IN THIS ISSUE FIRES IN THE WEST THE OTHER RED MEAT by Mark Reamer
SERVING WITH HONOR by Pat Sovern
RESEARCH YOUR VETERINARIAN by Becky Monroe
KIDS CORNER-BATS MEATLOAF WITH A TWIST by Phillip Kitts
STAFF
Phillip Kitts - Manager Heidi Kitts - Operations Steve Gray - Design Betty Simpson - Editor
WRITERS Phillip Kitts Mark Reamer Pat Sovern Becky Monroe
PHOTOGRAPHERS Steve Gray Kacey Wallace Colleen McIntyre
Cover photo & design by Steve Steve Gray
VULTURE SUNRISE photo by Steve Gray
CREWS battle FIRES across the WEST Fires have been burning all across the Western United States. This has come at a great cost. Many homes, structures and even lives have been lost. Millions of acres have been destroyed. Fire crews have been battling these fires non-stop since summer months. Pictured here is an aerial Air-Tractor which dumps fire retardant close to the fire to slow its spread. For more information on these fires and a map of their location visit: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
photo of William Fire near Santaquin, Utah photo by Steve Gray
Photos of air-crews battling wildfires in Utah. This is the William Fire located close to Santaquin, Utah. photos by Steve Gray
IS
BISON AN OPTION?
A
THE OTHER RED MEAT by Mark Reamer
ngus or Hereford? Baldy crosses, maybe? A fundamental question all ranchers face is what type of cattle to raise. A host of considerations play into making the decision: market value, production costs, initial investment. There are a lot of options to consider and, once the decision is made, it will influence every other aspect of your cattle operation.
Perhaps our parents or grandparents made the decision for us. Market preferences change over time though. A sprawling pasture filled with red-and-white Herefords might have been the thing to do 50 years ago, but would Angus maybe be a better fit today, or some other breed or cross? There probably isn’t a definitive answer. What makes the most market sense today might not in 30, 20 or even 10 years.
bison left and the species was on the brink of extinction. The story is well-known and is one of the saddest sagas of the American West. The story does have a turnaround though. Today, there are about 500,000 head in North America; more than half of which are in the United States. Another large population is in Canada and Mexico has a few herds in the north. Of the 300,000 in the U.S., about one-third are in federal or state herds such as the famous bison herds of Yellowstone National Park. Others are maintained by welfare societies the goals of which are to preserve and perpetuate the species. Nearly 200,000 though are held by private ranchers who raise the bison for the same reason any other rancher raises stock; to generate income. photo courtesy of antje89 from Pixabay
The one nearly-constant feature is ranchers raise beef cattle. There are the niche outliers of course. These are novelties though and most ranchers will tolerantly smile if someone brings up llama or emu ranching. I’m sure both are legitimate and viable aspects of agriculture which should be welcomed into the profession, especially in an age where most have no ties to agriculture and think porterhouse steaks are made in the back room of the grocery store. Pride in one’s own specialty tends to take over sometimes though. There is one livestock operation which may still be niche, but has no stigma attached and even causes the toughest hand to view it with respect. There is nothing more American than the cowboy except perhaps the American Bison which wandered the Great Plains some 10,000 years before the first domestic cattle were brought from Europe. No other animal anywhere has ever played a larger role in sustaining people who lived with it on the land. Anywhere. Ever.
18-years ago, Larry and Shirley Plumlee raised beef cattle. 17-years ago, they made the switch to raising bison. They haven’t looked back. They don’t consider themselves a large, commercial operation running about 60 head although the National Bison Association states the average bison herd is less than 35 head.
In the late 18th century, there were estimated to be about 60 million head roaming the North American continent from what is today Alaska to Northern Mexico. The depredations of the 19th century were devastating. By 1889, there were only 541 confirmed head of
They don’t consider themselves a large operation primarily due to their marketing strategy which consists of direct wholesaling their finished product to grocery stores and restaurants throughout the flint hills of Kansas. It’s where their ranch is located, just west of Man-
hattan, along I-70. They also do in-person retail sales. Other operations sell their bison to feedlots primarily located in southern Colorado to finish out. Those feedlots feed a combination of forage and grain to maintain the unique flavor of bison as well as create the marbling consumers are used to seeing in beef. This results in the majority of pre-packaged bison consumers find in supermarkets throughout the country.
