Jared Peterson on Lehi Heritage & Rodeo | Roots & Branches

Seventh-generation Lehi resident Jared Peterson shares stories of pioneer roots, the Lehi Roundup Rodeo, historical preservation, and his vision for city council.

Jared Peterson on Lehi Heritage & Rodeo | Roots & Branches

Seventh-generation Lehi resident Jared Peterson shares stories of pioneer roots, the Lehi Roundup Rodeo, historical preservation, and his vision for city council.

Jared Peterson on Lehi Heritage, the Roundup Rodeo, and Running for City Council

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Seven Generations in Lehi: Jared Peterson's Story of Service, Rodeo, and Civic Legacy

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Episode Overview

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Resource for Listeners

Episode Highlights

Key Stories from the Interview

A Handcart Connection Across Generations

"Here's Your Assignment"

The Blanket-to-Assigned-Seating Transition

The Frontier Rodeo Partnership

Launching the Drone Show

Rodeo Families Behind the Scenes

From Social Media to Planning Commission

Historical Insights About Lehi

Community and Legacy Themes

Memorable Quotes

Related Lehi Topics

Photo Opportunities for Historical Archive

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Jared Peterson Lehi Utah Interview - Roots & Branches of Lehi Podcast

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A seventh-generation Lehi resident shares stories of pioneer roots, rodeo tradition, community service, and a vision for preserving Lehi's identity amid rapid growth.

Work Hard Mortgage helps families achieve the dream of homeownership in Lehi and across Utah.

Every homeowner starts somewhere.

Some people are just beginning to dream. Others are getting financially ready. Some are already touring homes. Wherever you are in the process, this simple tool helps you understand your next best step. Take the Homebuyer Journey Quiz to see where you are — and where to go from here.

In this episode of Roots & Branches of Lehi , host Ryan Harding sits down with Jared Peterson , a seventh-generation Lehi resident whose family lines stretch back to some of the city's earliest pioneer settlers. With ancestors who traveled in the same handcart company as his wife's family, Jared represents a rare continuity in a community that has transformed from a quiet farming town into one of Utah's fastest-growing cities.

This conversation matters because it captures what makes Lehi's community fabric so strong: deep roots, volunteer tradition, and a willingness to serve without expectation of reward. Jared reflects on decades of involvement with the Lehi Roundup Rodeo , the Civic Improvement Association, and the city's Historical Preservation Committee. He also shares why he is running for Lehi City Council and what he believes the city must prioritize over the next 50 to 100 years.

For anyone interested in Lehi, Utah history , pioneer heritage , community traditions , local rodeo culture , city growth and transportation , or civic leadership , this interview offers both historical perspective and practical vision. Whether you're a longtime resident who remembers blanket seating at the rodeo or a newcomer trying to find your place in a rapidly expanding community, Jared's story provides a compelling model for how to build belonging through service.

Prefer to listen? This episode is also available on <a href="https: <a href="https:

Jared Peterson

Central Bank branch manager; longtime Lehi Roundup Rodeo committee member; Historical Preservation Committee member; candidate for Lehi City Council

1800s pioneer era through present day; personal involvement from 1990s–2020s

Ryan Harding

Every homeowner starts somewhere. Whether you are just beginning to dream, getting financially ready, or already touring homes — this simple tool helps you understand your next best step.

Jared and his wife recently discovered that their ancestors traveled in the same handcart company, tying their family histories together across generations before they ever met. This discovery deepened their sense of shared purpose in preserving Lehi's pioneer legacy.

Jared describes being effectively "assigned" to help with the Lehi Roundup Rodeo as soon as he started dating his wife. Her father, Stan Lewis—then president of the Civic Improvement Association—handed him a job selling programs, and that initial task launched decades of rodeo service. "When the roundup rolled around, it was, 'Hey, this is what we're doing right now, and here's your assignment.'"

He recounts the rodeo committee's difficult decision to transition from traditional blanket-style open seating—where families would lay down blankets on Monday or Tuesday to claim their spot—to online assigned seating. It was a major cultural shift for a community deeply attached to its traditions, but one that helped modernize the event.

Jared explains how partnering with Frontier Rodeo transformed the Lehi Roundup. The committee made a conscious decision that they wanted the show to be fast, action-packed, and super entertaining. "You might have bought the whole seat, but you only need the edge." The partnership led to years of sellouts, with tickets sometimes selling out before they could even reach local retail partners.

