1 00:00:02,530 --> 00:00:07,360 Come join us, explore the impact of small business here in rural Arkansas. 2 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:13,000 What challenges would you face? Who can help you meet those challenges? How do you get in touch with others like you? 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:19,120 This is Create Bridges, Arkansas, and we invite you to come cross these bridges with us. 4 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,650 Hi, everyone. My name is Hazelle Whited, program coordinator for the Ozark foothills. 5 00:00:23,650 --> 00:00:29,290 And I am so excited that you continue to support our podcast series. For this last interview of 2020 6 00:00:29,290 --> 00:00:34,330 I close the year with Cody Whitten and Cline Hall, Principles of Generations Pro Rodeo Inc., 7 00:00:34,330 --> 00:00:39,190 and ag tourism business in Ash Flat. From what it took to get to where they are today, 8 00:00:39,190 --> 00:00:44,620 advice to other entrepreneurs from their own experience and just how much they love this community. 9 00:00:44,620 --> 00:00:52,840 Cody, Cline, and I managed to record over 60 Minutes for a 20 minute show, partly because Cody and I like to talk a lot, but the content is so good. 10 00:00:52,840 --> 00:01:00,430 So this last episode of 20/20 has been split over two parts appropriate releasing Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. 11 00:01:00,430 --> 00:01:05,980 Welcome to Part one of going Pro Ain't No Bull. Thank you both for coming. 12 00:01:05,980 --> 00:01:12,580 Appreciate it. Thank you. So, Cline, let me start with you. I know that you're a second generation radio producer through Hall Rodeo. 13 00:01:12,580 --> 00:01:22,120 And if you would, tell me a little bit more about what this really means and why did you decide to get back into rodeo. It's just a family tradition. 14 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:26,350 I was born and raised around bucking bulls. Loved bucking bulls my whole life. 15 00:01:26,350 --> 00:01:34,710 In 2009, we started up our company again, Hall Rodeo at Sharp County Fairgrounds 16 00:01:34,710 --> 00:01:39,410 by putting on a Wednesday night rodeo. And that's something... 17 00:01:39,410 --> 00:01:44,440 I don't know why it just happened for me. It just everything was pointing me in that direction. 18 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:52,660 So then we started putting on rodeos and really enjoyed it. About 2019 I think, Cody, is when a Generations Pro Rodeo was incorporated. 19 00:01:52,660 --> 00:01:53,230 Is that correct. 20 00:01:53,230 --> 00:02:01,330 No, we pretty much started then. The idea came in I guess, more towards the winter of 18 and then started in 19 and kind of move forward. 21 00:02:01,330 --> 00:02:07,060 But let me find out more about you and how you actually got into actually partnering with Cline 22 00:02:07,060 --> 00:02:09,800 because I don't think you're actually, you know, from the area. 23 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:18,400 Yeah, well, you know, I started out a city boy and like I grew up in Little Rock and my family kind of had a big farm down that way. 24 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:24,850 And and we come in. I grew up there and as time went on, my parents got divorced and we moved up here. 25 00:02:24,850 --> 00:02:28,360 And I, we, actually my dad married somebody from Evening Shade. 26 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:33,250 And when we did I went to school at Highland and after just a little bit, 27 00:02:33,250 --> 00:02:38,860 me and Amy, Cline's sister got married, got together, and then three years later, we got married. 28 00:02:38,860 --> 00:02:48,940 And that's kind of how me and Cline got to know each other. And as times went on, I started Team Roping and Steer Wrestling, and we we just, I help 29 00:02:48,940 --> 00:02:55,150 Cline pick up when he started his rodeo company and from then on it just kind of blossomed, I guess. 30 00:02:55,150 --> 00:03:03,190 And then after, I don't know, like in 2015 or so, I kind of handed it over to Tanner. 