Feed costs are no more expensive than domestic cattle. Though larger in size than domestic cattle, bison utilize food very efficiently. “Bison are excellent at pasture management,” says Larry. “They’ll eat a lot of things that domestic cattle won’t like cedar sprouts that can take over a pasture. They love them. Their metabolism slows in the winter as well. I feed a herd of 60 about one round bale a day during the winter and, a lot of times, they won’t even finish that.”
By contrast, the Plumlees deliver their product directly from pasture to slaughter. It is, in all ways, exA general misconception about bison is an aggressive actly the same protein which sustained people in North nature. This is aggravated on a regular basis by tourAmerica for millennia with no alteration. ists behaving foolishly trying to pet or take selfies with the giant beasts. Incidents do happen, but it’s usually A major difference between domestic cattle and bison the human at fault. “We have good pasture here. They is the time to market. While domestic beef can be ready don’t stray. I’ve only got a 4-wire barbed fence around to slaughter somewhere the pasture. They could get out easily enough, but they between 15-30 months, don’t,” Larry says. “They don’t like other things in the a bison won’t mature for pasture with them though. If a snake or skunk gets into three years. Cows aren’t the pasture, they’ll circle it and stomp it to death. They ready to breed until then. A don’t like horses either.” bison calf will weigh about 40 lbs. at birth. Once a calf The Plumlees’ experience is neither unusual nor comis born, it will nurse ap- mon. There are two species of bison in North America; proximately nine months the Plains Bison and the Wood Bison. The Plumlees and is best left alone until raise Plains Bison. The Wood Bison is the larger and then. Bison are very pro- slightly more aggressive of the two. Some who raise tective of their calves, with them use steel fencing panels instead of wire. Neither maternal rejection being would probably stop any bison if it truly wanted to get nearly unheard of, and through it though. It has been documented bison can swift reaction to a threat leap 6’ vertically and run between 35-40 mph for up to of the herd. The Plumlees five miles. Not much is going to stop something that do nothing with the calves size going that fast if it doesn’t want to be stopped. until they are weaned. Then they’re tagged to They weren’t lords of the plans for millennia for nor track, but little else. Males reason. Not even grizzlies nor timber wolves would ataren’t castrated, but raised tempt to take on a full-grown, healthy bison. for three years before being processed for meat or sold to other producers to sire their herds. Once a cow beCurrently, bison ranching is still a niche industry. It gins calving, breeding is almost a certainty. “Most years can be lucrative. A weaned calf will sell for somewhere we have a 100% calving rate,” Shirley says. between $2,000-$2,500, depending on the going market. Bison meat wholesales and retails much higher Another advantage of the bison over domestic cattle than conventional beef due to its rarity. It is a viable opis medical costs. “Vet bills are almost non-existent,” Lar- eration option. Anyone who’s ever been involved in any ry says. “If they have good pasture, illness among bison kind of agriculture can attest to the fact you can never is extremely rare.” There are diseases which affect bison, have too many viable operating options to choose from. but due to the herd size and relative isolation of most herds, spread of infection is extremely rare. Many of the Having bison ranching as one of those options might diseases which affect domestic cattle and horses don’t just be the right fit. Who knows? transmit to bison.
