesy of Callie Lucas.

• Photos courtesy of Kane County.

The Kaneplex Arena was alive with classic PRCA events, includ­ing bull riding, team roping, barrel racing and saddle bronc rid­ing. The event had a festive atmosphere that brought togeth­er locals and visitors alike. The rodeo not only showcased top-tier rodeo talent but also highlighted the resilience and unity of the Kanab community.

From a tourism standpoint, we had visitors detour from Arizona and Las Vegas just to catch the show, visiting from Norway, German, France and Finland. Not to men­tion our many tick­ets from neighboring states and as far as Montana that traveled here following PRCA rodeos. A few firsts took place with this rodeo that we hope develop into a great tradition for years to come.

Headliner Sponsor - The owners of the Catori Canyon devel­opment (West side of Kanab Creek, north of the Ranchos) Kenny and Lena Seng fell in love with Kanab and this neck of the woods. They wanted a chance to collaborate with the County to invest back into the community. This was it! As the headliner sponsor, they were able to provide enough funding to increase the production size of the rodeo and increase the purse for contestants - both paid off. We can’t thank Catori Canyon enough for seeing the vision of an event that can embrace local heri­tage as well as giving to the community all while providing a great Western experience to visitors.

Record Attendance - Our attendance in the grandstand was larger on both nights than any other Kane County rodeo to date. Our registered contes­tants exceed any other rodeo entries to date as well. That’s bring­ing folks to stay in our hotels and lodgings as well as spending at our retails and food loca­tions in Kane County for two to three Nights. This rodeo, counting attendees, contestants and production crew, brought in an estimat­ed 1600 guests to Kane County. Commissioner Patty Kubeja said, “What a great event for western heritage and patriotism for our com­munities to host and participate in.” She expressed that this, being our second PRCA rodeo, was a huge growth from last year and she is excited to see where it takes us. Kane County Office of Tour­ism Director Janette Peatross said, “We’re so proud of how this year’s rodeo brought our community to­gether. It’s not only a fun tradition that celebrates our western heritage, but it also gives a real boost to our local economy - filling hotel rooms, support­ing local businesses and showcasing the spirit of Kanab to visi­tors. Events like this remind us that what makes Kane County special is worth shar­ing.”

Rodeo Royalty - The rodeo weekend kicked off with the debut of Kane County’s first-ever Heritage Rodeo Queen and Princess. Addison Kartchner (17) was crowned Heri­tage Rodeo Queen after impressing judges with her horsemanship, public speaking and western style. Jaycee Lathim (16) earned the title of First Attendant, while Lizzy Reese (14) was named Heritage Rodeo Princess, daz­zling the audience with her riding skills and poise. The trio made their grand entrance at the Kaneplex, proudly representing the next generation of rodeo ambassadors. The new program was headed up by Callie Lucus and Jane Jennings. Thank you so much for your time and efforts to “Bring the Bling” back to rodeos in Kane County.

The Kane County Events team has re­ceived overwhelming positive feedback with few and far between expressed concerns; several have asked why we settled on an already busy weekend due to the Heatstroker Baseball Tournament. It was a combination of two things: first, we wanted to hit the rodeo circuit early enough in the season that our purse could be enticing to those cowboys and cowgirls that would be within the region already scheduled for rodeos, they would con­sider a stop in Kanab worthwhile on their way to the next ro­deo. Heritage Rodeo Committee Chairman, Josh Jennings, highly suggested the date. It played out that the weekend after Memo­rial Day was the sweet spot. Secondly, when asking younger locals what is something they would like to see in Kanab more often, as far as events go, one of the most prevalent responses is a carnival. This has always been a problem for Kane County. We are just rural enough that it isn’t very enticing to a carnival company to detour from the heavy traffic of cities closer to the interstates. It is our hope that the combined number of visitors that stayed in Kanab this past week­end between the rodeo and the already well attended tournament will be high enough that we can add a car­nival and vendor fair and possibly live music in the years to come as the event grows.