Jared tells the behind-the-scenes story of launching the drone show, including watching the first test on his TV and then being stunned by its scale in person. "That first drone image came up and I thought, 'Wow—that's a lot bigger than I ever imagined.'" The show also became a community-wide experience, with people watching from outside the rodeo grounds.

He shares touching moments about rodeo families that the public rarely sees. Justin Rumford, the rodeo clown, travels with his wife and three kids. Andy Stewart, the announcer, was there with his wife who has been battling cancer. "There's so much that goes on behind the scenes... it's 100% volunteer. There's nobody that's making any money."

Jared describes how a simple social media inquiry led to his unexpected appointment to the Planning Commission. He saw a post about applications, reached out to former Mayor Bert Wilson (who had mentored him in banking), and received an application the next day with a note: "Mayor Wilson said to send this to you and that you'd be sending it back." That launched seven years of civic involvement.

This interview offers a wealth of perspective on how Lehi has evolved while working to preserve what makes it distinctive:

Throughout the interview, several broader themes emerge that reflect the values and challenges facing Lehi as it grows while trying to maintain its character:

This episode connects to the broader Roots & Branches of Lehi archive. Explore these related topics to deepen your understanding of Lehi's history and community:

To enhance this community profile, consider adding these visual elements to the historical record:

Ryan Harding: Welcome to Roots and Branches of Lehi, the podcast where we get to know the faces, stories, and lives that make up our community. I'm Ryan Harding, and I started this podcast as a way for us all to connect with the people we live alongside. Growing up in a small town, I learned that connections go beyond blood. They're built through shared experiences, friendships, and the moments we celebrate together. Each week, we'll sit down with someone new from Lehi to share their unique story, their passions, and what they love most about living here. So whether you've been here for years or just arrived, join us as we deepen our roots and reach out to our branches one story at a time.

Chapter 2: 7 Generations in Lehi

Ryan Harding: Welcome Jared Peterson to Roots and Branches of Lehi. Happy to have you here. Excited to get to know you a little bit better.

Jared Peterson: Well, thank you for having me. This is a great opportunity to come and visit.

Ryan Harding: Yeah, no, I'm excited. So tell me, give, uh, let's kind of get to know you a little bit. So tell me your connection to Lehi. Where'd you grow up? How long you been here for? Give me that background, I guess, to start.

Jared Peterson: No, great. That's a great place to start. So my background in Lehi and my connection to Lehi is that I'm a seventh generation Lehi kid. My family was some of the earliest settlers here in Lehi. And we're very proud of that. My wife also, I should include her because I wouldn't be anywhere without her. But our families go way, way back. In fact, we recently found that we had family in the same handcart company that landed here in Lehi. So that's pretty exciting. So we've been here our whole lives. And that's our connection.

Ryan Harding: Wow. Yeah, that's a long time. And tell me what you do for work and stuff like that. What have you?

Jared Peterson: So for work, I manage the Central Bank office just down the street here on Lehi Main Street. I've been in banking for 30 years. I've been with Central Bank for 20 years and primarily do lending and some of those things.

Ryan Harding: That's good. Okay, awesome. And then tell me, so you're involved in the community. Yes. So tell me, give me some background there. What why did you want to go into that? What did you want to do?

Jared Peterson: Yeah, so that's a great question and looking back on it, being involved and serving and whatnot is something that we've just always done. It's something that our parents really kind of instilled in us. I had two grandmas who were young widows that lived here in town and that we were able to really serve them and that's where I learned to serve. And then as time went on, we got older, just kind of we were able to get involved in the Lehi Roundup. My father-in-law, Stan Lewis, was the president of the Civic Improvement Association, which is also known as Lehi Roundup Committee. He got me involved as soon as I started dating his daughter and been involved ever since. It's been great. We've loved being a part of the rodeo.

Ryan Harding: Kind of a requirement, I guess, to date the daughter then, right?

Jared Peterson: I guess you know, if you're going to do this, we want you involved. When the roundup rolled around, it was, "Hey, this is what we're doing right now, and here's your assignment." There was no question. Here you go. Here's what's going to happen for you. And I've just loved it. And we can get into the rodeo a little bit more, but I've done so many different things. My first assignment at the rodeo was selling programs.

