Garrett Yerigan is a two-time PRCA Announcer of the Year and for all his life, rodeo is all he has known. With an early start to his announcing career coming at the ripe age of six, it was something that called his name from the very start.
“When I was about six or seven years old I started announcing the slack at rodeos because we were there anyway. By that point I kind of thought the announcer stand was cool and the microphone was pretty awesome and so from there, slacks to jackpot calf ropings, to steer wrestlings to barrel racings, anything I could get a microphone at. I announced my first full rodeo when I was 12 and haven’t looked back since,” Yerigan said.
Getting to where he is now was a process and one that he had to fully trust was God’s plan. Before the age of 30, Yerigan has claimed the title of PRCA Announcer of the Year multiple times and he announces bucket list rodeos like the Cheyenne Frontier Days and Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo on top of events like the the inaugural Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup.
“It’s honestly a whirlwind, thinking back to every committee that I worked for from small county fairs to the major, iconic rodeos of the game I, again, wouldn’t trade any of them. They helped get me to where I am today,” he said.
Yerigan grew up surrounded by rodeo greats including Bob Tallman, Boyd Polhamus and Hadley Barrett. He was able to learn and take bits and pieces from all the greats to create a style that is all his own. Clem McSpadden can be credited with giving Yerigan one of his first opportunities to announce by his side and it is a memory that Yerigan will forever cherish.
“I’m very blessed. There’s people that sit in an office everyday and hate what they do but I get to travel all over the world and live an incredible lifestyle.”