We also added a side event to the weekend that we hope locals and visitors will sup­port and help grow: Food Truck Round-Up. There is nothing worse than being hungry and long lines. We invited food vendors to gather at the Kanab Center to help try and relieve a little pressure from local fast food joints around town.

All in all, the week­end was a huge suc­cess. As with any event there are more efforts given than the general public would ever no­tice. From paperwork to pulling chutes and every effort between. Events of this size don’t just happen. We couldn’t possibly thank every single volunteer and crew, but we hope you know who you are and that your efforts have been so appreci­ated.

We have been lucky enough to contract Honeycutt Rodeo Inc., a rodeo stock contrac­tor that is celebrating nine generations of professional rodeo. They handle nearly every aspect of the ro­deo production. Kane County Sheriff Tracy Glover said, “Jerry Honeycutt, along with his amazing family and staff made our pro ro­deo experience a posi­tive one. Their stock was top-notch, and their level of coordination was spectacular. Jerry has helped our rodeo grow and improve. I look forward to work­ing with Honeycutt Rodeo in the future.” Sheriff Glover and his staff undertook a lot of the work and improve­ments needed to host a PRCA rodeo. The Kaneplex arena is a direct result of his pas­sion for rodeo and love of the western lifestyle. We are so grateful for the Sheriff and staff as well as Honeycutts, for every effort seen and unseen to make this rodeo amazing and top tier. Jerry said in an interview, “The people, the attitude, it all makes us feel at home. Some rodeos I go to and it’s a job; I look forward to Kanab … I’m thankful to be a part of this rodeo, we come to entertain, and we hope everybody leaves happy.”

Our Heritage Rodeo Committee members and supporters - Un­like many of our other county rodeos, Hon­eycutt provides a lot of the “behind the scene” workers so many of our normal rodeo work-volunteers were able to enjoy parts or all of the rodeo as a spectator but to everyone that pulled chutes, timed, rump slapped calves or assisted our contes­tants, we want to tell you thank you for your love of rodeo. We had a banner hung in the arena that said, “Built by Cowboys, Bound by Heritage.” Our vol­unteers embody that message. Generations of cowboys in our area are still going strong and we couldn’t pull it off without you.

Our committee was headed up by Chair­man Josh Jennings, who brought a wealth of information and insight to our rodeo committee and to us as an event team. Laying the groundwork for the county to sponsor our rodeo royalty, rodeo aspects from a contes­tant’s point of view, consulting on arena needs and ideas for making the rodeo the biggest and best rodeo in Southern Utah. We want to thank him for his efforts and time he has put into the Ca­tori Canyon Heritage Rodeo and for hyping up this event within the rodeo world. Ac­cording to Josh, “Kane County was looking to step up to the next level of rodeo, bring in the best stock, best cowboys from around the country … and we have some great ideas on how to make it even better.”

Again, we want to thank Catori Canyon for not only sponsor­ing the purse, but also many of the aspects that made the rodeo a bit fun and different such as our Rodeo Drill Team from Arizona, that dazzled the crowd in our pre-show. That giant Jumbotron that was great to watch re­plays on and the enter­tainers, bull fighters and other crazy cowboy staff in the arena with the rodeo stock.

I personally want to thank my event team. I’m always blown away that we are able to pull off the logistics of events with such a small staff. The ef­forts of coordinating with volunteers to do tickets, parking and security, coordination for vendors and legal logistics for a beer garden. So many hours of work before the event even takes place. They spend hours plac­ing signs, seating and equipment in wind and heat. Most important­ly, they jump at any minute and do what is necessary to make the event succeed, regard­less if it is their task or not. They want ev­eryone from crew, volun­teers, con­testants and attendees to have the best experi­ence. I can’t thank them enough for their love of community, events and support and patience with me working through the process.

We are so excited to watch where this ride takes us. If you missed the chance to watch the bulls and broncs and the Cowboy grit this year, mark your cal­endars for next year. Just like the fireworks that lit the night sky after the rodeo… it is a BLAST!