The Oakley Rodeo returned for the 91st time on Wednesday.  A sold-out crowd of about 8,000 fans were treated to fast-paced action and a fireworks display to close the night.  The rodeo runs through Saturday night in Oakley and features competitions like bareback riding, steer wrestling and bull riding. There is also an Xtreme Bulls competition, featuring additional bull riding, on Monday.  TJ Gray records the top bull riding score of the night Wednesday at the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo in Oakley. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordMackenzie King, of West Point Utah, sprints toward the finish after rounding the final barrel during the barrel racing competition Wednesday night at the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo in Oakley. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordA rider competes in saddle bronc riding Wednesday night at the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo in Oakley. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordA rider competes in saddle bronc riding Wednesday night at the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo in Oakley. Local vendors flank the rodeo arena, offering up merchandise and food for fans. The vendor area was where the action truly began on Wednesday night, with fans grabbing a last minute bite before the rodeo began. The smells of barbecue and freshly fried funnel cakes flooded the rodeo grounds.  Once again this year, fans were treated to some of the best cowboys and cowboys in the world, Pete Carr Pro Rodeo livestock and the resonating sound of three-time defending Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association Announcer of the Year Anthony Lucia. The cowboys and cowgirls were both smiling and excited to compete, and locked-in, making any final adjustments needed to their gloves, ropes and other equipment Around 7:30 p.m., Lucia’s voice rang over the speaker system. His trademark high enthusiasm rang for blocks on Wednesday night in Oakley. The national anthem was belted out by Josh Kelley and two military helicopters flew overhead, a pleasant surprise this year for fans as the nation’s 250th anniversary draws near on Saturday. The passing of the helicopters over the arena signaled the beginning of the action, and most of the fans remaining in the vendor area hustled over to their seats.  A sold out Oakley Rodeo opening night packs the stands with about 8,000 fans on Wednesday night. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordThe Oakley Rodeo celebrates the United States’ 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with a military helicopter flyover before the competition started on Wednesday night.The Oakley Rodeo celebrated the United States’ 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with a military helicopter flyover before the competition started on Wednesday night. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordThe 91st Oakley Rodeo runs Wednesday through Saturday night, with the Xtreme Bulls bull riding competition on Monday night. A sold out Oakley Rodeo opening night packs the stands with about 8,000 fans on Wednesday night. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record “I grew up in Texas, actually,” said Park City’s three-time Paralympic bronze medalist Danelle Umstead. “So it’s kind of exciting to come back to my roots and have a rodeo real close to home.” Umstead and her husband, Rob, were excited for the action and to grab some barbecue chicken before heading into the arena. It wasn’t their first time at the Oakley Rodeo, but they said they hadn’t been in about 15 years.  “It seems like it’s grown a lot,” Umstead said. “This is an experience we don’t have in Park City, so I totally think people should come out, enjoy themselves and do something a little different.” Oakley Rodeo flag girls carry American flags during opening ceremonies for the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo on Wednesday, July 1. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordOakley Rodeo flag girls carry American flags during opening ceremonies for the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo on Wednesday, July 1. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordMembers of the Oakley Rodeo crew place an America 250 flag before opening ceremonies for the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo on Wednesday, July 1, in Oakley. