Country Lifestyles
Inside the Arena: Father-Son Duo, Brandon, Brendall Dunn
By Dani Blackburn, [email protected]
“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 Dal Houston
I am terribly saddened by all the argumentative discourse that seems to be going on in today’s world. It seems as though it is no longer enough just to disagree on certain issues. We are expected to classify someone as an enemy if they do not always agree with us on all issues, lest we be considered weak.
To make things even worse, because those who disagree with you are now considered enemies, the sentiment seems to be that it is only fair and proper to destroy them, because they are the enemy, again with the fear of ridicule for being weak if we do not fight.
With all that said, and seemingly unrelated, I am a big John Wayne fan. From watching him dive into his role as a cowboy, to marveling at his time portraying a soldier or appreciating his acting gig as a sailor, there is seldom a week that goes by without me watching at least one
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Martha Crump
That old adage, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.,” may have some basis in truth when applied to minor situations. However, when what you don’t know is presented in the form of a “Trojan Horse” and is what amounts to an incredible attempt to fleece American property rights, it becomes a different story altogether.
To put this unbelievable tale together, we need to step back to Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order which pledged commitment to help restore balance on public lands and waters, to create jobs, and to provide a path to align the management of America’s public lands and waters with our nation’s climate, conservation, and clean energy goals.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Lacey Vilhauer
Ingredients:
1 whole lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
2 pounds strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
¼ cup water
Directions:
Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Puree the strawberries in a food processor and add to the lemon mixture along with juice of one lemon and water. Taste and add more juice as desired.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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