Dealing With Negativity The Cowboy Way

OGDEN RANCH TO HOST BULL RIDING FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

PRAIRIE GROVE -- The outlook to his day threatened to shape up like an over-exposed picture so Nathan Ogden decided to deal with negativity the cowboy way -- bringing things into focus.

The end result translated into Ogden bringing a Professional Bull Riders Touring Pro Division event to a 400 acre pasture at the Ogden Ranch Friday and Saturday, but first he had to wade through some stuff.

The tipping point centered around a June 22 announcement of cancellation of Springdale's Rodeo of the Ozarks after a plan to host the 76th annual event submitted to the Arkansas Dept. of Health wasn't approved.

"Everything's negative right now. And [one] week [in mid-June] it seemed like, one day, out of 37 phone calls I got, 24 were negative, something wrong on something on the farm, something ...," Ogden said.

Ogden, president of Pick-It Construction, walked into the office and declared he was tired of maintaining a passive stance in the midst of a world filled with bad vibes.

"Everything in the news with the racial tension in the world, the covid stuff, people not being able to get out and do stuff like this, is just making people sour, and I saw it and it's making people make bad decisions and say things they probably don't mean," Ogden said.

Ogden prepared to leave at the end of the work day and one guy told him, "Go home and make yourself a Crown of Sprite."

Ogden responded, "No, I need to go home and pray," and so that's what he did.

A passage from Revelation 3:20 quickened in his spirit.

"Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me," Ogden stated in a paraphrase of the scripture.

As Ogden meditated on the verse he concluded, "You know what? I haven't been in communion with God."

Ogden woke up on the morning of Friday, June 19, and determined within his heart speaking out loud, "I am going to do everything I can -- no matter what phone call I get, to be a positive influence in the world."

When its board voted to cancel Rodeo of the Ozarks June 22, Ogden perceived a prime time opportunity. His ranch hosted a Luke Bryan Farm Tour concert in October of 2016, so Ogden reasoned why not use the same 400 acre pasture to bring the PBR portion of the rodeo to Prairie Grove?

"I left that meeting when they said we were voted no, [telling myself], 'Well, I'm going to find a way to do it,' and I had to go home and clear that with my wife first," Ogden said.

Tracy Ogden, whose father is a long-time PBR fan and the reason the family became involved with the Professional Bull Riders tour, was on the same page with her husband telling him, "Well, you got [the] perfect place to have one."

"That was my first thought. I wanted to make sure that was OK with you," Ogden told Tracy.

"So, we hit the ground running that night," he said.

As a rough stock owner providing PBR bucking bulls highlighted by the recently-retired bull, "Find Jesus," qualifying for the 2017 PBR World Finals at Las Vegas, Ogden called his contacts and quickly rounded up PBR sanctioning and approval from the Arkansas Dept. of Health.

Prior to the covid-19 shutdown, the last PBR event with fans was Unleash the Beast tour March 6-7 at North Little Rock's Simmons Bank Arena.

"We had bulls down there, but the next weekend they did it in Duluth, Ga., without fans," Ogden said.

The first PBR event back with fans was held in late June at Rock Springs, Texas, a little town of 1,100 people situated 175 miles west of the state capitol of Austin. The drawing power of that rodeo stuck with Ogden. If Rock Springs, Texas, could attract that many bull riders, Prairie Grove could, too.

"They had 80 something entries because all these guys are wanting to go ride and get points. There was another event they said that had 112 [entries]," Ogden said.

By the June 25 entry deadline, Ogden's event which he dubbed, "Buckin' At The Ranch," a variation of "Buckin' At The Ozarks" which is what the event was called when held at Springdale as part of Rodeo of the Ozarks, had drawn 180 entries including World No. 1 ranked Jose Vitor Leme; Ryan Dirteater, of Tahlequah, Okla.; Brady Sims, of Holt, Mo.; and Arkansas' favorite Chase Outlaw, of Hamburg.

Although the event is technically listed as PBR Touring Pro Division, the level of competition represents the PBR Unleash the Beast Tour. The event site is Ogden Ranch, 11471 Illinois Chapel Road, Prairie Grove. Gates open at 6 p.m. both Friday and Saturday.

In a ranch press release announcing the event, Ogden states, "The soul of a cowboy desires to do good to those in need. Our country is in dire need of positivity and an example of a way to move forward, safely, in a positive direction. Buckin' At The Ranch will feature the Top PBR Cowboys on a ranch with an Arkansas Dept. of Heath approved/CDC plan to include bleacher seating, lawn chair and blanket-viewing areas as well as a Drive-in/Park and Watch viewing option to include in-car FM tuning for live buck-by-buck announcing."

"When the going gets tough cowboys don't lay down and quit," Ogden stated. "We roll up our sleeves and go to work. So, saddle up and we'll see ya at the ranch!"