John Jolly

Frank and I went to the Elizabeth Stampede last Saturday for the first time. As far as rodeos go, it’s one of the best I’ve ever been to. Next year I’ll plan to spend more time looking at the vendor booths (and bring more cash with me). 

My friend Mollie and her family came with us, and that made it even more fun. Because we had to pick up two extra tickets, we didn’t all sit together, but at least we were in the same section, just a few rows apart. Frank and Mollie’s daughter, Emma, went and sat in the lower seats and I joined them. 

There was a man sitting next to me who appeared to be in his seventies, maybe older. He had a program and hurriedly made notes on it during each event. The two people sitting behind him were asking him questions about the rodeo, his life, etc., and I overheard part of their conversation.

As it turned out, I was sitting next to John Jolly, who was in his rodeo hey day in 1937. He was an all-around cowboy, and competed in every event except barrel racing because, as he told me, he “couldn’t pass the physical.” That night, his granddaughter, Katie, was competing in barrel racing so, “at least they let someone in the family in.” She knocked one can over, so her score wasn’t great, but her ride was. 

Mr. Jolly talked about his life and rodeo experiences the entire night, but always paused when something was happening in the arena so we could watch, and he could take down his notes, which were extensive. 

At one point Mr. Jolly turned to me and said, “I can tell you love this, the evening has been made much better for talking with you.” I told him I did love it, and in fact, I wrote books in which the characters have been barrel racers and bronc riders and even bull riders. “I didn’t do too well as a bull rider,” he told me. “Damn things always bucked me off.”   

The couple behind me asked about my books and whether they were written for children. “Uh no,” Frank answered for me. We talked more, the woman asked for the name of my books, and after a minute or two, she showed me her phone and she ordered And Then You Fall while we were sitting there. 

If you’ve never been to the Elizabeth Stampede, I highly recommend you go if you have the chance. It is a great rodeo, one that PRCA has named Best Small Town Rodeo, several years. The town of Elizabeth is one I want to explore more. 

I hope when we go next year, I run into Mr. Jolly again. When I write the next book in the Crested Butte series, I’ll write someone just like him into the storyline.