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!!!

As most of you are aware, we have had some challenges getting the results posted. Unfortunately due to some uncontrollable circumstances beyond both the NLBRA's and our control have delayed the finishing results.

We expect to receive the over all results in the very near future and complete the postings.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.

The NLBRA and US Rodeo Supply Company greatly appreciate your understanding.

As soon as we post the results we will update the page with the date of the latest results.

Congrats to Ryan Reed of Tempe, AZ who correctly answered our first question. We both agreed the NLBRA Finals must have a huge impact on the local economy considering it brings in an estimated $10.5 Million. Ryan posed an interesting (and yet unknown) question. What is the impact of the NHSRA Finals in Springfield, IL??? Perhaps a contest for another day.

Also, CONGRATS to Elizabeth Friers of Fultonville, NY for correctly answering our Round 2 question. The NLBRA Franchised 261 events in 2006, that is up by 86 new events since 2002.

July is always a busy month, however for the first time in our history it appears we will outpace the Christmas/Holiday season this month setting a new record Sales Month. We want to thank everyone who continues to show their support for us and helped us along the way. It truly has been an incredible blessing to be able to build this business!!!

Tonight we have been invited to return to an event referred to as SEMEE in Des Moines. Back in February we had the opportunity to share our story with a group of about 140 business minded leaders from the area. It has been an amazing journey just since February getting plugged into this group.

This evening we get to provide the group with an update on our progress since the last meeting and fill them in on all the things we have planned during 2008. Does Sponsoring over 3,000 events sound possible? Hmmmm....I'll keep you posted on that one.

As soon as SEMEE concludes, I run out the door and catch a flight to Pueblo, Co for the conclusion of the NLBRA Finals and the crowning of the 2007 NLBRA World Champions.

It didn't take Ryan very long at all to track down the correct answer to our NLBRA Trivia Question worth $50 bucks!

The correct answer was;

The NLBRA Finals held in Pueblo, Colorado brings in an estimated $10.5 Million dollars each year during the week of the finals to the local economy. Pretty impressive if ya ask me!

So, now for Round 2 worth $75 In-Store/Web/Catalog Credit. The first person to post the correct answer in the comments section win's.

What was the Official number of Franchised NLBRA Rodeos held during the 2006 rodeo season?

Happy Hunting...$75 bucks awaits the lucky winner!!!

As many of you are now aware, the NLBRA Finals kicked off on Monday in Pueblo, Co. Appears we are having a minor hic-up on getting the results posted, however we just about have that resolved and will be updating it twice a day.

Ready to go on a scavenger hunt?

Those that have followed along know I am a big fan of promoting the sport of Rodeo and bringing to light the value of the sport for the over all economy.

Like free money?

Well, almost.

If you can answer the following question and be the first person to post the answer in the comments section here on the Blog you will receive a $50 In-Store/Web/Catalog credit applied to your account.

Seems simple enough...right?

Ok...here goes....

What is the latest information published by the NLBRA related to the over all economic impact that the finals has during the week in Pueblo, Colorado?

Keep in mind this year has over 900 contestants (assume 1800+ parents) and more than 3,000 rides/runs that will happen.

It is a pretty darn impressive number....

Clock is ticking.

For the complete daily NLBRA FINALS RESULTS

Congratulations to all of the contestants (900+) that have made it to this years 2007 National Little Britches Rodeo Association Finals. For those of you not aware, they will be held in Pueblo, Colorado with check-in on July 15th and 2 performances per day starting July 16th - 21st crowning the new World Champions.

Back in January we had the opportunity to meet with Kimber Solberg & Lowell Pfleger at the Denver WESA event. Over the past several months we have worked hard to develop a partnership with the NLBRA and are extremely excited to announce we have jumped in with both feet.

This year we will not have a presence at the finals (other than I will be there), however hope to expand our partnership to be right on site with a large booth space in coming years. We will be hosting all of the Finals Results on our site with daily updates after each performance, so be sure to stay tuned as the details get rolled out. Several exciting contests will also be announced during next week and throughout the events.

We are thrilled to partner with the NLBRA and it's members and are proud to be an Official Sponsor of the 2007 NLBRA World Finals.