Marki Rodeo offers top bulls
By Susan Etchey
By Susan Etchey
Brighton- Most of the meanest and angriest bulls bucking cowboys from Brighton, Okeechobee, and Naples off their muscular backs Saturday night at the 2006 Fest-A-Bull on April 15th came from two Seminole ranches.
Top cowboys in the South East Bull Riders Association (SEBA) from all over the state of Florida competed at the Fred Smith Rodeo Grounds but behind the scenes Seminole Tribe citizens, Marti Johns and Paul Bowers, Jr., had a lot to do with making the event this year a spectacular night of rodeo.
Both are stock contractors who raise specialized breeds of bulls that make this American sport one of the most dangerous and popular of them all. The rodeo industry depends on just the right kind of bulls, and other rodeo stock, to give the rodeo rider a tough challenge.
"Marti brings bulls to rodeos that will throw off these cocky, hot shot cowboys, said a famous rodeo clown known as "Hollywood Harris. He has known the Johns family for years going back to when his father was a rancher buying cattle from John’s dad, Josiah.
Harris and his 12-year-old son, Boogerhead, were the clown act of the night. They have been featured in television network documentaries and twice chosen to perform at the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) finals.
Harris explained the stock contractor’s job is to provide bulls that buck a lot, the more they buck the better. "When the cowboy gets thrown it shows how tough Marti’s bulls are, he said. Awarding points to a bull rider is partially based on how hard and how furious an angry bull is bucking. If helping cowboys earn high scores is the job of the stock contractor, then Johns and Bowers Jr., did a good job of it at the Fest- A-Bull. The announcer Saturday night told the crowd that "Marti Johns is fast becoming one of the best stock contractors in the business. With the up and coming Bowers Jr. learning the trade as he works alongside Johns, the Seminole Tribe is being well represented.
Johns is one of only three full service rodeo stock contractors in the State of Florida. He raises not only bucking bulls but wild horses as well. He also provides calves for roping.
Johns stuck his neck out about six years ago and made a personal investment of time and money in starting his business as a rodeo stock contractor, not the kind of work just anyone can do. It takes someone who knows rodeo and Johns, long before managing the Brighton Casino, was riding bulls just like his father had done before him. Rodeo is in his blood. His business, Marki Rodeo Company, also produces rodeos. In addition to producing the Fest-A-Bull he produces the Josiah Johns Memorial Rodeo, one of the richest payouts in the Professional Cowboy Association (PCA) circuit.
John’s stock is managed and tended at his Brighton ranch. Bower Jr. keeps his bulls at Big Cypress near the residence of his father, Paul Bowers, Sr. He started Bowers Bucking Bulls Rodeo about three years ago.
Raising bulls for rodeo is much different than raising cattle for the beef market. No pastures for these cattle. These prize bulls are fed daily hay and grains and contained in a large corral at the John’s ranch where they are watched over better than most household pets. "They eat breakfast before we do, said Johns. They are regularly examined for disease or injuries and are run for exercise to keep them muscular. "It’s an everyday process, said Johns. One bull can cost more than $30,000 depending on its breed. A stock contractor invests heavily in buying the best breeds that will get a good reputation in the rodeo world. Marki Rodeo Company has a good reputation for its bucking bulls. His goal is to develop his own breed that other stock contractors will want to buy. "I purchased top of the line bulls this year; one with the Page bloodline and some with the Plummer bloodline, said Johns.
Getting started takes time and experience and that is why he is glad to help the young Bowers learn the business. Johns said he is grateful to the Seminole Tribe for giving him the support he needed to establish his business. "I wanted to be a stock contractor; the opportunity existed and we took the chance. It is a very expensive investment to build a herd, he said.
When the bulls are big and bad enough they can be picked for the Finals where the stock contractors win awards as well. Johns and Bowers are members of the PBR and the PCA.
Providing stock for rodeos almost every weekend during the rodeo season is a lot of work. For the Fest-A-Bull John’s hired a crew of approximately six men who work with him throughout the entire day and night to round up the bulls and horses and get them into the cow and horse pens, part out the ones headed for the rodeo, load the stock on John’s gooseneck trailers and truck them to the stock pens at the Brighton rodeo grounds. There the livestock are watched over, fed and watered until the show starts. After the rodeo, the stock is reloaded and returned to their corrals.
The best bulls and horses are used over again and again in rodeos, especially when they become recognized as good buckers. A bull that likes to bucks is good for rodeo. For the bull it is just five minutes of fun. Some bulls earn a reputation among the cowboys. Tough cowboys want to draw a tough bull so they can make a higher score if they finish their ride.