The very first to receive the medal was Army Pvt. Jacob Parrott in March 1863. Parrott and a few other Union soldiers went into enemy territory to destroy bridges by Pat Sovern and railroad tracks between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Atlanta. They completed part of their mission, but very year, the president bestows the prestigious were captured. Payne was released in a prisoner exCongressional Medal of Honor to selective in- change and shortly after was awarded the medal of hondividuals who have gone above and beyond the or. call of duty to save the life of others during combat. The newest recipient of this medal was given to a man who Since then, the Medal of Honor has undergone numerdid just that and saved many lives without regard to his ous legislative and design changes. It continues to stand own. Meet Sergeant Major Thomas Patrick Payne of the as the highest award for military valor in action. There United States Army Delta Force. have been just over 3,500 of these medals awarded since 1863. The criteria for receiving the medal has remained The Congressional Medal of Honor began during the consistent since the Vietnam War: The medal is authoCivil War. Iowa Senator James W. Grimes came up with rized for any military service member who “distinguishthe simple idea of distributing medals of honor to en- es himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at listed seamen and Marines who “distinguish themselves the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty by gallantry in action and other seamen-like qualities”. -While engaged in an action against an enemy of the It was approved by Congress in December 1861 and a United States -While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or -While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.”
E
Thomas “Pat” Payne was born on April 2, 1984 and grew up in South Carolina. After 9/11, he wanted to serve his country like many of his peers. He enlisted in the Army and completed his Basic Airborne Course at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Then, he was assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment as a rifleman serving as a sniper team leader. He later entered the special operations academy and became part of the Delta Force. He deployed seventeen times to support Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Inherent Resolve, and to the U.S. Africa Command area.
few months later, the criteria was changed to include Army members.
On October 22, 2015, Sgt. 1st Class Thomas P. Payne was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve serving as an assistant team leader. The team received information that newly dug graves had been spotted intended for hostages soon to be executed. The team loaded up onto helicopters and flew off to rescue the hostages held by ISIS in a prison compound in Hawija. Payne led his team to a building amid a firefight that
was already raging. Soon after, their medic was called away to provide medical aid to Master Sgt. Josh Wheeler who was injured at a different location. Reluctant to continue, Payne and his teammate had to convince the Kurdish forces helping them to follow them. Their object was to rescue over 30 hostages at a nearby building.
give the “last man” call to the task force signaling he was the last person evacuating the area.
Creating a human shield, the combined force moved the hostages safely out of the building. However, out of fear and confusion, the hostages would stop moving when Payne and the others returned fire. The team put The team was able to secure that building and cut the themselves in extreme danger trying to protect the hoslock on the prison door containing the hostages. Payne tages and move them out of the compound. They envividly recalled that moment: “We cut the locks on the countered another problem trying to load so many hosprison doors and open the cells. Over twenty-five, about tages onto the helicopters, unsure if there were enough twenty-five hostages in one cell and probably eleven seats. Payne’s team stood in a cramped helicopter the in the other. And,umm, you see their faces light up. entire flight back to Erbil. There were 70 hostages! This They’re being liberated. Some are crying. Some are ex- became one of the largest and dangerous hostage rescited. And while this is going on, there’s still an intense cues in history, earning Payne the recommendation for firefight going on in the other building. You can see the the Medal of Honor. flames and hear all the other explosions going on. And we heard on the radio: urgent call for assistance. That’s On September 11, 2020, Sgt. Major Thomas P. Payne when I looked at a teammate and said let’s get into the was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor by fight. Let’s go!” President Trump. During the televised ceremony from the White House, Trump stated, “Pat, you embody the Payne could hear the sound of intense firefight just thirty yards away. His team moved to the roof of that building while under attack from the enemy below them and to the west of them. Attempts were made to enter the roof using