“Don’t be scared of it.”
“Don’t overthink it.”
“Just step into it and do it.”
That advice isn’t for riding a rank bull, though it well could be.
It was guidance given by Jeremy Sartain of Mississippi for fans warming up to attend the PBR World Finals in Fort Worth by throwing four-pound axes at wood targets on a wall.
Fans can throw axes, ride mechanical bulls, practice roping, sit in a play-by-play chair to call their favorite rides on a simulated broadcast, try on hair extensions or elephant skin boots, get full-body massages in futuristic inversion stretch chairs, hydrate with emergency-room quality fluids, target-shoot real guns equipped with state-of-the-art lasers, shop for buffalo horn cups, bison bags or the world’s finest Native-American jewelry, and experience lots of other fun and surprises at the Cowboy Expo and Trade Show at PBR World Finals.
Sartain, an “axepert” (yes, that’s his title) with a well-named company called Civil Axe Throwing, is one of 70 exhibitors and vendors who have set up shop at Simmons Bank Plaza connected to Dickies Arena, which is hosting the world’s most challenging and prestigious bull riding championship.
The Expo is free to the public and open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day of the World Finals.
“Axe throwing is the cheapest form of therapy and the most legal fun you can have in a large group setting,” Sartain said.
It has become a sport featured on ESPN, one that’s apparently for everyone.
Civil Axe’s favorite patron is a 90-year-old woman who threw for half an hour until she finally stuck one.
Another activity growing in popularity — both for sport and personal protection — is shooting.
Six Bullets, a year-old company founded when four family members who were laid off during COVID-19 saw a business opportunity, allows anyone to “shoot” real firearms equipped with bullet-shaped cartridges that go in the gun chamber and fire lasers instead of lead at a target.
“Shooting is a perishable skill — use it or lose it. You have to maintain your practice to maintain your accuracy,” said Sales Manager Russ Poole, who had previously worked in an oil field.
Nearby, Commemorative Rifle lets fans order limited-edition, gold-plated revolvers and rifles with special branding, including a World Finals-branded .45-caliber revolver, a Chad Berger rifle celebrating the 10-time PBR stock contractor of the year, and a Henry 45/70 long colt etched with “Save America,” Old Glory and Mount Rushmore.
The Fargo, N.D. company’s newest product, “Let’s Go Brandon,” a gold-plated revolver retailing for $2,995, created quite the buzz.
Fans enjoying what’s been dubbed “The Biggest Party in Texas” sometimes need extra care and comfort. At the Expo, they can sample the latest in hydration and massage products.
Corvive offers powdered drinks that are equivalent to I.V. therapy. A bag of 15 servings of the medical-grade hydration goes for $28.95.
The friendly staff at St. Louis-based HiDow wields massage guns that shoot pulses that will loosen up the knottiest necks and backs while unleashing a rush of endorphins.
When electro pulses and hydration don’t go far enough, Kayla Kissel of Kalamity KK Designs will soothe souls with free Bibles.
She also sells very cool Western vintage wear from the 1980s and ‘90s, including a red plush Bud Light Championship coat from 1992 and retro Wrangler PBR polos.
Kayla and her husband Joe are rodeo chaplains through the Assemblies of God, also operating rodeo Bible camps called “From the Arena to the Cross.”
Another exhibitor doing well by doing good is using beef jerky to pursue a mission-based vision.
Brave Experience donates five percent of all sales to fund dream experiences given as a surprise to first responder and military heroes. It’s all captured for a television show on RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel called “The Experience with Weston and Jodi.”
At an Unleash The Beast event in Nampa, Idaho, PBR partnered with Brave Experience founder Weston Clark to surprise two wildland firefighters with the trip of a lifetime.
The VIP experience for the men who had been burned on the job was a trip onboard the USS Lexington docked in Corpus Christi, Texas, to see the PBR Cowboys for a Cause exhibition event.
With American cattle ranchers feeling significant financial strain from beef imported from places like Argentina, Uruguay and New Zealand, Clark only uses American-raised beef.
No visit to the PBR Expo would be complete without meeting “The Horny Wench.”
That would be Tina Renzulli, a former phlebotomist who wears a mischievous smile that goes well with her unique branding for an assortment of authentic water buffalo horns.
She had learned to craft the horns into wild-looking drinking cups during an apprenticeship in Pennsylvania and opened her own business in San Antonio four years ago.
The horns sometimes fall off the water buffalo; they’re also tipped just as a bulls’ horns are groomed. The process hurts the animal as much as a person is pained when clipping their fingernails, Renzulli says.
Fans can come throw an ax, shoot lasers, hydrate like a pro, pick up a free Bible, meet The Horny Wench, and do a lot more at the Expo as PBR World Finals action continues in Fort Worth.
Andrew Giangola is the author of “Love and Try: Stories of Gratitude and Grit from Professional Bull Riding,” supporting the Western Sports Foundation and available now on PBRShop.com.
