Wow.

What a week!!!

Last Thursday evening I was able to attend a follow up meeting with a group called SEMEE - Society of Entrepreneurial Minded Executives in Des Moines, hosted by Transition Capital Management. Once again I was amazed at the overwhelming amount of support offered by those in attendance. We are seeing new faces get excited about the sport of rodeo as well as our company growth here in Iowa. Thank you to everyone involved. I encourage anyone interested in starting or expanding a business here in Iowa to contact TCM to find out how they can help you....trust me! It will be time well spent!

Soooooo...

About 10 pm Thursday evening I do the "mad dash" to pick up the rental car and fly drive to Pueblo, Co for the NLBRA Finals. I tried and tried to find a reasonable flight via Des Moines, however every option seemed to involve 1) a ton of money or 2) a ton of wasted time....so I resorted to flying with the rental car. Not the most productive use of time, however I couldn't justify $1850 Des Moines to Colorado Springs or even $580 Omaha to Denver.....so I spent about 10.5 hours flying driving across Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. Honestly, not that bad. Gave me some time to think and plan.

Upon arriving in the Springs I was greeted with the use of a new Ford Crew Cab Dually courtesy of South Point Auto. Pretty darn sweet ride. Thanks again Guys. I really do appreciate your help and support of the rodeo world and the National Little Britches Finals in Pueblo.

Just a few miles south of the Springs and I landed right in the middle of the NLBRA Finals. Now keep in mind this is our first year being involved and had only had conversations discussing how we plan to be involved and grow with the Association.

Man oh' man was I impressed. This is the real deal with some extremely passionate and dedicated contestants and parents from across the US. Almost 900 contestants, 1500 horses and an estimated 1800+ parents....that doesn't even count the sponsors and spectators.

I loved it!

3 performance arenas going full blast all day long and evening performances as well. Two Announcers calling the shots and a ton of volunteers helping to pull this whole thing off.

Did I say impressed?

EXTREMELY IMPRESSED!

All I can say is if your State does not currently host NLBRA Franchised events, I would strongly encourage you to contact the office to find out the details. This is one of the best kept secrets in youth Rodeo today.

Oh' ya...for thos curious about what "Goat Un-tying" is...it is for the Little Wranglers. One step below traditional "Goat Tying". The kids run out and un-tie a ribbon from the goat. Great FAMILY SPORT!

I am hooked!

Click here to launch NLBRA Finals Video

Upon conclusion of the event I took a quick tour through the Western Expo with the vendors on display to check out how we will set up for next year. A lot of great companies are involved and on display throughout the week to support the kids and their families.

Back on the road and stopped back in to South Pointe Auto to drop off my ride, tell them thanks and hit the road again. I decided to take a quick detour via Cheyenne to check out Frontier Days on Sunday. Managed to bump into Curt Check who is up in the PBR Enterprise tour on Monday and Tuesday. Curious to see how he did....I unfortnately had to bail out of Cheyenne and come back to the office for a day or two....

and then....

off to Springfield, IL to check out the National High School Rodeo Association Finals. I plan to catch up with Marc Andrus (owner of SADDLE BARN) and his son Jesse who qualified from New Mexico. I think he is scheduled to ride tonight (Tuesday) and Thursday. Should be exciting....would love to see him Spur' One...

Last but not least...I plan to stop in and see Phil Smith with Phoenix Performance Products in their booth and hang out for a day and catch up with some of our customers who qualified as well.

Spur It' Up!!!