Chapter 3: Rodeo Traditions & Challenges

Ryan Harding: And just have been been a part of it ever since. And well so let's get into it a little bit I guess with the rodeo and stuff you've seen so if you've been involved for a long time you've seen the rodeo change over the years right I mean and as recent this year now adding we did you know the drone show and an extra day right so tell tell me you know how that's been to be a part of something for so long.

Jared Peterson: Yeah, so the rodeo has been such a long-standing tradition in the community and for so long we partnered the rodeo community partnered with like Colers and Macy's to sell tickets there before there was really an online option to sell tickets and that was really a difficult decision for some on the committee to go to an online assigned seats that you know that for a long time the tradition was you came on Monday or Tuesday and you put your blanket down where you wanted to sit and it was just kind of an open seating. Kind of like what they do at the parade I guess. Very much so. And then but that was that was a real changer for us and that was really kind of pushed us into this next era of ticket sales and and the rodeo.

And you know the other thing for years and years Flying U was our stock contractor. They they were instrumental in the early days of helping Lehi Roundup grow, but we got to the point where we kind of we needed to make a change there and we have great relationships throughout the rodeo community. And we were able to get connected with Frontier Rodeo and they agreed to partner with us and be our stock contractor and they're the long-standing stock contractor of the year and are just fantastic to work for and that was a real game changer for us also because the Lehi rodeo, you know, every rodeo kind of tries to distinguish itself in however they can. And we made a real conscious effort that we wanted to be fast and we wanted it to be a lot of action and just super entertaining. And you know, one of the committee members will say, "You might have bought the whole seat, but you only need the edge." Sure. Sure. I like that.

Uh so uh that has really helped and that really over the last you know four or five years is we've had sellouts which kind of became a new thing all of a sudden the rodeo was being sold out. Well then it started selling out earlier and earlier to where these last couple of years we haven't even we've been sold out before we could even get tickets to Colers and Macy's and we just haven't needed that partnership. Now that has brought on unique challenges. To us and that was um and why we we explored doing a fourth night. And that was hard. That was a hard decision to make because you know fourth night it adds that much more cost. Are we going to be able to cover the cost of doing that? Plus it's all volunteer. Everything's volunteer at the rodeo and we're going to ask everybody to be there one more night. And but we did it. Everybody was everybody jumped in. And it's been great. Been great.

Ryan Harding: So, did that fourth night work? I mean, this year I mean as far as last year was the first year of the fourth night. Uh this was our second year and it's been it's been fantastic. And you know what that does? Our goal with that was okay then we can get another 6,000 people to the rodeo. And hopefully that's kind of how it's worked out. And but yeah, it's fantastic and all of our partners when we talked to our sponsors and stock contractor and our announcer and the sound people and all of those things, you know, the jumbotron, everybody had to be on board for another night and everybody was more than willing and just jumped right in to make it happen.

Ryan Harding: And what do you attribute like the success of the rodeo to? I mean, is it is you know, obviously in in adding that fourth night, I mean, Lehi is growing, right? I mean, so I guess a logical thought would be, well, hey, we have more people here and so there's logically more need, right? You know, but I'm sure that's not totally all of it.

Jared Peterson: Yeah, I think that that plays a part in it for sure. But I think we've done a really good job of just providing really great entertainment and family-friendly entertainment. And that's that's a big deal to us. A lot of people ask us how come we don't participate with alcohol and some of these big sponsors. And it's it's not even a consideration. We don't want any of that. That's not the crowd that we want. That's that's not the rodeo that we want to be. And you know it it's just a fun fun atmosphere. It's unique entertainment and we've we've done all that we can to keep our ticket prices down so that it's affordable. So the family of five or six or eight or however many can come.

Ryan Harding: Which I would say it's very affordable if anything you know maybe you could raise it you know a little bit I guess if you wanted right I mean that's pretty good prices there and stuff so um and tell me your role I guess right now then uh on the committee and stuff like that tell me what you specifically.