31 00:03:03,190 --> 00:03:09,880 He picks up for us now and I quit picking out and kind of went more to the business side of rodeo, you know, and that's kind of what led up to it. 32 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:14,230 And then me and Cline got together and decided to do Generations Pro Rodeo. 33 00:03:14,230 --> 00:03:18,930 And and that's where we went from there. And that tells me that even city people. 34 00:03:18,930 --> 00:03:22,850 So so I might still be able to go barrel racing. Is that what you are telling me? Yeah. Anybody is capable 35 00:03:22,850 --> 00:03:27,670 This is this is if you if you want to do it, try. This is just one of those kind of sports. 36 00:03:27,670 --> 00:03:32,870 You don't have to be a pro athlete. I don't have to be pro athlete? Because that's not in no longer in my repertoire. 37 00:03:32,870 --> 00:03:41,300 So I appreciate that Cody. From an agricultural standpoint as well as a show standpoint, you know, why is producing your own bulls and stock important? 38 00:03:41,300 --> 00:03:49,820 2000 we bought in the rodeo stock registry, American Bucking Bulls, Inc. We went and bought seven heifers from a sale there. 39 00:03:49,820 --> 00:03:56,890 That was 20 years ago. And they're all registered. We bought our breeding bull Wolf Cat. 40 00:03:56,890 --> 00:04:00,050 And we didn't even have a trailer to get him home with. 41 00:04:00,050 --> 00:04:08,890 And luckily, we found a guy that knew my dad because rodeo is a huge family and everybody - I can go away from this community or in this community. 42 00:04:08,890 --> 00:04:15,910 But we can always find somebody that we know or have been to our rodeo. Or been to Ash Flat. There was a guy there said, oh, I know right where you're at. 43 00:04:15,910 --> 00:04:22,090 I'll grab him and take to your house. I'm going to work that way this week. He just brought her calves home. 44 00:04:22,090 --> 00:04:27,880 So we started, Me and Cody with a sixteen foot trailer trying to pack in as many bulls as 45 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:33,820 we could into other people's rodeos. I actually hauled Cline around before he could even drive. I couldn't drive. 46 00:04:33,820 --> 00:04:38,050 So Cody had the driver's license and I had the flanks and things that make the bulls ride. 47 00:04:38,050 --> 00:04:42,400 And we'd take my truck. I had a one ton Ford truck. It was it was adequate. 48 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:46,440 But, you know, we sat on the side of the freeway in Little Rock one time we had blown 49 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,170 an o-ring on the head. And we finally started running. 50 00:04:50,170 --> 00:04:55,540 You know, we adapted. We went and I called somebody and sent some random person to a dealer. 51 00:04:55,540 --> 00:04:59,590 And he went and got the parts for us to fix it. And we go to Stevenville that time? 52 00:04:59,590 --> 00:05:03,610 I think we went to Steveville, TX, that trip and went down there and our calf did pretty good. 53 00:05:03,610 --> 00:05:09,940 I mean, I don't remember exactly what he came in, but maybe in the 20s, in the high twenties competing against 100 head. 54 00:05:09,940 --> 00:05:14,830 So really it's a pretty good number. we were green. I mean, so green at that deal. 55 00:05:14,830 --> 00:05:20,730 So you take your calves and you compete. Those bulls buck against each other and compete. 56 00:05:20,730 --> 00:05:24,690 So we're raising these wild animals that we barely catch. 57 00:05:24,690 --> 00:05:31,850 Barely get in a little trailer and then 2009 came round we're like we can't just have these things around 58 00:05:31,850 --> 00:05:36,960 then we go to competitions. We're going to have to give them a job. We're going to go put on a rodeo. 59 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:44,070 So that's kind of where we started putting on the rodeos. But and now fast forward 20 years later from there. 60 00:05:44,070 --> 00:05:52,110 Now we both have our own black Peterbilts, trailers and arenas and we got stock everywhere. 61 00:05:52,110 --> 00:05:58,720 But it's still like when you get to the big shows. 