Marty Yates, Kassie Mowry to Be Honored at Utah’s Governor State of Sports Banquet

SALT LAKE CITY (March 11, 2025) – Rodeo athletes Kassie Mowry and Marty Yates will be officially recognized as Utah’s Pioneer Week Top Hands on April 4, 2025 during the annual Governor State of Sport Banquet at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Each will be awarded $15,000 at this event.

            Every July the State of Utah celebrates Pioneer Week the third week of July with the culmination of the celebration being July 24, marking the day when Brigham Young and a determined company of Mormon pioneers realized their dreams upon entering the Great Salt Valley. Rodeo has long played a part during this celebration with the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo, the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Rodeo and the Ogden Pioneer Days all being contested during this time.

            In 2023, these three PRCA rodeos joined together to offer nearly $2 million in payouts– all happening within a 5-day span and within a 100-miles of each other. In addition to these record payouts during Pioneer Week in Utah, there was an additional bonus of $15,000 for the top earning female and male athlete each across these three rodeos.

            This program continued in 2024 with barrel racer Kassie Mowry leading the way on the female side winning an astonishing $37,172 at the three Utah rodeos during that week and Marty Yates was the top male performing athlete with $29,786.

            Mowry collected more at these three rodeos within 100-miles of each other than fellow barrel racer Halyn Lide did over the weeklong Cowboy Christmas from July 1-8. Lide finished that week with $32,550. Mowry won the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo and the Ogden Pioneer Days, while finishing seventh at the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Rodeo. She went on to finish the year as the 2024 WPRA World Champion Barrel Racer and credits her success during Pioneer Week as playing a key role in that endeavor.

            Yates won the tie-down roping in Ogden, was co-champion in Spanish Fork and finished seventh in Salt Lake City. Yates competed at his 10th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December and finished the year ranked 10th in the world.

            “Utah has always supported the Western lifestyle that harkens back to the pioneer heritage and history,” stated Tommy Joe Lucia, Executive Director of Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo. “We are honored to continue to keep this front and center in today’s society in collaboration with our fellow Pioneer Week rodeos. To be able to recognize these rodeo athletes alongside Olympic and professional athletes is a true honor.”

            Winning the inaugural bonus was WPRA Barrel Racer Jordon Briggs, who won the silver medal at the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo and placed third at the other two rodeos, and PRCA Team Ropers Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp, who won Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Rodeo and Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo in 2023.

            Created in 2012, the Governor’s State of Sport Awards celebrates Utah’s sports industry and honors excellence in high school, collegiate, adaptive, professional, Olympic and Paralympic sports. The Utah Sports Commission is the proud host of the Governor’s State of Sport Awards which has honored Utah’s finest athletes, teams, coaches, events, and numerous Utah sports icons.

            Utah is known as the State of Sport — and for good reason! Through the years of appreciation for adventure, Utah has carved out a distinct reputation as the premier sport destination for Olympic, professional, amateur and action sporting events. By leveraging their world-class venues and awe-inspiring backdrops, Utah also has an established reputation as a top international sports destination. In July of 2024, they were officially awarded the 2034 Olympic Winter Games marking the second time Salt Lake City has been chosen to welcome the world for the Olympic Games.