story by Lily Weinacht
“Rodeo is something that I’ve done for so long now, it’s a lifestyle. We don’t really do it because we make a lot of money at it, but because we love it,” says Saxon Day. “It is a lot of work, but it’s cool to see the horses succeed and help us succeed, and I enjoy seeing the progress not just for them, but for me as well.”
The 23-year-old timed event cowboy, lately of Provo, Utah, grew up on horseback with his siblings and started junior rodeoing when he was old enough. He junior high and high school rodeoed for Utah, and is now embarking on his second season in the RMPRA and his final season of college rodeo. Saxon competes in steer wrestling, tie-down roping, and team roping as a header, but steer wrestling is his favorite. “It’s been something that I’ve excelled in more so than the others, and it’s a thrill every time you do it, so it’s always been something I enjoyed a little bit more,” he explains.
Saxon competes in all three events on Utah Valley University’s rodeo team, where he’s attending on a rodeo scholarship. This spring he qualified for the CNFR in team roping with (partner?) and they finished 18th in the nation. He was just a few spots away from qualifying in the steer wrestling, and hopes to finish his final year of college rodeo with a qualification in that event. “It’s a good time, and it’s fun to be on a bigger platform, and it’s just a fun atmosphere,” says Saxon.
During the summer, he enters RMPRA rodeos with his brother Ryland. “I really liked the Alpine rodeo because it was up close to the mountains, and it was a fun rodeo. The association pays out fairly decent, so that definitely makes it a plus to go, and there’s a lot of people we’ve been rodeoing with forever that show up at them. We just have a good time.”
Saxon, Ryland and their brother, Jake, rodeo together, and their parents, Austin and Misty, have always supported them. “Ever since I was little, my dad’s always been there to support me and help me with whatever I wanted to do, and get to the next level. He’s always willing to travel with us and help us with anything we need.” The family also trains their own horses, taking them from green broke to finished. “We’ve made everything that we have into what it is now,” says Saxon. His steer wrestling horse started as a head horse, but loved to run so fast that they gave him a shot at steer wrestling. “He’s a pretty dang good bulldogging horse. All our rope horses we got as young horses and worked with them until we could compete on them. Me and my dad and brothers all go out and rope and steer wrestle, and my dad hazes for me at all the rodeos.”
Saxon and his family also enjoy hunting together and spotting mountain lions in the winter when they’re not rodeoing. They train several breeds of hunting dogs as well. Saxon’s time spent around his animals inspired him to be a veterinarian, and after he finishes his biology degree from UVU, his next step is being accepted into veterinary school. “I’ll hopefully have a mixed practice, so a little bit of everything,” says Saxon, who’s working in a cabinet shop to help put him through school. “I want to get into the PRCA probably in the next year and just see where that takes me.”
