‘Real Life Has Begun:’ Six-Time World Champion Kaycee Feild Savoring Clarity, New Opportunities in Retirement

From spending time with his family to managing a growing CBD product brand, the bareback riding icon shows no signs of slowing down as he steps away from competing.

Kaycee Feild is focused on the offensive set being executed on the court. It’s a cold mid-January Saturday in Utah, but the gym is warm as onlookers have filled the stands, eager to see the basketball game unfold in front of them.

Feild has been here before, watching his oldest child, Chaimberlyn, drive the court, looking for an open shot. But in the past, his mind was prone to wander.

He’d see a referee make a questionable call and start thinking about a rodeo judge he felt miss-scored one of his bareback rides. That would lead to reminders about what he needed to pack when he got home in preparation for his next trip, which would carry into thoughts about the drive from Utah to Denver, or Fort Worth, or San Antonio, or wherever the next opportunity to compete was waiting.

Now, he sees the play. He sees his daughter’s passion and tenacity. He sees the life he couldn’t previously focus on.

“She plays aggressive and it hypes me up and gets me excited. If someone touches her, it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re going to get it. She’s going to get you,’” Feild says with a hearty laugh. “I have more joy in my life right now than I’ve ever had and it’s because I have a free mind and I can notice things about my kids and my wife, which I selfishly didn’t do before.”

At 36 years old, Feild announced his retirement from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in November. He finished the 2023 season ranked 16th in the bareback riding world standings, one spot out from reaching the National Finals Rodeo for a 14th time.

Since turning pro in 2007, the Genola, Utah cowboy has been the standard setter for bareback riding, earning more than $3.5 million with a PRCA-record six world titles to his credit.

The decision to retire was one Feild had been weighing for quite some time. The grind of professional rodeo is difficult to manage, even when having continued success. His physical strength was still top notch and his understanding of the sport gave Feild a mental edge over younger competitors.

But the idea of what comes after rodeo has loomed over Feild and his family for quite some time. A father of three, Feild knew he wanted more time with his wife and kids – he just wasn’t sure what that looked like.

Everything changed in March 2019 when Feild sustained a brain injury during the finals at Rodeo Austin in Texas. After being knocked unconscious, Feild was bucked off and then kicked in the head by the horse, suffering a brain bleed, fractured skull, fractured nasal cavity, fractured jaw and concussion.

Before the accident, some friends back in Utah had been discussing a business opportunity with Feild regarding a potential line of CBD products. Feild had listened but not given much consideration to the notion, as the Church of Latter Day Saints and overall conservative culture in the state had created a misconception of what CBD was.

Before his wife made the trek to Texas to see him, Feild told her to bring one of the product samples he had been provided. He was ready to try anything.

“There was 14 hours where I was pretty much blind. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t stop throwing up, and they were scanning brain every hour to see how the swelling was,” Feild said. “She got there; I took two big swallows and went straight to sleep. Slept for about 10 hours. I woke up, and I could see just fine. My ears weren’t ringing. They scanned me and my brain swelling was coming down. The inflammation was coming out of my brain at a very fast rate. All the doctors couldn’t understand why that was happening.”

It became a personal testimony moment for Feild, leading to the establishment of PWR Pro, a company specializing in CBD products.

Kaycee Feild won more bareback world titles than any other PRCA competitor. In retirement, he's focused on growing a CBD brand, overseeing a shipping logistics company, and establishing a western hat brand with his brother, Shad. 

From PRCA

From there, things have spiraled in a positive way. Because the requirements to ship hemp-based merchandise with traditional carriers can be restrictive, Feild took advantage of a newly established inland port in Spanish Forks, Utah, working with an experienced partner to create a fulfillment company that handles shipping logistics. Feild is involved in all aspects of the company, down to wrapping pallets for transport. He’s also worked with his brother, Shad, to create Warbonnet Hat Works, a cowboy hat company in Roosevelt, Utah. The brand is partnered with his sister-in-law, Jazlyn, and her western boutique, Goldie Lew. 

In short, Feild is still living the fast-paced life he thrived in during his rodeo days, just in a very different way.

“It’s a lot of moving parts. It’s a little different making money this way rather than eight seconds at a time. With retirement, real life has begun,” Feild said. “I’m a rodeo cowboy; I never thought I’d own a CBD company. We’ve got some horse products and dog products with that, so it’s starting to come back into the western realm a little bit and my world. Now, with this logistical company – it’s crazy the opportunities that will come your way if you keep your head on a swivel at all times. Never say no.”

As the 2024 winter rodeo season heats up, Feild has no angst about his decision to call it a career. He went to NFR as a spectator in December. Not once did he feel the itch to climb on a bucking horse.

If Feild needs what he calls an “adrenaline dump,” he hops on a snowmobile or dirt bike to get his fix. Between multiple business ventures and a trio of children, all 9 years or younger, there’s plenty to keep Feild occupied and on the go. He might have 'retired,' but there's no slowing down. And Feild is savoring every moment.

“There’s things like that that I’ve never been able to do – I’ve wanted to, but I’ve never had the opportunity with the rodeo schedule, not knowing where you’re going to be in the next week or next two weeks, let alone planning out six months,” Feild said. “That time to retire, I felt, was the end of the last year. I’ve had a great weight lifted off my shoulders. My mind is not consumed.”