small arms and grenades, but it didn’t work. He heard screams and a suicide bomb explosion below that shook the roof. So, they went to the ground to try to enter the building another way. When Payne noticed the same type of lock was used on the main prison door as the first building, he attempted to cut the lock himself while being vulnerable to enemy fire. Payne knew the trapped hostages would die in the burning building if he didn’t do something. He was able to cut the lock with a set of bolt cutters. Smoke poured out and the enemy fired at him. Payne was able to move to a safer spot and the Kurdish forces attempted to cut the lock on the second door, but unsuccessfully. Once again, Payne risked injury to cut that lock and reach the hostages. As soon as he cut the lock, the combined team rushed into the burning building. Shortly after entry, they received a call that the building was beginning to collapse and were ordered to evacuate immediately. Payne knew they had to move fast! He directed the large group to safety. Then, went back a second time dragging a disoriented large man out of the building while receiving enemy fire. After entering righteous glory of American valor. We stand in awe of the burning building yet a third time, he was able to your heroic daring and gallant deeds. You truly went
above and beyond the call of duty to earn our nation’s highest military honor. Pat would be the first to remind us that he was not alone that day. In the battle, one Army Ranger made the ultimate sacrifice: Master Sergeant Josh Wheeler. Josh was something. Right, Pat? Josh was something. You’ve said that before. Today, we’re deeply moved to be joined by Master Sergeant Wheeler’s wife, Ashley Wheeler. Ashley, our hearts break for your loss. A great man. That was a great man. Our nation endures because fearless warriors like Josh are willing to lay down their lives for our freedom. Our children can grow up in peace because Josh had the courage to face down evil. Our debt to him and to you is everlasting. And again, thank you very much, Ashley. We appreciate it very much. We will honor him forever. You know that. Very special group of warriors, men- great men. Pat has said that as soon as our soldiers’ boots hit the ground, they are ambassadors of the American way of life. Everywhere they go, the men and women of our armed forces instill our friends with hope, our enemies with dread, and our fellow citizens with unyielding American pride. Over the course of his service, Pat has embarked on an astounding, really, an astounding seventeen deployments in defense of our nation. General Milley, that’s a lot, right? Is that a lot.”
U.S. Army Special Operations Command, training the next generation of American warriors. Today, he joins the immortal company of our most revered American heroes. Pat, you personify the motto “Rangers lead the way” and you inspire us all.” President Trump placed the Medal of Honor around Pat’s neck with a round of applause from the audience. Pat later made the humble statement, “The Medal of Honor represents everything great about our country. I don’t consider myself a recipient of this medal. I consider myself a guardian of this medal. What’s important for me is my teammates legacies will live on with this medal.” Payne is stationed at Fort Bragg where he lives with his wife and three children. He serves with honor and truly exemplifies the meaning of the word “valor” etched within the golden star of the medal. Thank you for your service, Sgt.Maj. Payne! (If you know of someone who deserves recognition for their military service, contact me at patsovernllc.com) Sources:
General Milley replied, “That’s a lot, sir.” President https://www.army.mil/article/180245 Trump continued speaking, thanking Pat for his service, https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/payne/ “That’s a lot. Okay, I needed that little extra confirma- https://www.cmohs.org tion. That’s a lot. He now serves as an instructor at the
photo courtesy of Alemko Coksa from Pixabay
photo courtesy of skeeze from Pixabay
CORN HARVEST by Kacey Wallace
Research Your Veterinarian by Becky Monroe
I
read an Instagram post recently from Ivy Saebens (Reserve World Champion Barrel Racer), where she was asking for prayers for her immensely talented barrel horse JLo – after having to work with a “not-her-regular” veterinary at a rodeo. I started tearing up. I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t imagine how she felt, yet I had my own veterinary visit horror story, one year ago this week. I’ve waited this long to write it, because I get so emotional and so angry just thinking about it. I need to write it, because I think other people can learn from it, and I urge everyone to do their due diligence checking out their health care provider – or their pet’s health care provider. Here’s my story. My 14 year old sheltie (Misty) died in February 2019, and she was my baby, my shadow and my best friend. I was lost. If you’re a dog person – I know you understand. It’s that time we never want to go through. She loved her veterinarian whom we had found thru a referral. Shelties