Matt Sherwood, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a 6’1”, 175-pound a two-time world champion team roper from Pima, Arizona.
He got involved in rodeo through his family. His parents are Bill and Marci Sherwood, and he has four brothers — Steve, Dole, Kit, and J.C. His first cousin is 2000 World Champion Bull Rider Cody Hancock. His awards include being named AQHA Team Roping Heading Horse of the Year in 2006, riding the horse he calls Nickolas, and Canadian Team Roping Header in 2019.
Matt owned a flooring and tile company in Queen Creek, Arizona, for 10 years before selling it and hitting the Rodeo trail full time in 2006. He said, “Rodeo, as great as it is, can be a detriment. I was 26 or 27 years old, working and going to school in Florida, and my wife was pregnant with our third child. I thought to myself, ‘What am I doing?’ When we moved back to Arizona, I rodeoed a little bit. I bought my first home, my first property. I thought it was time to address myself.”
Some of the accolades that Matt has garnered during his Rodeo career include:
In 2021, Matt finished 31st in the world standings. In 2020, he finished 16th in the world standings.
The year 2019 proved to be a banner year for Matt Sherwood. In that year, he won the Strathmore (Alberta) Stampede, the Innisfail (Alberta) Pro Rodeo, the Brooks (Alberta) Kinsmen Pro Rodeo, the Nicola Valley Rodeo (Merritt, British Columbia), and That Famous Preston (Idaho) Night Rodeo. He was also co-champion at the Young Living’s Last Chance Rodeo (Mona, Utah) and won the Parada Del Sol (Scottsdale, Arizona), with Derrick Begay. He rounded out the year by finishing 14th in the world standings.
In 2018, Matt won the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, and finished 29th in world standings.
In 2017, another mega-win year, he won the Missoula (Montana) Stampede, the Lakeside (California) Rodeo, the Bozeman (Montana) Stampede, the Ute Stampede (Nephi, Utah), and the Cassia County Fair & Rodeo in Burley, Idaho. He also won the Spokane (Washington) Interstate Rodeo, with Chase Tryan, and the Industry Hills (California) Charity Pro Rodeo, with Kyle Lockett. He finished 17th that year in the world standings.
In 2016, Matt was the co-champion of Round 3, and placed in three rounds to rank eighth at the Wrangler NFR. He also won the Parada Del Sol in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the Wrangler Champion Challenge presented by Justin Boots in Spanish Fork, Utah. He was also the co-champion at the Annual Fourth of July & PRCA Rodeo in Window Rock, Arizona, with his partner Quinn Kesler, and finished eighth in the world standings.
In 2015, he placed in two rounds to rank 15th in the average at the Wrangler NFR with Partner Travis Woodard. He also won the Snake River Stampede (Nampa, Idaho), the National Western Rodeo Timed-Event Qualifier (Denver, Colorado), the Western Stampede (West Jordan, Utah) and the Spokane (Washington) Interstate Rodeo, with Quinn Kesler. He finished 15th in the world standings.
Matt would not have been able to accomplish any of the things that he has if he had not put his family and their needs first. Priorities are extremely important to him, and he often takes time off the rodeo train, even during the busiest times of the season, to be with his wife, Kim, and their seven progeny ages 7-17 (four girls and three boys) — Megan, Jessica, Aubrie, Ashlie, Cody, Logan, and Porter. He says, “Yes, there’s stuff you miss. But I try to be home as much as I can.”
Matt’s hobbies include playing basketball and roping with his kids. His favorite food is his wife’s beef, potatoes, and gravy, followed by Costco pepperoni pizza.