62 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:05,170 It's like your kid's there. When you have an animal there that you raised, you seen him born, you raised it and you take it. 63 00:06:05,170 --> 00:06:09,490 It's still something that you created. And it was born right here in Ash Flat. 64 00:06:09,490 --> 00:06:13,390 And now it's competing on the big stage in bright lights. 65 00:06:13,390 --> 00:06:19,390 It's a lot of fun. You've got to me or like who you're talking to earlier. 66 00:06:19,390 --> 00:06:24,170 It's family. People don't realize the family bond in rodeo. 67 00:06:24,170 --> 00:06:30,730 There you can even at this level, you can go to Arlington, to Las Vegas and rodeo people 68 00:06:30,730 --> 00:06:35,730 will take care of rodeo people. You can even disagree with each other and not even like each other. 69 00:06:35,730 --> 00:06:41,020 If you broke down, they're still going to come help. You're just part of something. 70 00:06:41,020 --> 00:06:44,620 Yeah. I mean, it really speaks to the industry, what you do for each other. 71 00:06:44,620 --> 00:06:45,280 And really, 72 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:54,580 I think businesses can glean an example that especially here in Sharp County and Fulton and Izard that we're never really competing with each other. 73 00:06:54,580 --> 00:06:59,740 We actually are trying to help each other. Right. I know. It's always, especially in rural Arkansas, 74 00:06:59,740 --> 00:07:06,400 you have to be able to work with each other and not look at that person as, oh, they're stealing revenue from my pocket. 75 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:12,610 At the end of day, it's like you were actually going to be helping each other, because if you're drawing people in, they're spending money over there. 76 00:07:12,610 --> 00:07:16,150 And let's face it, like in restaurants, you don't want to eat the same thing all the time. 77 00:07:16,150 --> 00:07:20,740 So you want to go to another restaurant. But maybe you wouldn't have gone there if you didn't know about that other person first. 78 00:07:20,740 --> 00:07:25,780 So there's money to go around. You have to help each other out. Yeah. You got to live life like it's not an endgame. 79 00:07:25,780 --> 00:07:29,860 This ain't an endgame. This is a continue on game our whole lives. 80 00:07:29,860 --> 00:07:35,140 So gotta move forward. And everybody has to come together to keep this wheel turning. 81 00:07:35,140 --> 00:07:40,930 If somebody is going to stop it off somewhere, that's going to crash the whole system. Everybody wants to see each other do well, 82 00:07:40,930 --> 00:07:44,770 because rodeos, a lot like life, everything stacked against you. 83 00:07:44,770 --> 00:07:48,820 You got to help each other out all the time to be successful. 84 00:07:48,820 --> 00:07:54,250 So before we start talking about National, I wanted to talk about what actual rodeo producer does. 85 00:07:54,250 --> 00:07:56,920 And like, you're hired to go to other cities. Right. 86 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:01,980 And you put on a show. I wanted people to understand exactly, you know, kind of what your business model. 87 00:08:01,980 --> 00:08:06,660 There's a there's a lot that goes into it. First of all, we start right there at the house. 88 00:08:06,660 --> 00:08:14,610 Me and Cody live on next to each other and kind of have combining farm there where my parents, where me and Amy were raised. 89 00:08:14,610 --> 00:08:21,250 And Cody has added on to it and I've added on to it. So we have to feed these animals and be like a coach. 90 00:08:21,250 --> 00:08:24,660 We're gonna pick which ones get to go and then. 91 00:08:24,660 --> 00:08:31,630 Yeah, and it's funny because I mean, little to people now we actually sit out there and watch them walk around and you wouldn't think that would matter. 92 00:08:31,630 --> 00:08:34,870 But, you know, is this bull hurting, is he sore? 93 00:08:34,870 --> 00:08:40,980 I mean, you can tell and this comes with life and other people that rodeo and people that handle cattle understand. 