Lewis Feild won three Bill Linderman Memorial Awards—given to the cowboy who earns the most at both ends of the arena—in his illustrious career in ProRodeo. His son, Shadrach, who heels for Kaden Richard, now proudly dons the first Linderman buckle he won in 1981. 

“The Linderman would have been at the very top of his list of accomplishments, maybe even equal to gold buckles,” Shad said. “He probably took more pride in winning the Linderman than in anything he accomplished in the arena.”

Lewis gave the buckle to Shad three years ago, and Shad still wears it for more practical purposes. 

“I usually wear this to church,” Shad said, after running his first-round steer at the Cheyenne Frontier Days. “I normally wear a gold buckle he won, but this one I keep for good. It’s smaller, and it fits on my church pants better.”

Lewis won the buckle competing in the team roping, bareback riding and saddle bronc riding in 1981. 

“He loved team roping,” Shad said. “He was a really, really good roper.”

Lewis died Feb. 15, 2016, from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The family buried him Feb. 20, and Shad left the next day for La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, where he and Richard split the win in the first round.