By Jesse Kader

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By Dani Blackburn, editor@ntfronline.com

“There is so much rodeo can teach you, not just as a sport, but in life in general. In rodeo, you must compete to get paid. You can’t be a sissy. Rodeo teaches you to go way down deep inside and it draws out a character in you that you didn’t even know you had.” – Brandon Dunn

Rodeo is a part of the Dunn family heritage, but it is not the reason Brandon and Brendall find themselves inside the rodeo arena. It is a deep-seated love for rodeo and a family bond that runs generations deep.

Brandon grew up in Okmulgee, Okla., before moving to Petrolia, Texas, in 1979. The family was heavily involved in rodeo, with his father bulldogging and his mother running barrels, and his uncle was a PRCA bull fighter inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

“That’s all I ever wanted to be growing up was a bullfighter and a clown. We have home videos of me. I am only three years old, all made up, with a little stuffed bull. I would put him on the floor and run around him,” Brandon said.

Brandon got his official start into bull fighting at the age of 14. He would travel across the river to Waurika for practice sessions at his uncle’s bull fighting school every chance he got. He also began working junior rodeos and high school rodeos, eventually moving on to college and amateur rodeos.

In 1994, Brandon received his PRCA card and started professional rodeos and PBR events. He recalls his favorite rodeo to work was Fort Madison, which included big concerts and getting to meet individuals like Toby Keith.

Brandon’s bull fighting career came to an end in 2003 when he was hit by a drunk driver on Highway 79. The wreck took the life of his seven-year-old daughter and left him with serious injuries. Brandon did not fight bulls for more than a decade, until his son Brendall managed to draw him back to the arena.

“The wreck put a stop to my rodeo career for a long time. As a matter of fact, I thought it was done until Brendall here came along. When he was 11, he was always on me about fighting bulls. I finally told him he was going to have to get in shape and show me something. It got to where he was doing 100 pushups and 100 sit-ups a night. He was running every day. It was time to put up or shut up, so we got him a little Miniature Zebu bull. I figured it could roll him around a little and then that would be that,” Brandon sad. “Well, Brendall got in that cow lot of ours at the house. He put his own pump-up music on his phone. He’d go out there and he’d fight that little bull. I thought maybe it was time if he was really that serious about this, but I wanted to go with him. So, I started getting in the barrel.”

To read more, pick up a copy of the June issue of NTFR Magazine. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.

By Lacey Vilhauer

Servings: 12
Total Time: 3 hours

Ingredients:
1 package of dry active yeast
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for an hour
2 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 lemon, zested
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Lemon filling:
1 cup sugar
1 lemon, zested
4 tbsp unsalted butter, very soft
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/8 tsp freshly-ground nutmeg
1/4 cup lemon juice, from 2 lemons

Lemon cream cheese glaze:
1 lemon, zested and juiced
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions: In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk and let it sit for a few minutes or until foamy. Using the mixer paddle and with the mixer on low speed, stir the softened butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and 1 cup of the flour into the milk and yeast mixture. Stir in the salt and nutmeg. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft yet sticky dough. Switch to the dough hook and knead at low speed for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, pliable, and stretchy. Lightly grease the top of the dough with vegetable oil, and turn the dough over so it is coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour or until doubled.

To read more, pick up a copy of the May issue of NTFR Magazine. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.