Chelan County Fair: John Payne, the One Armed Bandit
By Marsha Clute
Aug. 01, 2011
Photo by permission of the Chelan County Fair
John Payne, the One Armed Bandit, will make his first appearance in the Chelan County Fair on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10 and 11. Plan to see him perform before the rodeo both days.
Chelan County Fair Entertainment takes a new direction in 2011. The One Armed Bandit, John Payne, has been roaming the "wild west" since 1986 gathering up wild cattle and selling them off to a Rodeo stock contractor. He caught some bulls in the Florida swamps and wanted to see them buck so he started following the Rodeo circuit where he witnessed what he calls "a low talent show" at a Rodeo.
By 1988 the fading cattle market and high interest rates left him flat broke, $100,000 in debt and living with his grandmother. John decided to build his own trailer from scratch, bought a truck from his brother Bob for $800 (which took a full year to pay off) and joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. His first performance was in Bushyhead, Oklahoma where his Blackmouth Cur dogs put Corrientte Cattle on top of a trailer. It was a hit!
The first year he performed 90 shows and was nominated PRCA's "Specialty Act of the Year."
His son Lynn and daughter Amanda hit the road at the age of 18 and now the family takes the show in three directions across the US. John says it is very fulfilling to have his son and daughter display their talents. "They are truly my right hand," he said. Soon, he will have grandkids in the show too.
Animals in the show consist of Longhorn-Watusi Sheets, Mustangs, Mules, South Dakota Buffalo and sometimes his Blackmouth Cur dogs.
See The One Armed Bandit in the Grandstand before the Rodeo Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Don't miss this exciting, first time Chelan County Fair performance!
For more information about the 2011 "Barn in the U.S.A." Chelan County Fair, visit our website here or call our office at 782-3232.
