EVENTS
Canadian All Around Champion Cowboy, 1948, 1951, 1953
Rodeo Producer and Stock Contractor
Born at Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, in 1919, Reg Kesler started rodeoing as a youth and commenced serious contention in 1938. An all-around hand, he contested in saddle and bareback bronc riding, bull riding, calf and steer roping, steer wrestling, steer decorating and arena chariot racing (winning the latter event twice at the Calgary Stampede).
Kesler hit his stride in the late 1940s, taking the Canadian all-around championship title in 1948, 1951 and 1953, and the Calgary all-around laurels in 1949 and 1950. In 1951 he gave a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain. At much the same time, Kesler started gathering bucking stock and producing his own rodeos. Over the next 45 years, the Kesler Rodeo, Ltd. became synonymous with champion stock in Canada and the United States.
Through rodeo, Reg Kesler did much to preserve western heritage, and his unceasing efforts brought wide recognition. In 1975 he was presented the Dyson Rivett Memorial Award by the Canadian Rodeo Association. He was inducted into the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1989, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Hall of Fame in 1992, and received the Order of Canada Medal in the latter year. Retired in 1995, Reg Kesler died in an auto accident in 2001.
