News release
PHILLIPSBURG — A new face will entertain at this year’s Phillipsburg rodeo.
Matt Merritt will be “clowning around” at Kansas Biggest Rodeo Aug. 4 to 6.
The Olin, N.C., cowboy has been entertaining at rodeos for the past twenty-plus years. He’s worked some of the PBR’s biggest events and at western events across the globe, including in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
He never competed in rodeo as a kid, but grew up around it, with friends who rode bulls. His dream wasn’t to compete, it was to entertain. “I’ve never been anything other than an entertainer or clown,” he said. “That was my spot in rodeo.”
His “spot” includes making fans forget their problems for two and a half hours during the rodeo.
“When I’m telling a joke or doing something entertaining, I look up in to the stands and see everybody laughing, and I know they aren’t thinking about their bills or their problems at work. It’s kind of cool that I get to take people’s worries away.”
And he’s done well in rodeo, having worked some of the biggest shows in the country: The American, Rodeo Salinas (Calif.); Nampa, Idaho; Casper, Wyo.; and Fort Worth, Texas, as well as numerous prestigious PBR events, including the PBR Canada Finals, the PBR Australian Finals, and the PBR Velocity Tour Finals.
Merritt married his wife Bonnie in 2004; they have two daughters, Ruia, age thirteen, and Etta, who is nine. Bonnie competed in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying and cutting in high school, and their daughters are starting their own rodeo careers. Ruia has a liberty act that she takes to rodeos, and Etta is learning to roman ride and trick ride.
He couldn’t do what he does without his wife, he said. She helps with all the behind-the-scenes logistics, helping set up the camper, making sure the frig is full of groceries, and all the day-to-day tasks that need to be done.
While Merritt is on the road, Bonnie is home taking care of everything. The family has a small working ranch near Olin, N.C., and she takes care of the livestock and the kids. “She works a lot harder than I do, keeping it all up.”
In his spare time, Merritt loves to hunt and fish. He’s fished the “miracle mile” in Wyoming, in Australia, and all over the southeast. “I stay consumed,” with hunting and fishing, he said.
Merritt will provide the comedy and the laughs during each night of Kansas Biggest Rodeo from Aug. 4 to 6 in Phillipsburg. Rodeo performances start at 8 p.m. nightly. Tickets are on sale online at KansasBiggestRodeo.com and start at $16 for adults and $12 for children.
For more information, visit the website at KansasBiggestRodeo.com or call 785.543.2448.