John Harrison, Rodeo Clown and Specialty Act

In his words, his job at the rodeo: “My job is to go from the beginning of the show to the end, and have fun, and interact with the crowd. I fill the transitions in the show. I entertain between events.” This is John's fifth trip to Kansas Biggest Rodeo. He will bring his trained horse Snoopy as part of his specialty act. John loves coming to Phillipsburg. “I love the small towns, the tradition, and how everybody looks forward to the rodeo. Especially a town as small as Phillipsburg, to have a rodeo that big is pretty amazing. It just shows that people come from miles around to attend it. When you have more people in the stands than people in town, you know you’re doing something right.”
Favorite meal: “Anything Mexican. Fajitas are probably my favorite.” Favorite sweets: Dairy Queen Butterfinger Blizzard. “I don’t eat sweets anymore, but I love them. I try to stay in shape, but I will always snag the Blizzard from (daughter) Charlee. She orders it, and I eat it.”
First buckle he won: “I didn’t really win anything when I was a kid. My brother won everything. So my first buckle was for roman riding at the Wrangler National Finals in 2001,” as opening act.
Most influential person: “My dad (Wiley), by far. He’s 82 years old, and he outworks us all.From daylight to dark, he’s up doing something all the time. He has set the best example for what a good husband, a good father, a hard worker, and a good business man is. He’s the daily school bus. He gets to our house at 7 am, takes the kids to school, then comes home and feeds and does chores.” Wiley competed in Phillipsburg in the tie-down roping in the 1970s.“ He remembers tornado sirens going off as he roped.”
Home: Soper, Oklahoma
Family: Wife Carla; daughters Addy and Charlee; son Caz.
Rodeo accomplishments: thirteen times working the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo; seven times voted Coors Man in the Can (barrelman); nine times PRCA Comedy Act of the Year; three times PRCA Clown of the Year

Randy Corley, Announcer

In his own words, his job at the rodeo: “as announcer, I replay information and action to the folks in the grandstand.” He loves coming to Phillipsburg because of the people. “It’s the people, it is. The crowd, and how they react, and the townspeople. We go down to the store and you walk in, and people say, hey, you’re back. That’s nice. That’s a nice feeling. “And that rodeo is a Beutler (stock contractor) production, and that takes a lot of pressure off the announcer. You know it’s going to run well, and you know the stock will be good. It doesn’t mean there won’t be problems, but nobody takes care of problems better than the Beutlers.” Randy has announced the Phillipsburg rodeo for more than forty years.
Favorite meal: Dungeness crab, “which are a little hard to find in Kansas,” he laughed. “In Washington (State), we’d go out and put out traps and get 8 or 10 of them, then boil them right there, on the beach, and sit down and eat them.”
Favorite holiday: Christmas. “As the years have gone by, my relationship with my heavenly Father and Jesus is just so surreal, so easygoing. It’s the celebration of the birth of our Savior.”
Most influential person: Hall of Fame announcer Hadley Barrett, who was also Randy’s father-in-law. “There was nobody more influential. I learned from him. He never tried to tell me how to (announce.) Hadley said, talk to the people. Don’t announce to them. Talk to them.”
Home: North Platte, Nebraska
Family: wife Michelle; two daughters; one son; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild
Rodeo accomplishments: 23x National Finals Rodeo announcer and 12x PRCA Announcer of the Year

Felix Santana, Specialty Act - Spanish Horse Act

His job at the rodeo: Providing part of the entertainment for the rodeo. Based on the Spanish type of riding, he will move his Andalusian horse Romano through the movements of “high school” of classical dressage. Romano, a black stallion, does the side pass, the piaffe, the one - step and two - step Spanish walk, the passage, and more. He loves to portray the beautiful Spanish art of “alta escuela” on Romano, wearing the traditional dress suit and hat. Felix has performed at rodeos across the nation, from coast to coast. This is his first time to be in Phillipsburg.
Favorite meal: pozole, made by his mom.
Most influential person: his dad, Jose. “He’s always expected something out of me,” Felix said. “Every time I did something, it wasn’t good enough. Growing up, I thought there’s no pleasing him. But what he was doing was making me better, to push myself more. He knew what I was capable of.”
Home: Mapleton, Utah
Family: three daughters, ages 15, 12 and 6.

Ryder Rich, Bullfighter

His job at the rodeo: protecting the bull riders after the eight - second buzzer, giving the rider time to scramble to safety. This will be his first year to work the Phillipsburg rodeo; he will fight bulls alongside his younger brother, Roper Rich. Ryder and Roper are the second generation of the family to work the Phillipsburg rodeo; their dad, Kevin, was a bullfighter who worked the rodeo in the early 1990s and also competed in the Wrangler Bullfights in Phillipsburg. Their dad never pushed them towards rodeo; the boys played baseball and football. But when they were in high school, they started their bullfighting careers.
Favorite meal: a New York Strip steak, medium rare, with broccoli on the side.
Favorite holiday: Thanksgiving, for the food and the family that comes for the holiday and helps on the ranch.
First buckle he won: A buckle for being a bullfighter at the Mountain States Young Guns, a youth series in northeastern Colorado, when he was 12 years old.
Most influential person: “My dad (Kevin), with the mental game. I think that’s the biggest thing in fighting bulls, knowing there will be bad stuff that happens. You’ll get hit and get run over, but if you’re going to quit, you might as well not even start. Bullfighters in my dad’s day were tough.”
Home: Eaton, Colorado
Family: wife Cameron Rich; parents Kevin and Amy Rich; brother Rope

Roper Rich, Bullfighter

His job at the rodeo: during the bull riding, protecting the bull riders after the buzzer sounds, so they have time to get to safety. This is Roper’s first year to work Kansas Biggest Rodeo; he will fight bulls alongside his older brother, Ryder. The duo often works rodeos together and both have competed at freestyle bullfighting events. The family also raises fighting bulls, and Ryder and Roper haul them to events as well.
Favorite meal: Cajun boil. “My dad got me started with this, and the best place to eat it in Colorado is at Wings Pier.”
Favorite holiday: The Fourth of July. “There’s a freestyle bullfight on the Fourth, in Greeley, Colo., and I’ve won it the past five years. I’m hoping to make it six years.”
Most influential person: “My dad,” Kevin. Kevin was diagnosed in 2018 with SCA3 – spinocerebellar ataxia, a progressive condition that affects coordination and balance. Kevin inspires Roper.“ He tells us, you boys make the most of life.
Home: Eaton, Colorado
Family: parents Kevin and Amy Rich; brother Ryder.

Beutler & Son Rodeo, Stock Contractor

• Have provided the bucking horses and bulls since 1960.
• Is known across the nation for their high quality of bucking stock.
• In 2022, swept all three roughstock awards at the Wrangler National Finals: Bareback Horse of the Year (won by MasterHand Milling Ghost Town); Saddle Bronc of the Year (won by BDM’s Killer Bee); and Bull of the Year (won by MasterHand Milling Smoke Stack.) No other contractor has ever won all three awards in one year.
• Bennie and Rhett are the father/son duo at the helm of the company. Rhett’s daughter Taylor and son Jake are the fifth generation of the family to be involved.