A Life Lived in the Arena: The Story Behind Darryl Kehoe’s Silver Spurs Legacy

At Silver Spurs, we’ve been doing rodeo a long time. It’s in our blood! Our long-standing tradition has produced many champions of national renown, whose stories are fueled by a love for the sport. One such champion is Darryl Kehoe, winner of the Silver Spurs All-Around Championship in 1972. 

Recently, Darryl honored us by donating his collection of rodeo memorabilia (including a custom belt buckle, vintage riding chaps, and an autographed photo) to the Silver Spurs Rodeo, and sat down with us to share his story— one of perseverance, grit, and passion. Today we share that story with you.

From Big Dreams to the Chutes: How Rodeo Took Hold Early

For Darryl Kehoe, dreams of being a cowboy go all the way back to childhood. “You know, what kid doesn’t want to grow up and be a cowboy?” He said with a laugh, fondly remembering days as early as four or five years old when he’d pose for pictures with a signature pair of cowboy boots and a lasso. Growing up in rural Okeechobee, surrounded by agricultural cattle farms, it wasn’t an uncommon dream. 

Unfortunately, growing up in a home of rather meager means, this dream wasn’t one he was able to realize until his sister married into the Padget family, and his brother-in-law, Larry Padget, helped him pursue rodeo. Leasing and owning over 169,000 acres of land, through the Padgets, Darryl suddenly had access to a life of bull-riding, bareback horse-riding, steer-wrestling, and more. 

His greatest devotion was bull-riding and he spent most of his time honing his skills here. For him, rodeo wasn’t just a passion project, it was also a way of bringing in money. As his skills grew, he began to compete nationwide, participating not only in our Silver Spurs events, but going on to win the 1969 National High School Rodeo Championship and making it to the National Finals in 1969 San Antonio, Texas. 

For Darryl, rodeo wasn’t just a sport. It had quickly become a way of life.

More Than Rodeo Miles: A Life Built on Balance

This way of life brought him ample opportunity. After high school, he even received a rodeo scholarship— though he ended up going to night school instead, allowing him to work during the daytime. Throughout his career, Darryl has worked several corporate jobs from a government account manager to positions with the GTE phone company and with Caterpillar. 

All the while, however, he still found time for his love for rodeo, and this took him many places, competing in venues across the country, from New Jersey to Nebraska, and Denver to Dallas. He estimates that the only states he didn’t rodeo in were California, Oregon, and Washington. 

One of his most treasured wins was the All-Around Championship at the Silver Spurs 50th Anniversary (also known as the Golden Jubilee Rodeo) in 1991. For his efforts, part of his prize was a special, custommade saddle— the last of its kind to be custommade for winners of the rodeo. For a long time, it was one of his prized possessions— loved to the point of no return:

“I had that saddle for many, many years. Rode it in the woods. I [still] got the stirrup leathers and that’s about it. The saddle has disintegrated since then.”

He expressed that the Silver Spurs Rodeo molded him into the man he is today, carrying a deep respect for the people of the rodeo, and credits his time with the club as instilling a strong sense of self-respect and discipline, shaping his outlook on everything else he does in life.

The Lessons You Learn Between Arenas

Life in the rodeo is not for the faint of heart. As he recounted his many escapades throughout different rodeo events, Darryl also briefed us on some of the challenges he faced, particularly some serious injuries.

One of the worst occurred when he was 17 years old, competing at Madison Square Garden. While bull-riding, Darryl was hooked in the face, resulting in a fractured eye socket, cracked skull, broken shoulder, and the impact even snapped his tailbone off his spine. The first hospital he went to wouldn’t even see him, sending him to another where he was in a coma for about three days. The injury took about a year to heal from— but none of this deterred Darryl from his passion for rodeo. The first rodeo he competed in after healing (about a year later) he ended up winning the bull-riding event.

“You’re going to get hurt,” Darryl told us, matter-of-fact. He went on to describe several other injuries, including getting hooked in the face again, and how his persistence in the sport taught him to not give into fear. When faced with a challenge, he charges in, head-on. 

“I don't get intimidated and I'm an extremely hard worker. And those are the things that I learned from rodeoing.”

These lessons— driven by a passion for rodeo— have stayed with Darryl throughout his life, shaping some of his most treasured values to this day.

Still Part of the Story: Life After Competition & Advice For The Next Generation

Today, Darryl Kehoe chases a different passion: making turkey calls. For those who don’t know, turkey calls are devices used to mimic the sounds of turkeys to attract them within hunting range. Darryl credits his skill in the craft from lessons learned from Neil Cost— who he names as the best in the business— at a young age. Since retiring about three years ago, Darryl has started his own turkey call crafting company, affectionately called Silver Spurs Turkey Calls as a nod to his days involved with the Silver Spurs Rodeo. 

Over the years, the rodeo tradition has carried on into new generations— but not without its changes. We asked Darryl what his advice would be for the cowboys and cowgirls of today.

He described how in the past, most rodeo participants came from an agricultural background, either working with cows, on horseback, in farming, etc. These days, many rodeo-goers may simply come from an athletic background. Either way, Darryl has one key piece of advice:

Practice.

Like any other sport, talent isn’t enough— you’ve got to spend any opportunity you have practicing your craft and pushing yourself to do better to really make it far. 

Today, years after his last competition, one of the things he remembers most is the brotherhood he gained from rodeoing. How his fellow cowboys (particularly at Silver Spurs) took him under their wing and pushed him to be the best he could be. It was here he gained his definition of integrity: doing something for someone when they can't do anything for you.

Where His Story Lives On

Come face to face with hallmarks of Darryl Kehoe’s story for yourself at our Silver Spurs Clubhouse in Kenansville, where we’ll be displaying his collection of rodeo memorabilia for all to see. Thank you Darryl for sharing your legacy with us!