PAGE A8 Wednesday, July 19, 2017 S GILLETTE NEWS RECORD S GILLETTE, WYOMING

AT THE RODEO

Rodeo is more than just a pastime for Iowa family

By PATRICK FILBIN
NEWS RECORD WRITER
pfilbin@gillettenewsrecord.net
In the small town of Lisbon,
Iowa, there is a ranch that
stays quiet most days of the
week.
But on every other
Wednesday in the summer, its
one of the rowdiest spots in
the Midwest.
TJ Moore Jr., a saddle bronc
rider for Iowa in this years
National High School Finals
Rodeo, not only rides in rode-
os, he puts on his own.
The Sandburr Rodeo Co. is
home to one of Iowas most
famous jackpots. Every other
week, friends, family and the
rest of the town swarm the
Moore ranch for barrel racing
and team roping.
TJs parents, Tim and
Jayme, started the rodeo
company in 2009 and its only
grown as the years have gone
on. Its still not a full-time job.
Tim is an industrial sheet metal
worker and Jayme is a nurse.
Its a whole family opera-
tion, TJ said. We all work on
everything together, all make
sure it all flows smoothly from
event to event.
In a good summer, the
Moores will put on a rodeo
every week from May to
September.
The small-scale rodeos
are hard to come by in the
Midwest, especially in their
part of the state, TJ said. The
idea of the rodeos is to create a
fun, more inviting environment
for rodeo hopefuls.
Where the NHSFR would
be Goliath, the small jackpot
rodeos that light up Lisbon in
the summer are David.
Competitors for the
Sandburr Rodeo Co. pay an
entrance fee, but for attendees
its free to watch. Winning
times take home prize money
at the end of each night just
like all jackpots.
As the years have gone by,
the Moore family have expand-
ed their business off their fami-
ly ranch and into other states.
They recently sold out the
Kirkwood Regional Center at
the University of Iowa for an
indoor rodeo.
Tim said the arena could
hold 500 people for a rodeo
and he even saw more people
standing around without seats.
Just the five of us, TJ said.
The company has expanded
into a full-fledged production
company. This month, it is
hosting the rodeo events at the
Muscatine County Fair, which
The Moore family, from left, Wyatt, 17, Taylor, 14, TJ, 18, Tim, Jayme and Tate, 6, are in
Gillette while TJ competes in the National High School Finals Rodeo. In their hometown of
Lisbon, Iowa, the Moores not only compete in rodeo, they run their own.
features rough stock events
like bull riding, bareback and
saddle bronc riding.
The family also hosts horse
races in their county as well.
Tim said some long-term goals
that are on the horizon are to
host larger events so they can
tion is still key.
We dont want to get away
from what were about, Tim
said. We want to build up
new cowboys while theyre
young and have a place where
they can tune up their skills.
Years ago, Tim said it was
almost unheard of for eastern
Iowa to be represented in the
NHSFR. This year, the region
has three contestants.
TJ said putting on a rodeo
is a learning experience every
time the gates open.
Its the whole grand scheme
of things, he said. Setting up,
getting the people who com-
pete signed up, having family
and friends help out its all
part of it. Being organized also
is important.
Every little aspect lends
itself to a learning lesson, TJ
said.
TJ also said he plans on
News Record Photo/ Ed Glazar sticking with the family busi-
ness as long as he can. He
turned 18 on Monday and has
been rodeoing his whole life. If
it were up to him, hed contin-
ue to do it both on a horse and
rodeo year-round in the winter behind the scenes for the rest
of his life.
and summer. No matter how big the
But sticking to the small- events get, the company will
scale, family-oriented opera- stay a family affair.

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