West Plains, MO

“Westward Ho!” … well southwestward that is. This week on the 15th and 16th of July, I headed to West Plains, MO for my fifth bullride of the year. Which happens to be my first official with Jackson-Walkowe Productions. The drive was lovely and the fair was a spectacular sight. Residents of West Plains waited all year long for fairtime to come back around, and with it bringing the excitement of the NFPB Bullriding Bonanza. What a show! Some of the associations best riders were in attendance making the event even more of a thrillride.I arrived early to get caught up with friends, including Deana Cain, Tara Jackson, Frank Walkowe, and Chris Pyle, all of whom were wonderful to visit with. I also made new acquaintances with both local people and the horse I was to ride. Pleasant as always the horse I rode was named Dallas. We got along swimmingly and were even able to visit with the children in the crowd who loved petting Dallas’ long silky mane. While on the grounds I did radio interviews both evenings for local stations and answered questions about the days events. It was very exciting and quite an honor to represent the association in such a way. Once again I presented the American flag to the crowd, both evenings, and as always I was extremely proud to do so. The rest of my time was spent visiting with and getting the crowd pumped for the action. On my final night in West Plains I was to leave for the Merrill, WI show with everyone after festivities concluded for the night. However, plans changed, my ride became full and I had to head for Cuba, MO to hitch a new ride. Off we went (possibly exceeding a speed limit of two) to meet my new travel companions for the next show…”East bound and down loaded up and truckin…”