Slip on your cowboy boots and slap on that cowboy hat. When May rolls around, there is only one place you’re going to want to be: the inaugural Festi-Bull Wichita Riverfest Bull Riding Event! Hosted by the Heritage Development Group, Inc. May 8-9, 2009 at the Cowtown Museum, this wild rodeo show is jam packed with exciting events to celebrate the rich traditions of the American cowboy.
The Festi-Bull will kick off with a bull riding invitational. 15 of the Midwest’s best bull riders will vie for the first-ever Festi-Bull belt buckle. Champion freestyle bull rider Jesse Schellhamer will be matching up with “Kill-o-byte,” the Pixius Communications challenge bull for a $1,500 prize. Schellhamer will be joined by champion freestyle bullfighter, Jeremy Muntz, who will be fighting a hot-blooded fighting bull with his championship freestyle bull fighting skills.
Following this crowd pleasing, man verses beast event, visitors will be dancing the night away to country-western music newcomer Randy Houser. He will entertain the crowd with his country radio hits, “Boots On” and “Anything Goes.” The Hattrick Country Band will also join Houser for a night of fun music and dancing.
The Festi-Bull will also show their patriotic colors in their support of the All American Beef Battalion (AABB). While Houser warms up for his evening performance, military men and women from the Ft. Riley Wounded Warrior Transitional Unit will be served a steak dinner sponsored by the AABB.
“The All American Beef Battalion is a truly respectable organization,” said Jesse Schellhamer, a PBR bull rider with $230,000 career earnings. “Any organization the takes steak as a donation and turns around and gives it to the troops needs to be supported both with time and money. The goal of the beef battalion is to serve those who have served us. It is the least we can do to support such an organization and the troops who have given so much.”
After an evening of fellowship in agriculture, the Festi-Bull adds to the fun with the Children’s Cowboy Camp. Kids of all ages can take part in agriculture activities including: horseshoe pitching, stick horse races, country tic-tac-toe, coloring contests, clogging, square dancing, line dancing, a petting zoo and more rodeo games.
310,000 people attend the Wichita Riverfest Event annually, and with the first-ever Festi-Bull scheduled, this year’s event will undoubtedly draw a big crowd. Don’t miss out on this grand slam country-western event! Celebrate agriculture, honor the troops and be a part of this magical event that takes pride in real American cowboys.
“One word: authentic; we are what we produce,” said Schellhamer. “There is no pretending. These are real bulls, real cowboys, real danger and real country music. We respect God, our country, the animals we ride and the people we do business with.”