Lehi » Two hours before the Lehi Round-Up Rodeo starts, a loose horse behind the grandstand scatters those who have arrived early for the night's action.

Nearby, contestants walk into a one-room concrete office and hand over their entry fees to grandmotherly rodeo secretary Connie Haslam, who wishes them luck, hands them a commemorative Lehi Round-Up baseball cap and enters their names in her laptop.

At a concession stand, where hamburgers cost $3, hots dogs go for $2 and the most expensive item on the menu is the $4 homemade beef jerky, workers fire up the grill and wipe down the counters.

Every summer in small towns throughout Utah, scores of rodeos are held. None are as big, lucrative or well-publicized as the annual Days of '47 Rodeo in Salt Lake County, but all produce the same type of entertainment, competition and esprit de corps among those who make them happen.

"I like the contestants and the people I work for -- the people on the various committees," said Haslam, who lives in Wellsville. "It's the favorite thing in my life, other than my family, of course."

As an employee of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Haslam is one of the few who get paid to work the Lehi Round-Up.

The others are mostly volunteers, including 82-year-old chairman Ralph Anderson, who has been around the Lehi rodeo all his life.

"It's the best one in Utah," he said.

Why?

"It just is," Anderson replied, in a tone that ends the discussion.

Lehi's example

The Lehi Round-Up Rodeo, which was first held in 1937, is conducted over three nights. About 6,000 fans jam the arena for each session. This year, cowboys and cowgirls competed for $45,917 in prize money.

Translation?

If the Days of '47 is a major-league rodeo, the Lehi Round-Up is Triple-A.

Jared Gray has competed in his hometown rodeo. He also works as a volunteer and his trucking company is a major sponsor.

"It's in my blood," Gray said. "Besides, this rodeo is good for everybody. The competition is good and the payoffs are good. ... It's got the good aspects of a big rodeo and the good aspects of a smaller rodeo."

Lee Rosser is a rodeo stock contractor from Marysville, Calif.

Rosser brought 3½ truckloads of stock to Lehi, compared with the "seven or eight" truckloads he brings to the Days of '47 and the 14 truckloads needed to supply last week's rodeo in Reno, Nev., which is one of the five biggest in the country.

For Rosser, the biggest rodeos mean bigger contracts. But they can also mean more headaches.

"We really enjoy going to Lehi and other smaller towns," he said. "When we go to the major rodeos, like Salt Lake, those jobs are more difficult for us because everything is portable. Those arenas are not really designed for livestock or rodeo."

In places like Lehi, Rosser said, "The committee members are usually more involved in agriculture, so they know more about what goes on with the livestock. As a result, the facilities are better. They are designed better, kept up better and, in most places, they are permanent. That makes our job a lot easier."

Rodeo announcer Andy Stewart drove his pickup 28 hours from Colliston, La., so he could work the Lehi Round-Up.

Every weekend from January through October, Stewart hits the road. Many of his jobs take him to small towns.

Asked what he likes best about rodeos like the Lehi Round-Up, Stewart said, "I guess it's the committees. When you go to big cities, there are large committees. It's more of a business-type atmosphere, which is fine because that's the way things work.

"But when you come to a place like Lehi, I mean, this is a community effort. Everybody gets involved. Everybody wants it to be successful. Everybody's demeanor is rodeo-driven. That makes small-town rodeos special."

The minor leagues

The smaller rodeos also provide an arena for young cowboys and cowgirls who are trying to carve a niche in the sport -- much like baseball's minor leagues.

"In my opinion, the grass-roots rodeos are the lifeblood of our association," Stewart said. "... Not everyone can get into the large rodeos. So these smaller rodeos are a place where kids can come and get started. ...

"The big rodeos are fun because they're loaded with the best talent in the business. But the smaller ones are fun because you meet the future superstars. Maybe you don't know their names yet, but you will."

On the second night of the Lehi Round-Up, plenty of big names show up.

Reigning world saddle bronc champion Cody Wright competed. So did bullrider J.W. Harris of May, Texas, who is second in the current world rankings.

Harris competes in most of the major rodeos, but he also enjoys stopping in places like Lehi.

"It's just down-to-earth rodeo," he said. "It's more fun. There isn't as much money involved, so there isn't as much pressure as there is in places like Cheyenne and Reno. You can relax and just enjoy it."

When he was 19, Harris won $1,200 at a rodeo in Henderson, Texas.

The memory makes him smile.

Nodding toward the arena, Harris said, "Rodeos like this, we have to have them. If we didn't, a lot of guys wouldn't be able to stay out on the road. ... Rodeos like this put money in a lot of guys' pockets."

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