tend to be timid, but he had a way with her that always made her comfortable. We had gotten another sheltie in the fall of 2018, partly because we knew that I’d be a basket case when we lost Misty. When it was time to take Luci to the vet, I chose to take her to a veterinarian that I had become friends with. Luci got all her shots, and was spayed and everything went great. As I was going thru the grief of losing a pet, I loved Luci, but I missed my Misty Dog. I saw a post about puppies from a sheltie breeder we knew – and I reserved a puppy. We picked her up in May on our way home from snowbirding in New Mexico. We spent the next weeks getting to know Libby – our new young’un, and when it was time for her shots – we took her to my friend’s clinic. We were taking off for a summer RV trip – so I got the information I needed to have her 2nd set of shots while we were gone, and I made an appointment for her to get spayed when we got home. When we were there for her shots, we saw a new veterinarian who had started with the practice. I remember being annoyed that they had scheduled me with someone other than my friend – but I didn’t want to make a big deal about it, so I kept it inside. I texted my friend to ask if she was doing Libby’s surgery -- and she said she was not, but Dr. X would take great care of her. When I took Libby to the vet clinic to drop her off, there was a new assistant at the desk, who seemed very annoyed that I asked about my friend (I just wanted to say hi if she was at the clinic). I found out that it was another vet who would be doing Libby’s surgery. She had just started in the clinic, after recently graduating from vet school. I felt a gnawing in my stomach – but I left Libby there. If you ever get those sinking feelings in your stomach when you are dealing with a human or pet doctor – turn around and run. The clinic called me after surgery, told me everything had went well, and they’d call me when I could pick Libby up and take her home. When they called me and I went in to pick her up – she was still dopey from the anesthesia (which I expected). The tech gave me some pain pills and instructed me to give one every morning. The only other post surgery instructions that I got were “if you give her water and she throws up – then it’s too soon to give her anything”. I took her home, and except for being extra tired – all was going well with Libby.
3 days later, it seemed like everything was going great. Libby & Luci were playing a bit in the house – and all of a sudden Libby let out a scream. Yes, a scream – and she moved from one end of the house to the other. I looked – and I thought I saw body parts peeking out from her surgery site. I had to figure out what to do. Mike was visiting family in Utah – so I was alone. I ran to the bedroom – got a towel and wrapped it around Libby and grabbed my purse. As I was trying to figure out how to pick Libby up – Luci got out – and I lost a few seconds trying to get her back in the house. I sat Libby in the passenger seat wrapped in her towel, I told siri to direct me to the closest vet – and started to drive. Libby tried to crawl over and get on my lap and I could see the bath towel starting to get red from the blood. I parked the car and carried her into the vet yelling for someone to help me. When we tried to get her out of the towel, her foot was twisted in her intestine. I am so thankful that there was a veterinary in the clinic and available when I walked in. I found out later that she had worked as an ER vet earlier in her career, and I am thankful for that experience as well. They took Libby into the surgery room and hustled me out to the waiting room. I have no idea how much time passed before one of the techs came out to talk to me. Maybe 10 or 20 minutes? She asked me what happened, and I told her. She asked me why Libby was playing with her sister so soon after surgery – and I replied that no one had told me to keep her from playing. She said something like – we recommend that our patients be kept quiet for 10 days after surgery. I felt like a bad mom. She got the phone number for the clinic where they had done the surgery, because they needed to know what drugs might be in her system. The tech came out a little later – and told me that Libby had punctured her colon, and a section of it was dead. They wanted to know if I wanted them to go ahead and do surgery to save her – while telling me it would cost over a thousand dollars and she may pass away at any time. I said of course, go ahead, wondering where I was going to find a thousand dollars. I paced, I had a panic attack, I prayed. I paced more. I prayed more. Finally they came to tell me that the surgery was over, but they repeated over and over that her condition was very critical, and she may pass away at any time. They wanted to transfer her to the animal hospital about 20 miles away – so she could have a transfusion. We got to the hospital – and they took Libby in the back door so they could start taking care of her. They did an initial blood test, and the veterinarian told me that one of the tests showed that sepsis was probably setting in. They put me in a waiting room. A veterinarian came in and gave me an estimate for her care (about 6K) and told me again – that she was very critical and could pass away at any time. I got to see her for a minute – but she was on a lot of meds, and she was asleep. She looked near death. They told me to go home, (after I left the 6k deposit). There is a happy ending. 