This Week in the West: Reg Kesler and the Invaluable Stock Contractors

🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 50: Reg Kelser and the Invaluable Stock Contractors  

📢 Episode Summary: This episode of This Week in The West spotlights Reg Kesler, one of rodeo’s most versatile and influential figures. Born in Alberta in 1919, Kesler grew up immersed in ranch life and quickly took to rodeo, competing in nearly every event imaginable—from bronc and bull riding to tie-down roping and even wild cow milking. His skill and determination earned him multiple Canadian All-Around Championships and solidified his reputation as a fearless, all-around cowboy.

As Kesler’s career evolved, he recognized that rodeo was becoming more organized and professional. He saw the need for consistent, high-quality livestock that would challenge riders and thrill audiences. Transitioning from competitor to stock contractor, he began breeding and raising his own line of broncs and bulls—animals selected for strength, stamina, and the instinct to buck. By the 1950s and ’60s, his operation was supplying stock to major rodeos across North America, helping transform rodeo into the sport fans know today.

Kesler’s influence endures through the professional standards he helped establish for stock contracting—an essential, yet often overlooked, part of rodeo. His legacy stands alongside industry greats like Cotton Rosser and the Beutler family, and his induction into both the ProRodeo and National Rodeo Halls of Fame cements his place as one of rodeo’s founding fathers. As announcer Bob Tallman put it, Kesler embodied what rodeo is all about: grit, honesty, and excellence earned the hard way.

🔍 What You’ll Learn:

• How Reg Kesler rose from ranch cowboy to champion rodeo performer and pioneering stock contractor
• Why the breeding and care of bucking stock are vital to modern rodeo’s success
• How Kesler’s innovations helped shape rodeo into a professional, spectator-driven sport

👥 Behind the Scenes Host: Seth Spillman Producer: Chase Spivey Writer: Mike Koehler

🔗 Further research:

• News article on the rodeo life of Reg Kelser: https://oldmissoula.com/reg-kessler-a-rodeo-life-by-kim-briggeman/
• A look at the Kesler Family from NBC News Montana: https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/a-montana-rodeo-dynasty-broncs-bulls-and-family
• Reg’s entry in the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame: https://www.canadianprorodeohalloffame.org/1989?rq=kesler

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