Author: Lori O'Harver

The Calgary Stampede is known as the ‘greatest show on dirt’. Why? Because it is! If you’re looking for just one great rodeo event to witness in your lifetime, pick Calgary. Believe it, but if Calgary, Alberta, isn’t in your travel budget for July 6 through 15 this year, get a FREE taste by going to wranglernetwork.com for all the action.

From the beautiful ex-Olympic venue to the city’s hospitality and civic pride, to the parties, the pageantry and obvious true love for the purity of the sport, Calgary is unequaled. Where else can you find a full time marching band who tours for ‘the brand’? Who keeps a matched set of stunning, chestnut and chrome horses for their crack cowgirl drill team? Who’s scoreboard breaks down the bucking horse’s and bull’s individual scores alongside the rider’s as well as the total? Where else is Bob Tallman given the time to educate us about the great animals and humane, intelligent breeding program established by Calgary Stampede? Outside of the PBR, where else does Flint Rasmussen take center stage during each and every performance? Calgary is the only place to find it! But that’s not all.

In Canada, chuckwagon racing is king. Every night after the day’s rodeo performance, the four-horse teams of Thoroughbred racehorses take the stage at the premier event of the year, the $1,000,000 Rangeland Derby. Thirty-six drivers are invited to participate, those drivers each haul teams of about 20 off-track Thoroughbreds who’ve retired from flat racing for various reasons. Most are geldings and all are about the happiest horses you’ll ever meet. Why not? Their lives are perfect for them. Not only do they get to continue do what they love in racing, they get to do it in the company of their friends. It’s a hair-raising thriller every time they thunder onto the track!

Experience Calgary Stampede, but don’t take our word for it! Watch it live streamed for FREE at WranglerNetwork.com or get the user-friendly FREE app.

July is “Cowboy Christmas” in the rodeo world. Cowboy Christmas is the busiest time of the year for rodeos with big money payouts on the way to the National Finals Rodeo.

Cowboy Christmas is the time of year cowboys spend a lot of money to win a little money.

Rodeo contestants are a patriotic crew, the National Anthem is never kneeled for, hats fly off to be held over hearts and 4th of July is a big deal!

With over seventy-one (71) big rodeos with top prize money held during the month of July, an aggressive winning streak over what’s affectionately known as Cowboy Christmas changes everything in PRCA Top 15. With just a few months left in the regular season, Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifications can and will be cemented with a good Cowboy Christmas run!

Winning Several of These Rodeos is on EVERY Cowboy’s Wish List:

1. Greeley Independence Stampede Greeley, CO
2. World’s Oldest Rodeo Prescott Frontier Days Prescott, AZ
3. Cody Stampede Cody, WY
4. Rodeo of the Ozarks Springdale, AR
5. Mandan Rodeo Days Mandan, ND
6. Sitting Bull Stampede Mobridge, SD
7. Oakley Independence Day Rodeo Oakley, UT
8. St. Paul Rodeo St. Paul, OR
9. 22nd Annual 4th of July Celebration & Rodeo Window Rock, AZ
10. Eugene Pro Rodeo Eugene, OR
11. Killdeer Mountain Roundup Killdeer, ND
12. Black Hills Roundup Belle Fourche, SD
13. Folsom Pro Rodeo Folsom, CA
14. Western Stampede West Jordan, UT
15. 84th Annual 4th of July Rodeo Belton, TX
16. Molalla Buckaroo Molalla, OR
17. Painted Pony Championship Rodeo Lake Luzerne, NY
18. Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Steamboat Springs, CO
19. Shenandoah Days Pro Rodeo Galena, IL
20. Mesquite Championship Rodeo Mesquite, TX
21. Mid-Western Rodeo Manawa, WI
22. Cowtown Rodeo Woodstown, NJ
23. Cody/Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls Cody, WY
24. Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo Casper, WY
25. Rooftop Rodeo Estes Park, CO
26. Pikes Peak Or Bust Rodeo Colorado Springs, CO
27. Painted Pony Championship Rodeo Lake Luzerne, NY
28. Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo Vernal, UT
29. Hamel Rodeo & Bull Riding Bonanza Hamel, MN
30. Isanti Firefighter’s Rodeo Isanti, MN
31. Ute Stampede Rodeo Nephi, UT
32. Sheridan Wyoming Rodeo Sheridan, WY
33. Heart of the North Rodeo Spooner, WI
34. Cheney Rodeo Cheney, WA
35. Cattlemen’s Days Gunnison, CO
36. Mesquite Championship Rodeo Mesquite, TX
37. Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Steamboat Springs, CO
38. Buckin On The River Savannah, TN
39. Silver State Stampede Elko, NV
40. Butte Vigilante Rodeo Butte, MT
41. Winnishiek County Fair Pro Rodeo Decorah, IA
42. Laramie Jubilee Days Laramie, WY
43. Buckeye Stampede Rodeo Dover, OH
44. Cowtown Rodeo Woodstown, NJ
45. Snake River Stampede Nampa, ID
46. Days of ’47 Rodeo Salt Lake City, UT
47. Kansas Largest Night Rodeo Pretty Prairie, KS
48. Green County Fair & Rodeo Monroe, WI
49. Franklin County Fair & Rodeo Hampton, IA
50. Painted Pony Championship Rodeo Lake Luzerne, NY
51. Delaware State Fair Pro Rodeo Harrington, DE
52. Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Mitchell, SD
53. California Rodeo Salinas Salinas, CA
54. Allegheny Mountain Championship Rodeo Kellettville, PA
55. Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Steamboat Springs, CO
56. Catoosa Co. Chas. B. Davis Memorial Rodeo Ringgold, GA
57. Mesquite Championship Rodeo Mesquite, TX
58. Cheyenne Frontier Days Cheyenne, WY
59. Cowtown Rodeo Woodstown, NJ
60. Deke Latham Memorial Rodeo Kaycee, WY
61. Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo Ogden, UT
62. C.M. Russell Stampede Stanford, MT
63. Cecil County Fair Pro Rodeo Fairhill, MD
64. Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Rodeo Spanish Fork, UT
65. Painted Pony Championship Rodeo Lake Luzerne, NY
66. Chief Joseph Days Rodeo Joseph, OR
67. Nebraska’s Big Rodeo Burwell, NE
68. Desertview Rodeo Castle Dale, UT
69. Deadwood Days of ’76 Rodeo Deadwood, SD
70. Last Chance Stampede Helena, MT
71. Wahoo PRCA Rodeo Wahoo, NE
72. Red Desert Roundup Rock Springs, WY
73. Seneca County Fair Tiffin, OH
74. San Luis Valley Ski-Hi Stampede Monte Vista, CO
75. Lake County Fair Rodeo Grays Lake, IL
76. Neshoba County Fair Philadelphia, MS

