Texas Thunder
 Listen! Can you hear the rumble? Do you hear the thunder? It's Texas Thunder, making their way to Phillipsburg!
With each horse weighing nearly two tons, Texas Thunder will amaze and inspire awe! This 6 horse hitch, made up of beautiful Percheron horses, will pull a wagon into the arena between rodeo competitions. The hitch will demonstrate the maneuverability of transport wagons at busy docks and loading stations across the nation, before semi-trucks and trailers were around. During the rodeo, the team will make several figure eights in the arena, then do a 180 degree swing dock move. That move jack-knifes the wagon to the team, in an L shape. After the swing dock, the team “spins the top.” They move in a sharp, fast circle, rotating the wagon on the motionless inside wheel.
With hooves the size of dinner plates, these horses go through a lot of feed. They consume 10-15 pounds of grain per day, and their water intake ranges from 20-40 gallons daily.
The 6 horses, the wagon, plus extra horses, travel in two custom-made 18-wheelers. They are the official mascot of Priefert Manufacturing, rodeo equipment makers for the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association. Priefert Manufacturing is based out of Mt. Pleasant , Texas .
Pack up the kids and bring them out to the fairgrounds during the day, where Texas Thunder will be set up in portable chutes for the public to view.
For more information on Texas Thunder, visit www.priefert.com .
Tim Lepard & Team Ghostriders
Tim “Wild Thang” Lepard returns to Kansas' Biggest Rodeo for the second time, and he’s excited! Tim’s act, called “Team Ghostriders”, consists of 3 monkeys riding 3 border collies. They round up sheep and herd them up a specially designed ramp to the roof of a Dodge truck!
We caught up with Tim while he was at a hardware store in Gainesville, Florida, buying supplies for his acts. Tim agreed to answer a few questions for us.
 Last year was your first time to Phillipsburg. What was your favorite thing about the rodeo?
“The crowd. They were hot and awesome. They were hungry for rodeo and entertainment. It was something I noticed immediately. The crowd was phenomenal. I heard them and thought, ‘I’ll be a hit here.’”
What acts will you entertain Kansas' Biggest Rodeo fans with this year?
“We may do the dance act with the kids, and we might do the big chicken that shoots me, or maybe the highway patrol act where I catch on fire. We’ll swap it up each night to give the people something different.
“We have 9 acts total, and what I try to do is rotate them in and out.”
You’ll still do the monkey act, right?
Yes – they told me if I didn’t bring the monkeys, I wouldn’t get to come. ‘If you don’t bring them dogs and monkeys, you just as well sit at the house.’ Them monkeys and dogs been carrying me.”
What rodeos are on your schedule this year?
“I’ll be coming from Burwell ( Nebraska) to Phillipsburg. I’m all over this summer, from Minnesota to Florida to California.”
Where is home?
“Home is a little town outside Tupelo 20 miles, Pontotoc ( Mississippi.) And I’ve got a little girl who is 3 years old and she’s my life. The hardest thing in the world is being away from her.”
You won’t want to miss this dynamic entertainer! See “Wild Thang” in Phillipsburg July 30-August 1 and 2. For more information on Wild Thang, click on www.teamghostriders.com.
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