94 00:08:40,980 --> 00:08:44,980 But it's called cattle sense. You can tell how that bull feels 95 00:08:44,980 --> 00:08:52,000 by the way, he just handles himself. And you don't you don't want to take animal that's subpar or hurting or you know, 96 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:56,560 you want to make sure that he is on top of his game because they love it. 97 00:08:56,560 --> 00:09:01,840 However you like at it, they love it. It's not like everybody thinks we are mean to them, they love it. 98 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:09,650 For example, if you take a bull and you leave him in the pen by himself. Right there from my house, you just have to see what I'm talking about. 99 00:09:09,650 --> 00:09:17,410 There's a pen, but you have to drive by that pen to go down the hill to leave. Well if we load up a load trailer and leave that one bull at home. 100 00:09:17,410 --> 00:09:22,570 We've seen this a lot of times. They run the fence like, hey, you forgot me. 101 00:09:22,570 --> 00:09:26,560 Wait, wait, you guys forgot me. And that's just it. 102 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:29,980 It's a lot of fun. They're true athletes. Yeah, they love it, really. 103 00:09:29,980 --> 00:09:35,170 And if they don't feel like doing it, we have to know that somehow. You can tell it to you. 104 00:09:35,170 --> 00:09:37,800 I mean there's bulls that we don't we don't buck. 105 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:44,510 We buy 'em and have them and then just decide that it's better to move on, do something different with them because they don't feel it. 106 00:09:44,510 --> 00:09:47,650 And, you know, we don't haul that bull to the rodeo. 107 00:09:47,650 --> 00:09:52,390 We just we sell them to somebody else and let them use him as a breed bull or whatever they may with him, 108 00:09:52,390 --> 00:09:58,330 you know, and but the ones the true blue are going to get you their bulls and horses. 109 00:09:58,330 --> 00:10:02,980 They know it. They are just completely different. Most of them are always gentle. 110 00:10:02,980 --> 00:10:09,460 You can pet most of the really good one's. So we've got our pet bull, Big John, that everybody can pet. 111 00:10:09,460 --> 00:10:14,530 So on a typical week, say there's a show Friday and Saturday we leave. 112 00:10:14,530 --> 00:10:19,550 We may leave Monday or Tuesday morning. And we haul all these animals to another town. 113 00:10:19,550 --> 00:10:31,580 We get Big John out. We go up to the arena. We have news anchors, newspapers, you know, people coming out doing the public relations work and 114 00:10:31,580 --> 00:10:38,040 G=getting advertising for that town. Things we've already done and say we're coming this weekend, here we are. 115 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:42,330 But then there's a lot more that goes into depending on what our job is at that particular rodeo, 116 00:10:42,330 --> 00:10:46,950 setting up the bull arena, making sure the dirt is in, you know, Cody will make sure the dirt is right. 117 00:10:46,950 --> 00:10:51,990 And we have a lot of moving parts before the show ever happens. 118 00:10:51,990 --> 00:10:55,620 You know, I mean, know is the Arena Square is the bucking chute square. 119 00:10:55,620 --> 00:10:57,420 People don't realize the time we spend. 120 00:10:57,420 --> 00:11:05,670 And we'll spend a couple of hours sometimes straightening the arena because we want it to look a certain way and flow a certain way. 121 00:11:05,670 --> 00:11:09,690 And that's something people don't get about arenas, cattle pens or anything. 122 00:11:09,690 --> 00:11:15,060 If the flow is correct, everything goes faster and we base all of our shows on two hours. 123 00:11:15,060 --> 00:11:19,230 That's what we want, unless somebody that's actually paying us for a production 124 00:11:19,230 --> 00:11:26,490 tells us different, you know, because in two hours you can really get a good show in and make everybody happy. 125 00:11:26,490 --> 00:11:33,420 So after the after the stocks in town, after the arena is all set up and we've done our part of the advertising, 126 00:11:33,420 --> 00:11:40,320 what we're responsible for, then we have a production meeting. We'll say we have the big screen coming in. 127 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:44,290 We have to get those guys set up and have to get their crew over. Our announcer. 