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LINCOLN — A cow b oy sits atop his horse waiting for six seconds to expire during tie-down roping and Brandon Wren dutifully fills the void. If the qualifying time is fast enough, Wren informs the contestant along with everyone else throughout the arena, "Now you're in the money." Wren's job, as profes- sional rodeo announcer, means keeping the crowd up-to-date and entertained throughout many breaks from rodeo action. His presence plays an inte- gral role while conveying personality and injecting humorous insights into the event. His skill becomes e s s e n t i a l t o a r o d e o ' s success much like the profi- ciency of a roper settling a lariat around a critter dash- ing away. Announcers keep fans focused by filling down- times during the rodeo. A good announcer highlights the accomplishments of cowboys and cowgirls with enthusiasm pointing out the bravery of humans on horseback engaging crit- ters, some with ornery dispositions like bulls that don't want to be ridden by anyone. Wren has done his job so well that he's almost become something of a regular announcing the Lincoln Rodeo, returning again this year after doing the honors in 2017 and 2018. The 2019 Lincoln Rodeo is co-sanctioned by the ACRA and IPRA. Wren m a i n ta i n s a fa m i l i a r i ty with rules from both orga- nizations, contestants and rough stock, categorizing each in his mind as he introduces the next event. ACRA sanctioned rodeos must have at least six of the eight standard events, defined as original events offered at the inception of the association. The events are: bareback, saddle bronc, bull riding, tie-down (calf ) roping, team roping, steer wrestling, and cowgirls' barrel racing. Ladies break- away roping was included as a standard event starting in the 2015 season. According to his biogra- phy posted by the Lincoln Riding Club, Wren hangs his hat in the small town of Haskell, Okla. He has been married to his wife Tabitha Wren for 20 years. The couple have two daugh- ters, Makayla and Madison. Makayla goes with her dad to rodeos, mixing the sound and playing songs. Wren has been around rodeo all his life. When he is not involved in rodeo, Wren enjoys watching his girls play sports, and he is a volunteer for Wagoner County, Okla., Emergency Management. Wren was honored as Bull Riders Inc. Announcer of the Year for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. He served as the L.J. Jenkins Bullrid- ing Tour Finals announcer. H e wo n t h e A m e r i c a n Cowboys Rodeo Associ- ation Announcer of the Year for 2014, and was the Midwest Bullriding Asso- ciation 2014 announcer for the finals. The projection of Wren's voice enables a rodeo fan thirsting for action to drink in all of the sights and sounds in the arena with a fresh taste of enthusias- tic high energy, impressing both the thrills and danger of the sport in the minds of the spectator. Announcers utilize their expertise to provide the gift of a soundtrack to accom- pany visual images rodeo fans treasure. A f u l l s c h e d u l e m ay take a professional rodeo announcer like Wren to about 40 venues a year which translates to 170 performances. The job is busy, involving frequent travel. Some announcers are on the road between 260 and 280 days a year and look forward to inter- acting with fans during each rodeo performance. "I hope to see you some- where down that rodeo trail," Wren says. Fans are invited to come get their f ill at the 66th annual Lincoln Rodeo. Wednesday, August 7, 2019 Enterprise-Leader 5B R o d e o NOW OPEN P : 4 7 9 - 4 0 0 - 1 1 4 0 3 1 5 0 E A S T H E R I TA G E P K W Y FA R M I N G T O N , A R K A N S A S 7 2 7 3 0 LINCOLN — As the soli- t a r y c ow b oy a m o n g a female-dominated 2019 Lincoln Riding Club Rodeo pageant, three-year-old Porter "Gauge" Perkins might have been intimidated. After all, staring down a chorus line of beautiful cowgirls each dolled up in their finest western attire could be more unnerving than roping a bum steer or trying to hang on to a newborn calf bawling for its mother. There were 12 cowgirls in all ranging in age from three to 21 including his 12-year- old sister, Savannah. Gauge finds himself smack dab in the middle of five candi- dates for queen, three for junior queen, one princess and three for Little Miss. This was the scenario e m e rg i n g fo r t h e 6 6 t h annual Lincoln Rodeo, and maybe, Gauge, a candidate for 2019 Lincoln Riding Club Little Mister, was starting to feel like the Lone Ranger outnumbered by the cowgirl contestants 12-to-1. Throughout the history of the west, the tenacity, resourcefulness and flat-out courage of the American cowboy define the profes- sion and defy the odds. Well now, Gauge is no exception. Underneath his cowboy hat, Gauge sports a big ol' Arkansas grin. There's no way he's going to let the cowgirls have all the fun. Gauge is the 3-year-old son of Charlie and Christy Perkins, of Farmington. Gauge attends Mrs. Nikki's playhouse. Gauge's favorite color is red and he abso- lutely loves cake. Gauge is a part of Hogeye 4-H and Northwest Arkansas Riding Club (NWARC). Gauge loves kayaking, fishing, swimming, and riding anything with four legs or four wheels. Gauge's ambition for the future is to turn five and be a bull rider. But first, he's got to work his way through the 2019 Lincoln Riding Club royalty pageant and get past the gauntlet of all the affection these cowgirls can't help but display towards a darling junior cowboy who dares mingle among them. Gauge is indeed surrounded by the luck of the draw. If he could only tiptoe by cause drag- ging the heel of his boots is sure to get him noticed. By Mark Humphrey ENTERPRISE-LEADER Cowboy Faces Luck Of The Draw PERKINS THROWS HAT IN THE RING Submitted photo Gauge Perkins is a candidate for 2019 Lincoln Riding Club Little mister. the contest will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, prior to the Lincoln Rodeo street dance at the Lincoln Square. Now You're In The Money! WREN ANNOUNCES LINCOLN RODEO THIS WEEK AUG. 8-10 By Mark Humphrey ENTERPRISE-LEADER MARK HUMPHREY eNteRpRiSe-LeAdeR Professional rodeo announcer Brandon Wren (left) entertains officers of the Lincoln Riding Club during the annual Lincoln Rodeo parade passing through the Lincoln Square downtown. Wren won the American Cowboys Rodeo Association award for Announcer-of-the- Year in 2014. Wren returns to announce the 2019 Lincoln Rodeo set for Aug. 8-10, which is co-sanctioned by the ACRA and ipRA. 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