Swanny Kerby

Stock Contractor • Inducted 1997

Swanny Kerby started his rodeo career more than 50 years ago, rounding up wild mustangs and range bulls. He trailed that string to his first rodeo at the Grand County Fair in Moab, Utah, in 1945. From that first rodeo, Kerby and the Bar T have taken pride in producing fast-paced, exciting rodeos for the fans. Kerby joined the Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1949 and produced his first RCA rodeo that same year in Grand Junction, Colo. Over the years he has produced rodeos or contracted stock for rodeos throughout the Rocky Mountain region and the Pacific Northwest. Bar T stock has been selected for every National Finals Rodeo since 1960, and Alley Cat, Hyrum Special and Sparrow received special recognition as outstanding Kerby animals. Kerby, born Jan. 23, 1917, in Moab, Utah, lives the Western lifestyle every day and has no regrets about the road he has taken. “Fifty years is a long time, but a man in rodeo really needs two lifetimes – one to get an outfit together and a second one to enjoy it.”

Born: January 23, 1917 in Moab, Utah
Died: December 15, 2005 in Mt. Pleasant, Utah