Could you be dropped off in the wild and survive? Todd Jostes can. The winner of Discovery Channel’s Bushcraft Buildoff did it handily with help from a couple of old cowboys who’d never had the wilderness experience. He chose them because after what he’s experienced, he wanted to teach. Through his work through International Sportsmen’s Expos, he continues to share his wealth of knowledge and survival savvy with the world.

“I’ve always been the guy who tackled my dreams,” Jostes said. “I was a Chicago redneck growing up, wrestled in high school and it turns out, that set me up for a lot of opportunities. After moving to Arizona to wrestle, my family got up close and personal with tragedy. My baby sister was killed in a car accident and my father passed away. Both losses were devastating. My dad was my coach, mentor and ultimately biggest fan.”

Some people call them ‘false starts’. Survivors call those priceless educational moments. Jostes joined the U.S. Marine Corps to be injured and honorably discharged. He followed in the family tradition and became a firefighter and established a successful construction business. Always an avid outdoorsman, the most pivotal moment of his life was about to happen.

“I went into the backcountry by myself to hunt javelina and somehow got turned around. I wandered lost and hungry for three days and was finally rescued. It was embarrassing and life-changing. I knew then that I never wanted to feel that helplessness again.”

“I dropped everything and went to work with Cody Lundin, the survival instructor in Prescott, Arizona. It lit a fire in me that made me understand the quirky skill set I’d acquired could now be used for the greater good,” said Jostes.

“When the Discovery Channel contacted me about their show ‘Bushcraft Buildoff’, I jumped at the challenge. We were allowed to choose two people to assist and all had just one tool. I chose two men I knew were tough as nails but had no experience surviving in the wild. We were dropped in the high desert of Utah, took a deep breath and set about not just surviving but thriving. Those old cowboys stepped up and we won the contest.”

Today, Jostes can start a fire with just a piece of ice and some kindling. He can make rope from readily available vegetation. He’s developed a line of tools that are as tough as the wilderness itself. He learned to make medicine from available herbs found in the wild and markets those, but most importantly, he teaches others primitive living and wilderness survival skills that can be applied to not just life in the wild, but brings depth and value to everyday living.

TJ The Wilderness Man seminars at International Sportsman’s Expos have helped thousands of people gain vital skills and opened an awareness to natural living in ways never done before. He continues to learn while teaching, but most importantly, lives in a way that honors the Earth and his fellow man.

FORT WORTH, Texas – There’s a man in RFD-TV’s The American Semi-Finals barrel racing making his second run at the million-dollar side pot offered to contestants not automatically invited through the WPRA year-end standings. He’s 6’1’ tall, riding a horse who’s 14.1 and sometimes drags his foot in the dirt when he drops to turn. You can’t miss him. He’s wearing tie-dye. Once you know his story, his gender, short horse, long legs and hippie clothes won’t be what you remember about Jimmy Bryant. You’ll only remember his heart.

“Last year, Cowboy (Little Bit Of A Cowboy) took us all the way to AT&T Stadium,” Bryant said. “We’re hoping to do the same this year because there’s a little girl and her family in Bloomfield, Kentucky, who need our help.”

Stella Prewitt is just 16 months old. Her parents are barrel racing friends of Bryant’s. When he and Cowboy were headed home from qualifying for the semi-finals, he learned that Stella had been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and will be in chemo for years to come due to the high recurrence rate.

“They’re working people with a very sick baby girl,” Bryant said. “We started a Go Fund Me for them because Sara should be able to stay home and comfort her daughter and not have the additional stress of worrying about missing work.”

They’re running to win but doing it on heart. HUGE heart!

To contribute to the Jimmy Bryant Races for Stella fund, please go to gf.me/u/gw46rz