Outside the Arena with...

By Georgia Akers

This is the last of a three-part series that I like to refer to as girl power in the bucking bull industry.

This lady is unique because if there was an angel helping our riders, it would be Peyton Martin. She has raised approximately $140,000 to support our riders through the Western Sports Foundation (WSF). In this last year of COVID, donations have been down for almost all charities as everyone has struggled, but riders still needed assistance. She produced and orchestrated a fund-raising fashion show. Not what you would think to have at the World Finals full of cowboys and stock contractors. Peyton’s fundraiser was an incredible success and just plain fun. And if you want to see a cowboy out of his comfort zone, put him on a runway!

Let’s learn more about this cowboy’s angel.

I grew up in a rodeo family on a ranch in western North Dakota that is also on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. My dad and papa rode bulls and I grew up going to rodeo and roping events. I was never interested in partaking in rodeo myself, but I loved supporting my family. I have always ridden horses but it is usually for a reason like rounding up or working cattle.

In 2014, my best friend, Sadie Berger, introduced me to soonto-be husband PBR rider Gage Gay. It was the last night of the PBR World Finals. I never would have thought that night in Las Vegas would have turned into the life we now have together but it’s funny how things work out. I would not trade our life together for the world.

We have a son Bently who is seven and a baby girl on the way who is due in May. We have been living in North Carolina for the past 5 years, but are currently building a home in North Dakota and will be moving back there in the spring.

My mom has always been heavy into fashion, and she has always been my motivator in creating fun, classy and unique looks.

I actually started to be interested in helping/working for a charity and the idea of creating a fashion show came next.

The crazy idea that popped into my head about a charity fashion show was supported immediately by my good friend Aubrey O’Quinn from the Western Sports Foundation. We were in Big Sky, Montana the summer of 2019 at a PBR event and we were on a hike when I brought the idea up to her. She was a little worried about the time frame we had left before the finals and doing a brand-new event.

With it being a big success the very first year, it motivated me to make the second year’s bigger and better. I hope to keep making more and more of a success for the sake of the Western Sports Foundation to help all the western sports athletes.

Being married to a PBR bull rider I know how important WSF is to all the riders and their families.

I have attended many other fun charitable events for WSF before coming up with Peyton’s Project Runway. I was just trying to come up with another fun way to raise money.

They are the only foundation that is heavily involved with the riders and their families. They have expanded their services to provide us with new information and tools to make our lives better. Not only by helping financially when a rider is injured but also training camps as well. They really think of everything to make them better athletes and to help them prepare for the future when their bull riding days are over.

They also care about the wives just as much and every year provide us with an amazing breakfast during the World Finals. They have speakers that speak to us as wives of riders and they go over all the programs and services that are available to the men in our life, because they know it is important for us to know what services are available as well.

So, of course, I would choose them as the recipient for the funds raised. I plan on being an advocate and supporter for the Western Sports Foundation for years to come.

In 2019, the year for my first event, I hit the ground running with a little over 3 months to plan and organize. I had no idea where to start. I had never planned any sort of event like this before. But I had big plans so I had to figure it out and just make it work.

I started with getting clothing stores, boutiques and other companies interested in donating product. Then I reached out to the women in the PBR and asked them to be models along with a handful of riders, retired and current.

After I had models and what they were wearing nailed down, I needed to get other key people involved to make it a big success. Starting with an announcer, I got lucky with PBR’s best: Matt West. Then a music director, Taylor Belles, who was absolutely amazing. Lastly, an auctioneer because the event is a live auction. I had the best in the west with JR Scott. All three of these people have been part of my event since the start of it. They all jumped on board again for the 2020 event, donating their time and helping me bring in over $100k. They are a huge part of the PBR and I love that they are as passionate about WSF as I am.

Not being in Las Vegas in 2020 and getting a venue I had never seen was a struggle. But the Lowes Hotel in Arlington had a great staff that helped me narrow everything down to the tiniest detail. My first time seeing the venue was only 2 days before the show. It was beautiful and it was the perfect place to hold a fashion show/ charity event.

It comes down to who you can depend on to create this event. I have amazing family, friends, and contacts who helped me pull this off.

The Sparkling Spur, Tex’s Line, Yeti, Double D Ranchwear, Cavender’s, Outlaw Nation, Boot Barn, Chad Berger Bucking Bulls, Libby Productions, Leather and Vodka, Fill Rich, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Reign Lashes, and Vexil.

I have been lucky to have Chad Berger Bucking Bulls and Libby Productions donate PBR ticket packages to the event both years. Chad and his family donated a Bismarck PBR package and Adam Libby donated a Deadwood PBR package. They are the best events to take place over the summer run.

All my models are involved with the PBR in some way, shape or form. They are either a bull rider or married/dating a bull rider. Or they are married to a stock contractor or a friend I have met through the PBR. I feel like each person adds value to the event because the audience usually knows who they are.

That is not a good question for me (laughing)!

The men and women I use and call “models” are not your everyday runway models. But they all do an incredible job because they know it is for a good cause.

When I first ask them, they are usually nervous. I just try to make them feel as comfortable as possible and put zero pressure on them. I remind them it’s a charity event and to just have fun!

I try to get a variety of model sizes. And yes, when a clothing company donates a product, I make sure the winning bidder will be able to get it in their size or honor the value to have it be used for something else from their store or website.

Seeing all your visions and hard work come to light.

Not knowing if all those chairs in the audience will get filled up. I am in the back helping the girls get ready so when the show first starts, I have no idea what my crowd is going to look like and it’s a feeling that makes my stomach sick.

The most memorable moment and best part for me is when they tell me the amount that was raised and I get to hand WSF a big check. There is no better feeling.

Yes! This is what makes me happy and it is what God has led me to do. I plan to carry this on and to have Peyton’s Project Runway during many PBR World Finals to come.