Sandy was born on April 8, 1949, in Woodstown, New Jersey. The eldest of three Kirby brothers, Sandy paved the way west for his brothers by moving to Greenville, TX, in 1971. Although he never won a world championship, Sandy was the only rodeo cowboy to win the average in bull riding and bareback riding at the National Finals Rodeo. He won the Bareback NFR average in 1973 and the Bull Riding NFR average in 1974. In 1975, the Kirby brothers made rodeo history when Sandy, Kaye, and Butch all qualified for the National Finals Rodeo. Sandy competed in three rough stock events: Bareback, Saddle Bronc, and Bull Riding. He competed and won all three events at rodeos such as Kansas City, KS, in 1971. From 1968-1972, Sandy qualified for the NFR in Bull Riding. In 1973, Larry Mahan and Sandy were the only two Bareback riders to ride all ten horses at the NFR, and Sandy won the Bareback average. In 1974, Sandy won the Bull Riding average and placed 4th in the bareback average at the NFR. Sandy placed 3rd in the Bull Riding average and won the “All Around Championship”, average at the NFR. In 1976, Sandy was the Bareback and Bull Riding runner-up at the NFR and the “All Around Champion” runner-up. In 1977, Sandy again qualified for the NFR in Bareback and Bull Riding. In 1978, Sandy placed 5th in the Bull Riding average at the NFR. From 1973-78, Sandy rode forty Bareback horses and only bucked off one, which is why his peers considered him “the hardest man to get on the ground.”
Notable Wins:
Personal: Sandy is married to Julie Dalley Kirby and lives in Malone, Texas. He has a grown son, Shane (19). He currently is a bucking stock breeder and for the past seventeen years has been the stock contractor for Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas.
