Franklin, Tenn.-Sometimes there is just no arguing the genetics. Take the Franklin Rodeo, the largest pro rodeo in Tennessee, held May 13-15. After three performances and slack, the WPRA barrel racing winner was Linda Gail Stewart of Matthews, Ala., and her horse Miss Gay Bar Abby.
Stewart is the daughter of Faye Faulin, a qualifier to the second NFR to host WPRA barrel racers back in 1968. Abby's "little brother" is Gay Bar Casanova, winner of the 2008 BFA Futurity Championship.
Both Stewart and Abby are looking to put their own names on the map next to their famous kin in the 2010 season. So far, they are doing a heck of a job, ranked second in the Southeastern Circuit standings and in the top 40 of the WPRA world leaders.
The seven year old black mare is owned by Darren Scholl and was campaigned during her futurity season by Todd Holder. Serendipity brought her to Stewart's barn.
"Darren moved down near us and I had just bought a horse from Todd," Stewart explains. "Todd told Darren he had just sold a horse to a lady down in Alabama, right near where he moved." Scholl contacted Stewart and she began to ride Abby about a year ago.
"She wasn't campaigned as hard as her brother at the futurities, and this is her first year to rodeo," Stewart says, pointing out that Abby was the Alabama NBHA State 1D champion last season. Abby is proving a natural on the pro rodeo scene, already taking Stewart to the winner's circle at Perry and Nashville, Ga., Dade City, Fla., and Lufkin, Texas.
Describing the mare as a hard runner and hard turner, Stewart traveled from Texas, where she had been on the road about a month, to Franklin for the final performance on Saturday night.
"Darren's originally from Kentucky so he asked if I could get up Saturday night so that his family could come down to watch (Franklin is the closest we would get to them)," Stewart explains. She drew right and Scholl's parents, sister, and several friends showed up to cheer Abby and Stewart to victory.
"She gave me one of the best runs she's ever given me, it felt flawless," Stewart said of the 17.40 that was worth $1,564. "She couldn't have picked a better time to put it all together, with everyone there." In addition, the Franklin Noon Rotary Club, which has hosted the rodeo for 60 years, gave a bonus for Tough Enough to Wear Pink night and a buckle.
The crowd on Saturday night was a sellout, music to the ears of the Franklin Noon Rotary Club. The Rotary Club generally directs funds to scholarships and local charities, over $2 million since its inception. On the heels of a recent devastating storm, the Rotary Club voted to donate funds from the rodeo to Williamson County flood victims.
Franklin is located about 20 miles south of Nashville. The entire area was hit with a storm that dumped well over a foot of rain in just two days, causing the Cumberland River to overflow its banks. Topping out on May 3 at 51.9 feet, the river reached its highest point since 1937. Massive flooding engulfed the area, submerging parts of the Grand Ole Opry House and other historic buildings. All told, 10 people were killed in Nashville alone and over 30 throughout the region lost their lives.
"It was a good rodeo, and I was so surprised to see that crowd [on Saturday]. I was afraid with all the flooding, people wouldn't be out," said Stewart. "The people with the rodeo were really nice; they offered a hospitality room for the contestants and stalls for us. They were very accommodating."
Stewart is enjoying a quick week at home before venturing out to Fort Smith, Ark., where she is riding one of Scholl's futurity horses, and back to the rodeo trail.
"It's been in my blood all my life to rodeo," Stewart says. "It's a dream to get there [to the NFR] because my Mom was there."
Faulin will take care of chores at home while Stewart's husband Chuck will be along to help out. Stewart thanks her horseshoer, John Slay, Abby's chiropractor, Daren Hal, and KW Plastics for their support as she chases an NFR dream. Her home away from home in Texas is the Bartlett Ranch, with locations in Wyoming and Alabama in addition to Texas.
"We'll see what we can do," she says.
For more information on the Franklin rodeo, visit them on-line at www.FranklinRodeo.com.