5 days and $7800 later, we brought Libby home. The next 2 weeks were horrible as Libby had to have meds around the clock. I don’t think we slept for more than 2 hours until the 2 weeks were up and we were finished giving medicines. Another friend of mine stopped over – she is also a dog mom. She asked me a bunch of questions – and said that she had checked out the clinic where we went when she did research to find a vet for her puppies. It was
like a ton of bricks hit me. Research? Why didn’t I do that. Why didn’t I do my due diligence and make decisions based on facts and referrals instead of a friendship? I’ll never know if the surgery was botched. I do know that the doctor who did her emergency surgery said there was no evidence that Libby had chewed at the stitches. I did not ask her if she thought the surgery was botched. She said that they don’t prescribe pain meds after that type of surgery, because sometimes the pain meds mask the pain for the dog – and then they are more active than they should be – because they have no pain, AND – they do recommend that the dog would be kept in a kennel for 10 days so they don’t do too much. Are you wondering what happened with my “friend’s” clinic? A tech at the clinic called the morning after the emergency and left a message – “we heard libby chewed thru her stitches”. I didn’t call back. I couldn’t believe they accused Libby of causing the problem. My “friend”, who was the veterinarian who owned the clinic, called that afternoon. I saw the call come in – but I couldn’t bring myself to answer – because I knew if I answered I would yell and scream. She left a message and didn’t mention Libby. “just saying hi”. The message is still on my phone, but I haven’t talked to her since. I don’t know if I could be civil. As a person, and as a small business owner, I lost respect for her when I listened to that message. I think the message should have been about concern for my dog.
“O, Say Can You See?”
photo by Colleen McIntyre
H
ere is a fun little meal taking an old school standard many dread and giving it a whole new appeal. Meatloaf has been the source of a whole lot of jokes over the years. Our family tends to like old school, hearty meals which just may not be so popular. On the same note, we enjoy throwing a twist on some of those old standbys.
Meatloaf with a Twist
by Phillip Kitts
Shopping List: 4 lbs. of 90%-10% Hamburger Egg Onion Garlic Green pepper Red pepper Steak seasoning Italian seasoning Apple Wood smoked bacon Pepper jack cheese BBQ sauce Fresh green beans Gold potatoes Aluminum foil Time to Cook: There are several steps to prepping the meal, so plan your time accordingly. Like most meals, it all starts with prep which will take a few minutes. Initially we start by dicing the onions, garlic, pepper into small pieces. Next, we cut the bacon into very small pieces and get it into a frying pan to cook. There are a few tricks when cooking the bacon. Don’t make it overly crispy. We tend to leave a certain amount of fat unrendered so it can impart more flavor into the final product. Once we’ve made it through the initial prep, it’s off to fire up the smoker. Yes, you heard right. We smoke this delicate meal and it is worth it! We use pecan wood for this session, but we have also used many other woods. Cherry was a very big hit, but we found hickory and mesquite a little overpowering. As the smoker reaches 225 degrees, we head back for more prep work. This means mixing the burger, lots of steak seasoning, cut vegetables, bacon, some Italian seasoning and egg. Mix all ingredients together with some caution. Over-mixing will make it gummy and the final product will have a very heavy, stiff consistency. If you under-work it, the mixture will not blend well and the final product will want to fall apart. As a guide, we tend to mix it until it wants to cling together, but you can still identify the texture of the burger. Once the meat mixture is well blended, we move to the building portion of the adventure. Building this meatloaf is a bit tricky. On top of foil, we build a small base with a layer of the burger mixture. Then, layer the base with pepper jack cheese, but leave room at the edges to seal the meat. Another layer of burger mixture sealing with the first base, then another layer of cheese. Finally, the cap meat, which we tend to make a little thicker than the previous layers. As the build progresses, we pay special attention to making sure to get as good a seal as possible for each layer. Once the meatloaf is built, wrap it tightly with foil and place in the refrigerator to firm it up. During the break in activities, we cut potatoes into squares for boiling as well as trim green beans. Both are placed in containers to await their turn cooking.
