Another Day on the Farm

Tommie drives the skidloader and unloads all 30 pallets of Callaway Horse Bedding.

I thought I'd throw in a few photos of what happens when we are not performing. There are so many things you need to do for horses which don't include riding. Tommie is unloading a truckload of 30 pallets into our barn. We give our horses the best we can. We found a very nice product with horse bedding. We now carry and use Callaway Farms Horse Bedding. We like the fact that the bags are 8.5 cf expanded and 2 bags really fill a stall. Tommie like the Triple Crown style which is a mixture of large, medium and small shavings. He used to mix bags to get a good base with the small and then put a layer of medium or large on the top to keep it comfortable and fluffy. With Callaway Triple Crown it comes all in one bag! They made it easy. The best thing is that Tommie even went to their facility in Rayle, GA to see how they make their bedding. Some people say its just wood chips, but Tommie knows better. You have to be careful what goes into it. We've found shavings made from pallets, old wood, and all types of wood that don't absorb well or the horses have a reaction to it. Many shavings companies buy the chips and then sift and pack them. Callaway starts with a pine tree to the finished product. They know exactly what they are getting from start to finish. They have an incredible commitment to providing the best possible product and have even taken in Tommie's feedback on what products and benefits they need to focus on. They even put a handle on the bag to make it easy to carry. The bags sell for $6, so its in the same ballpark as all the rest. When looking at products, Tommie takes his horses into consideration first, how the product is made or produced, does it make life easier and is it cost effective and non-wasteful. Callaway hits a home run on all of these. Now if they would only unload it for us! They pack 30 pallets in to cut down on shipping cost too. We love companies that do things right and really care about their products. Most shipping is done right away too. No waiting or backorders. Tommie said they have a football field size warehouse filled with pallets ready to ship. Well, gotta go run the chariots. Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

PCB Bullriding Finals III

Tommie was close to home this past weekend, with a show at the Sears Centre near Chicago. He was featured at the PCB Bullriding Finals and performed with Pokerjoe to a crowd of 10,000 people over the 2 nights. Tommie did a meet and greet and sign autographs. Special thanks to Callaway Farms Premium Horse Bedding for their support and for making it possible to meet the fans. Thanks Chris and Andy! We'll see you in Georgia.

This rodeo event is really cool since it just has bucking bulls and fast barrel racers. They had a lot of mean bulls and there were alot of hard hits and falls. The bullfighters really earn their money protecting the cowboys. They even showed a video of a bullfighter getting his arm and ribs broke a few months ago. He jumped in to save a cowboy from a bull and took a big hit that tossed him like a ragdoll. If you think bullriders have guts, think about the bullfighter. We got to meet the master bullfighter, Rob Smets too. He did the commentary right from the middle of the ring. Radical Ryan Rodrigez was the clown and barrelman. He's pretty cool. We've worked with him in San Angelo, Texas. He's got a little dog he does his act with. Tommie had the crowd in stitches with his "Riding Instructor" performances. Tommie was really impressed with Haley, who is a 5 year old barrel racer who ran a 16 sec pattern in the show. Top runs were 14's, so this little lady kept up that's for sure! She saw Tommie and said she wants to learn how to lay down her horse and she wants him to teach her, so Tommie presented her with her very own Pokerjoe Breyer model. She was very gracious and even asked for Tommie to sign it for her. You'll see this little girl around the barrel racing circuit for years to come.

This is Tommie's horse trailer parked at the back door of the show. This is to make sure the horses and Tommie have a nice place to rest near the stage entrance for the show.

Tommie always has his dogs with him as well. This is a great shot of Maverick, his Red Queensland Heeler. He is an audience favorite at expos, fairs, and horse events. He's featured in Tommie's video on "How to teach your dog to fetch a beer". http://www.fetchmeabeer.com/

I held a 4 D barrel race here at our facility on Sat and Sun. The weather was nice and we had a good turn out. Paid out a lot of nice checks with 80% payback and added money. This series runs until April, then we'll have schedule more shows over the summer, plus the series for next year as well. That was our weekend, hope yours was fun too!

Ride Fast.... Take Chances! karen