EAGLE, Colo. – It’s quite possible the greatest athlete that will be heading to Eagle for the Eagle County Fair and Rodeo wears greasepaint and loves to make people laugh.
He’s also a daredevil who can make his motorcycle do magical things.
Welcome to the world of Troy “The Wild Child” Lerwill, one of the greatest specialty acts in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. He will bring his special brand of entertainment to the Eagle County Fair and Rodeo, set for 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 28-Saturday, July 31.
“What I’m really looking forward to is having Troy Lerwill serve as our barrelman and our specialty act,” said Brad Higgins, the fair manager. “That trailer jump is going to look so cool in our arena that the fans are just going to flip.
“Troy is just one of those things that bring your rodeo up so many notches, just like all the other things Carr Pro Rodeo brings to our show.”
It’s all part of the rodeo’s fascinating production, a staple feature of Dallas-based Carr Pro Rodeo, the livestock firm that will not only bring some of the best bucking stock in the PRCA to Eagle but also a special rodeo flair.
“We want to bring the very best talent we can every night to every rodeo we produce,” said Pete Carr, owner of Carr Pro Rodeo. “One of the keys to putting on great events is having a team of extremely talented individuals; our entire team consists of some of the best people in the business.”
For Carr, he has pickup men like Paul Peterson, who has been selected to work the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo three times and is one of the best in the business, and Guy Allen, an 18-time steer roping world champion. The Carr outfit also features the husband-wife tandem of John and Sandy Gwatney – John handles the timed events at all of the Carr rodeos as well as production, while Sandy is a timer, a secretary and an all-around cowgirl who also helps with openings and other production needs.
And when you figure on the Eagle County Fair and Rodeo having the best in the business, having Lerwill involved in town is just another step in that process. Six times he’s been named the PRCA Comedy Act of the Year; three times he’s been selected to be the barrelman at the NFR, each season’s grand finale.
“I started my bullfighting career in 1994,” Lerwill posted on his website, www.thewildchild.net. “Before I joined the PRCA in 1997, I found myself more often as ‘the man in the can,’ making people laugh as the barrelman. During this time, I tried to us my experiences as a professional motocross racer to build up funny motorcycle acts for the rodeo world. I told my self that somehow it had to be possible to jump a Dodge pickup truck and a Bloomer trailer with my dirt bike.
“In 1998, ‘The Wild Child,’ was born, and since then, I have had the privilege of performing one of the most spectacular acts in professional rodeo.”
In the years since, Lerwill has been seen by more than a million spectators, including when he performed as the opening act of the NFR in 2001, ’03 and ’05.
“Troy is one of the greatest acts in our sport, and I want to make sure as many fans as possible see him in action,” Carr said. “There’s a very good reason I like having him at the rodeos we do.”
