EVENTS
Steer Roper
Bronc Rider
Raised on the Wyoming ranch where he was born in 1898, Phil Yoder owned his own horse by age six and was a seasoned cowhand when he entered professional rodeo at age 20.
A great all-around cowboy, Phil Yoder excelled at roping and rough-stock events alike. At Cheyenne in 1918 he won the steer roping, and in 1921 he returned to capture the bronc-riding honors. Yoder’s many victories also included the 1927 steer-roping title at Estes Park, Colorado.
In the grand old days of 1920s rodeo, Phil Yoder befriended and competed with the best in the business, including Eddie McCarty, Yakima Canutt, Charles Irwin, the Knight brothers, and Henry Grieser. Together, they made all of the big shows in the country–Cheyenne, Pendleton, Calgary–and even traveled to London with a Wild West Show in the 1920s.
A tragic accident while steer-roping in 1929 left Phil Yoder unconscious for a month and ended his career in rodeo. He died in 1941.