Jared Peterson: So I'm one of the board members so I have a committee that works with me. My specific assignments are we do a cowboy hospitality area where we feed the contestants each night. That's kind of our main role and and we have great sponsors there. Shout out to Chick-fil-A. They have been a partner there for a long time. We also my wife takes care of and manages a scholarship that we do. We do a scholarship for Lehi High and for Skyridge. And that's been a great experience. You know, the as a committee, we really try to give back to the community any way that that we can. That's always been a role of the civic improvement association to give back.

But then also really exciting for us this year is we decided to do the drone show and we took that on as a committee and so my wife and I worked with the drone show group and that was a lot of fun to put together and you know we worked through some of those different images and whatnot and they sent it to us and we watched it on our TV and thought wow that was that was amazing. I hope that we pull this off. And that first night I stood there with the drone company owner and that first image came up and I thought, "Oh, wow. That's a lot bigger than I ever thought it was." Sure. You're looking at a TV before. Yeah. Sure. Sure. So, it was it was a lot of fun and and people really enjoyed that. And so, that was a lot of fun to be a part of.

Ryan Harding: It was good. I'll compliment you on that cuz I did go to the show myself and and uh you know a lot of times when they're setting up for the motocross stuff, you know, it's kind of a delay and sometimes, you know, kids are tired. It's like, hey, should we go and stuff like that, but it was nice cuz the drone show came pretty much right away. And so then it was like, oh well, okay, yeah, let's keep staying because there was something to do, right? So I thought that was actually very wise use of time.

Jared Peterson: Yeah. And and you know that's one one thing that we we really the whole timing of the whole rodeo is very choreographed. From the first we always start with the wild horse race. From that very first gate pull. To the very last bull. We want to be two hours. That's and the stock contractor knows that and he's keeping a clock and making sure that that we hit that. But we knew that we had this space of time between the bulls and the motorcycles. And everybody loves the motorcycles. And you know, we we watch the crowd and we have a handful of people that leave. Mhm. But most stay. And so when we talked about doing the drone show, there was some discussion. Well, do we do it after the motorcycles? Can we do it in that space of time? And then you know just the logistics of it with well we got to turn the lights off and can the crew see to get the ramp up and there's about 3 minutes from the time that the crew starts putting up the ramps to the time we turn off the lights where they get pretty well set and they're good. And they give us a signal and the lights go off and the drone show started. So it worked out really really well.

Ryan Harding: Yeah. Again, that's why I say I compliment because it helped especially, you know, I mean adults but young kids, you know, they get tired and stuff like that, right? And so, so, but that I mean that entertainment, they stayed, right? And they were like, "Hey, no, let's stay. Let's stay, you know, we want to watch." So, the other thing that we didn't really anticipate cuz we just hadn't even considered it was we had a lot of people who mentioned how great it was that weren't at the rodeo. That were just just out. And how cool it was to see just from wherever they were. Sure. Which makes sense actually I you know having been to Stadium of Fire down in Provo you know there's there's a lot of people outside of the stadium you know that getting that free little bit of enjoyment right out of because you know fireworks can't really stop those from being seen from around right so yeah now there we you know if you were on the west side it was any words were backwards but that's okay but still cool.

Jared Peterson: Yeah, no, still cool. Well and I think again and maybe that goes back to probably one of the main reasons that Lehi does this rodeo is it does bring a community together, right? I mean, I think that's probably one of I mean, it just does a very good job of that. And sure, if there's some free drone show for somebody around, great. You know what I mean? Hey, I hope you feel part of the community then during those moments and stuff, right? Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, the other little small thing that we did was we really started advertising Slack. Which is just the contestants that we can't fit into the show. And uh you know they come it's been on Wednesday morning and we kind of advertise that of hey you can come watch this it's free. It you know there's no music there's no announcer there's no it's just cowboys doing what cowboys do. But that crowd has has really kind of grown over the last couple years. So that's been fun too. Fun way for families and kids to come and just get a little taste of it.

Ryan Harding: Yeah. No, love that. Um any uh before we leave the rodeo kind of thing, any behind-the-scenes stories from the rodeo committee that people might find interesting? Any anything that stand out as far as just you know that most people don't see because we just go there for a show. We're out in two hours, right?