When the smoker reaches the desired cooking temperature, it is time to get to it. We place the meatloaf on the smoker and open the foil to allow the smoky goodness to wrap all the way around the meat. One trick we’ve used recently is placing an oven-safe thermometer into the meat to avoid opening the smoker, but we can still watch the temperature of the meat. Over the next hour to hour-and-a-half, we continuously make sure the smoke is a constant light flow and we monitor the temperature to reach a solid 95-100 degrees. Once the meat reaches the ideal temperature, we wrap the foil firmly around the meat to let it process through the remainder of the session. As the meat goes into its last phase of cooking, we use the time to boil the potatoes as well as set the green beans up for a nice steam. Recently, we discovered seasoning the steam water with a little extra salt tends to impart great flavor. With the mashed potatoes in this meal, we keep it simple. Just mash them with a little sour cream and butter to keep things a little more traditional. Now, for what may be the hardest part of the meal, waiting. Once the meat reaches 155-160 degrees, we pull it off the grill and set it aside to rest. At this point the smell of the meal will be enough to drive you crazy, but you will need to wait a minimum of 15 minutes before you can start eating. Once the meat has had adequate time to rest, the last step is a small layer of BBQ sauce to glaze the top, then cut it to serve. This is a fun meal to cook and one which will give you a new vision on meatloaf. Add in all the cheesy goodness and even your little ones will want this old school meal.
photo by Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
T
he Professional Bull Riders season has been as much of a challenge as anything else in this crazy, modern world. Through tons of adversity and challenge, fans have been true to their love of the sport and the PBR has been one of the few sports organizations to get back to business. The tail-end of the season has come with many big decisions for the PBR Headquarters in Pueblo, CO. The biggest was the future of its World Finals. The PBR World Finals is normally held in Las Vegas, NV, and is one of the highlight events in Sin City with five days of action, shopping and other activities. With Nevada still fighting the pandemic and Las Vegas being forced to restrict crowds and activities, PBR faced either having its finals without a crowd or making a move to somewhere which would allow fans. In the end, a move was the choice. The PBR World Finals struck a deal with AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys and the PBR’s home for at least one event a year. In this multi-part arrangement, World Finals would happen in AT&T Stadium for 2020. Meanwhile, the 2021 Global Cup would move from Arlington to Las Vegas. In all, fans and athletes both seem very happy with these arrangements and everyone is ready to get down to business chasing a world title in November. With just a few events left for each rider to notch their spot on the World Finals roster, the leaderboard is surprisingly absent of American athletes. The current Top 3 are all Brazilian cowboys with the first American showing up at number 4. Another surprise is the first Canadian showing up at 26. What it all adds up to is there’s no doubt Texas is going to get treated to the best bull riders in the world and there will not be a lack of action. Rolling into October and the end of the 2020 campaign, here are your Top 10 bull riders:
PBR
1- Jose Vitor Leme 2- JoĂŁo Ricardo Vieira 3- Kaique Pacheco 4- Jess Lockwood 5- Lucas Divino
6- Daylon Swearingen 7- Colten Jesse
8- Dener Barbosa
RECAP
9- Cooper Davis 10- Cole Melancon
A
PRCA RECAP
s the 2020 pro rodeo season comes to a close, the trials and tribulations of a tough year also come to an end.