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordRenown Pete Carr Pro Rodeo livestock contractor provides the animals for the Oakley Rodeo. Inside the arena, the action left the fans roaring for about two hours. Oakley Mayor Steve Wilmoth said he believes Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association has the Oakley Rodeo ranked in the Top 30 across all U.S. rodeos. Lucia instructed fans to roar a little harder and longer for the 16 Utah cowboys and cowgirls that competed Wednesday. There were two cowboys from the Wasatch Back competing: Chase Black from Coalville in steer wrestling and Westin Simpson from Heber City in bull riding. Simpson said he had been coming to the Oakley Rodeo as a fan since he was little. “I’m pretty lucky,” Simpson said before his bull ride. “This is actually my first year here. I just barely turned 18 and you have to be 18 to come to these pro rodeos. But I’ve been riding since like seventh grade.” Being Simpson’s first rodeo in Oakley, it’s his first time in Cowboy Christmas as well, where competitors travel from rodeo to rodeo around the Fourth of July, trying to win as much money as they can. Simpson will compete in the Western Stampede rodeo in West Jordan, which runs from Thursday through Saturday, and the Xtreme Bulls competition on Monday back in Oakley.  “The amount of adrenaline you’ve got this time of year is crazy,” said bull rider Cooper James from Erda. “Some people jump out of planes for it. We just go rodeo around.” James was in Cody, Wyoming, for the Xtreme Bulls on Tuesday, in Oakley on Wednesday, and back in Cody on Thursday. Then he plans to drive all night to Calgary, Canada, for rodeo events throughout the weekend. James will be back to Oakley for the Xtreme Bulls on Monday. Then he’ll go to Nephi on July 8. “I keep getting even busier after that,” he said. Simpson, James and the rest of the competitors wowed the Oakley crowds on opening night. So did Lucia and John Harrison, three-time Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association Clown of the Year. Harrison put on a rousing skit where he pretended to wrestle with a horse in the middle of the arena between competitions, drawing laughs from adults and kids alike. When Harrison entered the arena, kids surrounding it rushed to the fencing to get the best views possible alongside their parents. Three-time Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association Clown of the Year John Harrison thrills the fans on Wednesday night with a skit where he pretended to wrestle with a horse in the middle of the arena between competitions, drawing laughs from adults and kids alike. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record Wilmoth believes the cowboys and cowgirls, the livestock and Lucia and Harrison help keep the rodeo rising in the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association rankings year after year.  “We can’t imagine anything better,” Wilmoth said. “This is awesome. (Oakley is) such a small town, and to be able to put something like this on is just amazing to me. I’m in awe every year.” Wilmoth served on the rodeo committee before becoming mayor earlier this year. He said he appreciates the sport’s place in American history. He gets most excited to watch the bareback riding.  The rodeo was originally started to help pay some bills in Oakley, Wilmoth said. He’s planning on continuing that tradition, and putting some of the money into rodeo grounds upgrades like arena expansion so more people can enjoy the rodeo each summer.  Oakley Rodeo Queen Ada Poulter prepares to enter the arena on horseback while carrying a flag before opening ceremonies for the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo on Wednesday, July 1, in Oakley. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordCredit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordGrand marshals ride through the arena in a horse-drawn carriage during the opening day of the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordFlag bearers carry flags promoting mental health awareness during opening ceremonies for the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo on Wednesday night in Oakley. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record “Our goal every year is to make the rodeo better than it was last year,” Wilmoth said. “We’ve got some expansion plans and we’ll see how those come out. … The Top 60 rodeos in the country is kind of where a lot of the big names want to go. They chase the money.” As the action concluded and the fireworks were set off, marking the end of night one of this year’s rodeo, fans were already trying to figure out how to get tickets for next year as they funneled out of the rodeo grounds. Rocky and Zamim Zamanyfar came from Salt Lake City for the third year in a row, feeling lucky to have gotten tickets before they sold out in February.  “We love Oakley and come here all the time,” Rocky said. “It’s like the small town feel, but you get really good cowboys from all over the world here, which is awesome, and the entertainment is amazing.”  The Zamanyfars brought their 4-month-old son to his first rodeo and said he was happy to get out of the house and enjoy what he could.  “Go to the closest rodeo you can and take the kids,” Zamim said. “It’s super cool. It’s a blast. … We’ll come back anytime we can get tickets.” Fireworks light up the sky as the first night of the 91st annual Oakley Rodeo comes to a close Wednesday in Oakley. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record The post Oakley Rodeo returns with packed crowds, fast-paced action and fireworks appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less