Jared Peterson: Yeah. Yeah. You know what you don't see is is the families of our regular partners like the Rumfords who he's our clown. Justin Rumford's our clown. He travels with his family, three kids and and his wife. You don't get to interact with with them or like, Andy Stewart, our announcer, his wife has been battling cancer, and she was there with us this year. And as a crowd, you just aren't going to know that or see that. So, there's there's some of those kinds of things that that are a lot of fun. And you know, there's there's so much that goes on behind the scenes. I wish there was a way to really kind of pull back the curtain, if you will, for people to see how much goes into preparing that. I mean, we have our first meeting for next year, next week. And I think that's that's the piece that people would be really maybe surprised by is just how much really goes into that. And the it's 100% volunteer. There's nobody that's making any money on this thing. It's everybody's donating time and talent and and all those things.

Ryan Harding: So yeah. No, we I interviewed Mike Southwick and uh that was one, you know, I mean again, you know, he's one of the main ones, right? And so it uh yeah, I mean it's it's a it's quite the endeavor uh that the city puts on, really the community puts on. And so, and you know, it's we'll talk about the campaign stuff a little bit later, but one thing that I've I've kind of heard a lot as I've been out campaigning from from nearly every part of town, downtown, west of town, south, is so many people don't feel like they're represented or even feel like a part of the community. Sure. And I don't know how to overcome that. I was and hopefully the celebration is a way that is if if people get involved, come and and participate in all of the different activities that that they can feel a part of that. But that's been really interesting to me. Because I've never felt that and I've always tried to be very open about, hey, come and come and see. And so, there's there's some work to be to be done there. And I think through the roundup and through the rodeo, we can kind of build those bridges, if you will, and get arms reached around people so that they feel like they're part of the community.

Jared Peterson: Well, yeah, cuz again, we do want I mean, it makes sense. You're seventh generation. I mean, you have you've been here long long time, right? And so, you do have a lot of connections and stuff like that. A lot of people, I guess, move in from other places, right? You know, most people are probably transplanted here, right? Oh, yeah. And so, yeah. And I do have a lot of connections and that has those connections have come from being involved, right? Sure. Sure. whether it's involved in in church or community rodeo, all of those things create connections. And it helps too that my parents are still here in town and I have siblings here and and so those connections kind of become amplified through other people, you know, but but you know, one one thing about it, the the more that you put yourself out there, the more connected you feel.

Ryan Harding: Well, and that so that's and that's good advice, right, for anybody moving in. Hey, if you want to feel part of the community, get involved. That's probably the best advice there, right? You know, is get involved because it's not going to come to you all the time, right? You have to get come to it.

Jared Peterson: Yeah, for sure. You know, come put a chair out and come enjoy the parade. Well, so so you talked about the campaign and stuff like that. So, so you're currently running for the city council, right?

Chapter 4: Stepping Into Leadership

Ryan Harding: So, tell me what sparked that? Let's start with that question. What why?

Jared Peterson: Yeah. So, running for city council is something that I've looked at the last couple of election cycles. I spent seven years on the planning commission. And sometimes it feels like a natural thing. You served on the planning commission and then, okay, now I'm going to run for city council. But when I retired, I left the planning commission. I wasn't at that point ready for city council. Just didn't seem right. We had talked about it and then I got involved in the historical preservation committee which has been a blast and we can talk about some of that. And so the last election cycle we looked and talked really seriously about it, my wife and I, and it just still wasn't the right time. And then but we've been talking about it ever since. In fact, I have a fun picture from a year ago in 2024 at the parade that one of my kids took and one of my other kids took that picture and plugged it into a campaign poster. Vote for Jared. And so we got a kick out of that. My kids have laughed for years and years about whenever we go to something, I always lag behind because painting, right? Just the act of visiting. And so no, we thought really serious about it this time and and the timing was right and we felt really good about it and decided to jump in. You know, I'm not coming in with here's my issue, right? We got to stop this one thing. I don't have that. I just have a great love of the community and a great desire to serve and to give back. And I feel like I bring a lot to the table in being able to do that. I mean I understand the history. I do have connections. But those connections are all very professional and very whether they be through community or through the bank or or whatever. But I do have those relationships and so I'm able to really kind of talk to and find out help solve those situations. Sure. Sure. Which you know. So yeah, because a lot of people you mentioned a lot of people do come into politics with hey, you know, I really want to change this issue, right? You know, I'm so upset that XYZ is happening, right?

Jared Peterson on Lehi Heritage & Rodeo | Roots & Branches