128 00:11:44,290 --> 00:11:52,020 Funny man. All the people that work in the back pens. Lots of people that work at these big rodeos, a lot of them. 129 00:11:52,020 --> 00:11:56,430 I mean, it takes 30 to 50 people, put on rodeo. 130 00:11:56,430 --> 00:12:02,490 So you're having this production meeting and explaining the exact order of events, what we're going to do, 131 00:12:02,490 --> 00:12:06,450 who we're going to introduce in the rodeo and go through basically the whole rodeo. 132 00:12:06,450 --> 00:12:13,950 A lot of people don't even understand like before the rodeo starts, we can tell you what bucking chute your bull is gonna be. 133 00:12:13,950 --> 00:12:19,320 And when he performs. What number a year. You're the seventh guy to go one time. 134 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:29,220 Exactly what you're gonna be out at nine forty two pm, the seventh guy out of shoot three because you have to plan how everything is going to go. 135 00:12:29,220 --> 00:12:33,420 And then you're also running a rodeo with live animals and live performance. 136 00:12:33,420 --> 00:12:40,430 And there's gonna be things that happen that you didn't plan for. So that's where we have to look at each other. 137 00:12:40,430 --> 00:12:47,370 You know, something's gone and we've been doing it long enough together that he looks at me and like some time we'll find some way to buy some time, 138 00:12:47,370 --> 00:12:52,630 you know, you'll get already, you know, if we get a bull that won't leave and he's taking of our time. 139 00:12:52,630 --> 00:13:01,380 You know, my I guess my job valore all the time is I'll fill gaps wherever wherever there is a gap in the production. 140 00:13:01,380 --> 00:13:06,090 I'm the one that handles that. Or if we have a problem, I'm the one that goes and deals with it. 141 00:13:06,090 --> 00:13:10,710 And I kind of stay in the shadows and people don't really even know I'm there doing stuff, you know? 142 00:13:10,710 --> 00:13:15,830 But I mean, you're doing your job. Yeah, well, that's probably what I'm good at. 143 00:13:15,830 --> 00:13:22,680 Yeah. I'm the guy that if you know, if there's somebody at the gate raising cane with a ticket person, 144 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:28,200 I'm the one that goes out there, deals with that or, you know, or we've got a bull roped in it and we're in a bind. 145 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:33,320 Somebody is really in a bind. I'm going to get in there and help them. I mean, not to bring up bad things. 146 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,830 Cline fell off the fence one time at a rodeo knocked his shoulder out. 147 00:13:37,830 --> 00:13:46,350 I happened to jump down in there and let the bull around him so it didn't maul him. And he was rolling around like a shot deer on his face, you know, but we. 148 00:13:46,350 --> 00:13:50,730 But the rodeo. No one even knew it. I picked himup, carried him out the back gate. 149 00:13:50,730 --> 00:13:54,390 The show went on. Cline went to the ER. We finished the whole rodeo. 150 00:13:54,390 --> 00:14:01,290 No one even knew he was gone, you know. And it's because we all do our part so often and work: Dusty Carr, Tanner Hunt 151 00:14:01,290 --> 00:14:06,000 Scot Long, all them Christ Burmaster, Chad a lot of people. 152 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:07,500 They're all we're family. 153 00:14:07,500 --> 00:14:16,240 And they whoever needs to be picked up, they just pick right up where we go and move on, you know, and that's that's something it's important. 154 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:22,210 Well, I mean, and that speaks to it being entertainment, right? I mean, the idea is, is no one knows what's going on behind the scenes. 155 00:14:22,210 --> 00:14:25,870 You know, you're there as a as an audience member. You just want to enjoy. 156 00:14:25,870 --> 00:14:29,790 Oh, I don't care what's going on. Like, you know, well, they don't need to know. 157 00:14:29,790 --> 00:14:33,190 The black curtain is there for a reason. Right. That's all you guys. And so. 158 00:14:33,190 --> 00:14:36,220 Yeah. So that's what we do know. And that's super exciting. 