It has been one heck of a year and, as we release this publication, there continue to be questions about who may or may not make their run to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Without a doubt, nearly all rodeo fans have received the news that, due to the pandemic, NFR has made the move to Arlington, TX, where there will be ten nights of rodeo action and crown world titles. These same fans have a pretty good idea who will make an appearance and, in all but one event, fans are energized by the idea NFR will be the deciding factor for the title. The one event which will probably not have a tight race will be Tie Down. Shad Mayfield, who is from Clovis, NM, has a commanding lead on the World Title. Like with anything else in a rodeo, a lot of things can go bad quickly, so his championship is not a guarantee. Shad will have to make smart business runs over ten days to secure his name in the history books. The other name that jumps out to fans is the emergence of Jesse Pope, who currently resides in Marshal, MO. Jesse is originally a Kansas cowboy who rocketed onto the scene a few, short years ago. He has scratched and clawed his way through the 2020 season and will make his first NFR appearance this year. He will have a long run to put pressure on his travel partner and the current world number 1, Tim O’Connell, but there is no doubt when the dust settles in Texas, Jesse will have left it all on the line. As of September 30, here are your Top 15 in each event and most likely 2020 NFR qualifiers: 2019 WORLD CHAMPIONS photo by Steve Gray
All Around 1. Tuf Cooper 2. Stetson Wright 3. Clay Smith 4. Zack Jongbloed 5. Eli Lord 6. Trevor Brazile 7. Thomas Smith 8. Maverick Harper 9. Laramie Allen 10. Marcus Theriot 11. Luke Gee 12. Rhen Richard 13. Bart Brunson 14. Blake Deckard 15. Caleb McMillan
Bareback 1. Tim O’Connell 2. Kaycee Feild 3. Orin Larsen 4. Tilden Hooper 5. Clayton Biglow 6. Jamie Howlett 7. Tanner Aus 8. Richmond Champion 9. Mason Clements 10. Leighton Berry 11. Jess Pope 12. Cole Reiner 13. Jake Brown 14. Ty Breuer 15. Chad Rutherford
Steer Wrestling 1. Matt Reeves 2. Jacob Talley 3. Tyler Waguespack 4. Dakota Eldridge 5. Curtis Cassidy 6. Tanner Brunner 7. Jace Melvin 8. Stetson Jorgensen 9. Jacob Edler 10. Bridger Anderson 11. Blake Knowles
12. Clayton Hass 13. Will Lummus 14. Jule Hazen 15. Jesse Brown
Team Roping Header 1. Luke Brown 2. Clay Smith 3. Cody Snow 4. Colby Lovell 5. Dustin Egusquiza 6. Andrew Ward 7. Clay Tryan 8. Charly Crawford 9. Chad Masters 10. Erich Rogers 11. Kolton Schmidt 12. Nelson Wyatt 13. Levi Simpson 14. Jeff Flenniken 15. Brenten Hall
Team Roping Heeler 1. Joseph Harrison 2. Jade Corkill 3. Buddy Hawkins II 4. Jake Long 5. Junior Nogueira 6. Travis Graves 7. Shay Dixon 8. Paul Eaves 9. Logan Medlin 10. Wesley Thorp 11. Paden Bray 12. Levi Lord 13. Tyler Worley 14. Hunter Koch 15. Chase Tryan
Saddle Bronc 1. Wyatt Casper 2. Ryder Wright 3. Brody Cress 4. Shorty Garrett 5. Allen Boore 6. Cole Eishere
7. Sterling Crawley 8. Jacobs Crawley 9. Zeke Thurston 10. Rusty Wright 11. Lefty Holman 12. Chase Brooks 13. Stetson Wright 14. Isaac Diaz 15. Taos Muncy
Tie Down Roping 1. Shad Mayfield 2. Tuf Cooper 3. Haven Meged 4. Tyler Milligan 5. Westyn Hughes 6. Ty Harris 7. Marty Yates 8. Caleb Smidt 9. Timber Moore 10. Shane Hanchey 11. Ryan Jarrett 12. Tyson Durfey 13. Caddo Lewallen 14. Adam Gray 15. Hunter Herrin
Bull Riding 1. Sage Kimzey 2. Ky Hamilton 3. Boudreaux Campbell 4. Dustin Boquet 5. Brady Portenier 6. Jeff Askey 7. Roscoe Jarboe 8. Stetson Wright 9. Ty Wallace 10. Colten Fritzlan 11. Parker McCown 12. Tyler Bingham 13. Trevor Kastner 14. Clayton Sellars 15. Denton Fugate