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 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.
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