Bowers, Jr. said he likes working rodeos. "It’s a fun and an exciting career. He gets to travel all over the state and meet good people, make friends that remember you the next time you come to rodeo. He said his goal is to create "a herd big enough to haul 10 bulls to any event that are good enough to buck off the cowboy - or make him win"
Top cowboys in the South East Bull Riders Association (SEBA) from all over the state of Florida competed at the Fred Smith Rodeo Grounds but behind the scenes Seminole Tribe citizens, Marti Johns and Paul Bowers, Jr., had a lot to do with making the event this year a spectacular night of rodeo.
Both are stock contractors who raise specialized breeds of bulls that make this American sport one of the most dangerous and popular of them all. The rodeo industry depends on just the right kind of bulls, and other rodeo stock, to give the rodeo rider a tough challenge.
"Marti brings bulls to rodeos that will throw off these cocky, hot shot cowboys, said a famous rodeo clown known as "Hollywood Harris. He has known the Johns family for years going back to when his father was a rancher buying cattle from John’s dad, Josiah.
Harris and his 12-year-old son, Boogerhead, were the clown act of the night. They have been featured in television network documentaries and twice chosen to perform at the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) finals.
Harris explained the stock contractor’s job is to provide bulls that buck a lot, the more they buck the better. "When the cowboy gets thrown it shows how tough Marti’s bulls are, he said. Awarding points to a bull rider is partially based on how hard and how furious an angry bull is bucking. If helping cowboys earn high scores is the job of the stock contractor, then Johns and Bowers Jr., did a good job of it at the Fest- A-Bull. The announcer Saturday night told the crowd that "Marti Johns is fast becoming one of the best stock contractors in the business. With the up and coming Bowers Jr. learning the trade as he works alongside Johns, the Seminole Tribe is being well represented.
Johns is one of only three full service rodeo stock contractors in the State of Florida. He raises not only bucking bulls but wild horses as well. He also provides calves for roping.
Johns stuck his neck out about six years ago and made a personal investment of time and money in starting his business as a rodeo stock contractor, not the kind of work just anyone can do. It takes someone who knows rodeo and Johns, long before managing the Brighton Casino, was riding bulls just like his father had done before him. Rodeo is in his blood. His business, Marki Rodeo Company, also produces rodeos. In addition to producing the Fest-A-Bull he produces the Josiah Johns Memorial Rodeo, one of the richest payouts in the Professional Cowboy Association (PCA) circuit.
John’s stock is managed and tended at his Brighton ranch. Bower Jr. keeps his bulls at Big Cypress near the residence of his father, Paul Bowers, Sr. He started Bowers Bucking Bulls Rodeo about three years ago.
Raising bulls for rodeo is much different than raising cattle for the beef market. No pastures for these cattle. These prize bulls are fed daily hay and grains and contained in a large corral at the John’s ranch where they are watched over better than most household pets. "They eat breakfast before we do, said Johns. They are regularly examined for disease or injuries and are run for exercise to keep them muscular. "It’s an everyday process, said Johns. One bull can cost more than $30,000 depending on its breed. A stock contractor invests heavily in buying the best breeds that will get a good reputation in the rodeo world. Marki Rodeo Company has a good reputation for its bucking bulls. His goal is to develop his own breed that other stock contractors will want to buy. "I purchased top of the line bulls this year; one with the Page bloodline and some with the Plummer bloodline, said Johns.
Getting started takes time and experience and that is why he is glad to help the young Bowers learn the business. Johns said he is grateful to the Seminole Tribe for giving him the support he needed to establish his business. "I wanted to be a stock contractor; the opportunity existed and we took the chance. It is a very expensive investment to build a herd, he said.
When the bulls are big and bad enough they can be picked for the Finals where the stock contractors win awards as well. Johns and Bowers are members of the PBR and the PCA.
Providing stock for rodeos almost every weekend during the rodeo season is a lot of work. For the Fest-A-Bull John’s hired a crew of approximately six men who work with him throughout the entire day and night to round up the bulls and horses and get them into the cow and horse pens, part out the ones headed for the rodeo, load the stock on John’s gooseneck trailers and truck them to the stock pens at the Brighton rodeo grounds. There the livestock are watched over, fed and watered until the show starts. After the rodeo, the stock is reloaded and returned to their corrals.
The best bulls and horses are used over again and again in rodeos, especially when they become recognized as good buckers. A bull that likes to bucks is good for rodeo. For the bull it is just five minutes of fun. Some bulls earn a reputation among the cowboys. Tough cowboys want to draw a tough bull so they can make a higher score if they finish their ride.
Bowers, Jr. said he likes working rodeos. "It’s a fun and an exciting career. He gets to travel all over the state and meet good people, make friends that remember you the next time you come to rodeo. He said his goal is to create "a herd big enough to haul 10 bulls to any event that are good enough to buck off the cowboy - or make him win"