159 00:14:36,220 --> 00:14:40,360 And I appreciate you sharing that because I think like I said, even from setting up the arena, 160 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:46,600 I don't think people realize it's the most times they're not static arenas like you are actually building, you know, a portable one. 161 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:52,630 And so bringing that in and making it, you know, good angles for the audience and and just keeping everyone safe, of course. 162 00:14:52,630 --> 00:14:58,150 So that's something we do, you know, for events in multiple places, multiple states, multiple people. 163 00:14:58,150 --> 00:15:03,340 We actually lease out the arena and actually provide a full rodeo arena anywhere. 164 00:15:03,340 --> 00:15:10,960 Essentially, we can put it in your backyard, in a parking lot, anywhere you need. We've put it in backyards, parking lots, baseball fields. 165 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,010 But you know, w work for hire. We do that. We do that on a daily basis. 166 00:15:15,010 --> 00:15:19,690 A lot of people don't realize what it takes to do that. But, I mean, we've got two big semis. 167 00:15:19,690 --> 00:15:25,170 We actually roll into town with arena on one trailer and we may have a one-ton two. 168 00:15:25,170 --> 00:15:27,190 And we'll bring in like some of the events we do. 169 00:15:27,190 --> 00:15:35,080 We have a bucking bulls and we'll have like 22 bucking bulls on that trailer and you'll have the arena and we'll pull in there and actually set it up. 170 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:40,090 We can actually set up an arena and be bucking bulls within probably three hours, something like that. 171 00:15:40,090 --> 00:15:44,980 And so and then after the show, when everybody goes home and enjoys themselves and happy, 172 00:15:44,980 --> 00:15:51,700 we're tearing down the arena and packing it back up to move to the next spot or to go home, hopefully home much of the time. 173 00:15:51,700 --> 00:15:55,960 So we enjoy being here. You know, when you get to doing that a lot, you want to go. 174 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:02,080 You want to leave here and go rodeo as much you can and get out there. And then when you're out there, all you can think about getting back to Ash Flat. 175 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:06,140 You do a lot of stuff here in Ash Flat, your traveling. 176 00:16:06,140 --> 00:16:10,710 So why the decision to go pro? I mean, and what does that really mean? 177 00:16:10,710 --> 00:16:14,980 Actually it means, going pro has always been the plan all along since day 1. 178 00:16:14,980 --> 00:16:22,840 It's something that we worked towards the whole time to buy into the PRCA Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association. 179 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:28,190 And they don't just let you in. It's. Well, and that's what your dad was aiming for 180 00:16:28,190 --> 00:16:32,170 when he passed away. Right. He was headed to go pro. 181 00:16:32,170 --> 00:16:37,840 And that was his goal. And that's kind of something that we helped push over the edge. 182 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:44,140 I mean, that's what he worked for. He was working for it. And so that's that turned into Cline's goal and my goal and 183 00:16:44,140 --> 00:16:49,790 We moved forward. And now me and you are just 184 00:16:49,790 --> 00:16:54,630 here at the national level, you can put on the biggest events, the world. It's like a club. 185 00:16:54,630 --> 00:17:02,550 We can't even, like if they were to call us and ask us to come put on their PRCA rodeo before would have to say sorry, we're not allowed to. 186 00:17:02,550 --> 00:17:08,220 We're not a PRCA contractor. So now that we're contractors, when they call, we can go. 187 00:17:08,220 --> 00:17:12,750 We can set it up. It opened a lot of doors for us. This past two weeks 188 00:17:12,750 --> 00:17:22,380 it's first time in Cody got a bunch of free stuff. It was nice Although all the Wrangler shirts you can carry. Wrangler gave us clothes. 189 00:17:22,380 --> 00:17:27,630 Pendleton helped this out in a lot of a lot of different things. Cinch provide us face masks, Covid masks. 190 00:17:27,630 --> 00:17:35,040 Yeah. And they mail us stuff, too, you know, they mail us rodeo equipment. Before, 191 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:38,490 well, we had to buy all that stuff. Now we're getting it mailed to us. 192 00:17:38,490 --> 00:17:46,830 So it's a product too you know, I mean, they sell. PRCA does an exceptional job selling their product and selling themselves. 193 00:17:46,830 --> 00:17:53,830 And it's also something that you want to be part of. I mean, it is a very, very professional, clean rodeo. 194 00:17:53,830 --> 00:17:59,550 Like there's a whole list of stuff you can be fined for in and you're gonna do your job. 195 00:17:59,550 --> 00:18:03,480 And everybody at that job. Cline and I kind of talked about this before. 196 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:07,980 You used to put on rodeos, if something went wrong or somebody did wrong. 197 00:18:07,980 --> 00:18:11,610 We had to handle it. Now, when we get the rodeo, the rodeo runs itself. 198 00:18:11,610 --> 00:18:15,010 We can almost we can almost just sit on the back of the bucking chute because 199 00:18:15,010 --> 00:18:19,780 the judge is professional or even the Cowboys are, you are so professional. 200 00:18:19,780 --> 00:18:25,020 They are not going to mouth you. They're gonna do what they're supposed to do. They get in and get out and handle their business. 201 00:18:25,020 --> 00:18:30,330 And that that's one of the biggest steps that helped us in kind of decision making. 202 00:18:30,330 --> 00:18:33,170 It's pro rodeo. You're a pro. 203 00:18:33,170 --> 00:18:41,100 And if you're going to handle something in a pro fashion and because you claim to be professional, you're going to be professional. 204 00:18:41,100 --> 00:18:46,590 We actually had several NFR qualifiers and several professional athletes come to Ash Flat the last two years. 205 00:18:46,590 --> 00:18:51,330 Now that we're putting on PRCA rodeos here. Will Lumis. He was in the NFR 206 00:18:51,330 --> 00:18:56,160 He comes to the rodeo. You know, Tyler Waguespack come to the one in Hot Spring. 207 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:02,370 You know, Fallon Taylor was here this year at our rodeo we built here at Ash Flat, and she was a famous barrel racer. 208 00:19:02,370 --> 00:19:08,160 So a lot of kids in our area got to come out and meet professional athletes and see them. 209 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:12,630 And it helps put Ash Flat on the map. We made this joke. You know, one time 210 00:19:12,630 --> 00:19:17,940 We're gonna get t-shirts made, you know, Generations and Hall Rodeo putting Ash Flat on the map. 211 00:19:17,940 --> 00:19:22,440 I love it when it's because, you know, you don't have to leave these local kids. 212 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:26,760 They don't have to go to Las Vegas to see these people. 213 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:31,890 When I meet Ashley, it's not a very big town. I mean, they're growing by leaps and bounds every day. 214 00:19:31,890 --> 00:19:39,810 You know, I'm I'm super stoked about that, Emerson. I'm super stoked about all this new business, Tractor Supply, because growth is what we need. 215 00:19:39,810 --> 00:19:45,030 If you don't get one up, you're going down. So that's the trick. You've got to keep moving forward. 216 00:19:45,030 --> 00:19:55,170 And so we can actually bring what you can get somewhere in a big town at a high price to Ash Flat at a smaller price. 217 00:19:55,170 --> 00:20:04,710 And then that's big for this this community. It gives accessibility to people who may not be able to journey beyond our region, at least not right now. 218 00:20:04,710 --> 00:20:12,180 And so I think having the ability to bring those people here, I think really is an asset to the things that you do as entertainers. 219 00:20:12,180 --> 00:20:15,870 I mean, that's the thing. And I just wanted to let the listeners also know that 220 00:20:15,870 --> 00:20:24,450 so when we talk about pro rodeo, it's not only the venue and the production itself, but also the athletes and also the animals. 221 00:20:24,450 --> 00:20:27,660 Right. So that's the big thing we're talking about is two weeks ago they were able to 222 00:20:27,660 --> 00:20:35,370 bring one of the bulls that was qualified to actually be ridden in ationals. 223 00:20:35,370 --> 00:20:39,250 And his name is Matthew was actually picked, if I remember right, can't remember his name. 224 00:20:39,250 --> 00:20:42,810 But he was number nine. He was I think is the gentleman that was picked to ride 225 00:20:42,810 --> 00:20:49,710 on Matthew. That was the goal, right. Is to do that very thing that you guys were able to do. Get an animal to the NFR was the goal. 226 00:20:49,710 --> 00:20:53,520 And we succeeded in that goal this year. We we made it. 227 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:55,740 We have another partner of ours, Chris Burmaster with that bull 228 00:20:55,740 --> 00:21:02,850 in there. He takes care of that bull everyday and he lives in Chris's barn and that bulls part of our crew. 229 00:21:02,850 --> 00:21:09,660 They won three rodeos on that bull this year, and that's how he got his name. 230 00:21:09,660 --> 00:21:14,990 And so the Cowboys wanted to get on that bull. So then after, you know, 231 00:21:14,990 --> 00:21:22,620 the hundreds of bulls we've raised and thousands of bulls have gone through and tens of thousands bulls right now in the U.S., 232 00:21:22,620 --> 00:21:27,120 there's only one hundred selected every year for the national finals rodeo. 233 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:35,190 And when they well, we've got all of our bull numbers turned in to the PRCA, all the contractors, everybody went through their herds. 234 00:21:35,190 --> 00:21:40,240 And you have to qualify with eight outs on the animal. He had to be ridden eight times 235 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:47,130 on PRCA rodeos. There is 450 bulls on the list qualified that could have gone. 236 00:21:47,130 --> 00:21:51,040 So then it's up to the PRCA bull riding director and the bull riders. 237 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:55,890 We actually submitted four bulls and had four bulls on the list. 238 00:21:55,890 --> 00:21:59,690 Yeah. Yeah. Videos. No issues within it. 239 00:21:59,690 --> 00:22:05,460 There is something he said, the director. He basically calls around and checks everybody's story. 240 00:22:05,460 --> 00:22:09,690 And then after that, he calls round and checks all the contractors side of. And then he watches the video. 241 00:22:09,690 --> 00:22:13,200 And then if he sees something he doesn't like, that bull still gets pulled 242 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:17,940 even though everybody else said he could. Yeah, he could be a really good bucking bull, but he doesn't stand in the chutes 243 00:22:17,940 --> 00:22:25,380 very good. Well, if you're trying to put on a performance and you only have X amount of minutes and seconds per animal, 244 00:22:25,380 --> 00:22:31,560 you can't give that animal any extra time. And so anything gets you knocked out of going to NFR. 245 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:40,340 And we're just, out of the seventy five contractors that tried to take bulls this year, they only took 48. They only took 48 different contractors. 246 00:22:40,340 --> 00:22:58,320 For us to be one of them was a very big deal for us. For more information about this or any Create Bridges podcast or more about Create Bridges 247 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:03,040 Arkansas, visit uaex.edu/createbridges. 248 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:08,880 The Create Bridges Arkansas podcast is made possible by a Walmart Grant to the University of Arkansas System 249 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:13,890 Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Community Professional and Economic Development Unit. 250 00:23:13,890 --> 00:23:27,425 And with the cooperation of Spring River Innovation Hub and White River Now productions.