story by Lily Weinacht
Danna with her two granddaughters, Karoline and Laynee. – Courtesy of the family
Danna Gann of Lonoke, Ark., has been a part of nearly every aspect of rodeo in her 56 years. Her go get ‘em attitude saw her through working with rodeo roughstock as a child, secretarying rodeos in her teens, and running her share of barrels for more than half her life. Being a rodeo secretary is what she excelled in, and today she works for the APRA, IFYR, IPRA, and various stock contractors.
Danna was born into a rodeo family and grew up on a farm in Arkansas. Her father passed away when she was very young, and Danna’s mom ran the family’s farm with the help of Danna and her sister. “I was a woman raised in a man’s world,” Danna recalls. “I drove big trucks and worked with bulls and horses. Don’t ever tell me that you can’t do something because you’re a girl. We farmed and took care of all those animals and never missed a beat!” Danna also competed in rodeo, going so far as riding bareback horses and bulls at all-girl rodeos. But barrel racing took her to the National High School Finals Rodeo, and her secretary work introduced her to Orval and Faye Donaldson, the owners of 44 Bar Rodeo Company. “I started secretarying for the 44 Bar Rodeo Company in my teens, and that’s how I got my start working for the IPRA.”
After Danna and her sister married, their mom left the farm to Danna’s son, Rob. Danna divorced, and several years later, purchased 44 Bar Rodeo Company from the Donaldsons. She and Rob renamed it Bar V Rodeo Company and put on IPRA sanctioned rodeos. Rob also worked as a bull fighter and even fought bulls at the IFR several years. The mother son duo still own the rodeo company, but mainly lease their bucking stock out to contractors.
Danna’s work as a rodeo secretary keeps her on the go. She has been the secretary for the APRA for the last four years, which came about in an unlikely way. Before she passed away in an accident, Danna’s late daughter-in-law, Heather, had urged Danna to take an offer from Sam Swearingen to secretary for Rawhide Rodeo Company. Danna originally declined, but following Heather’s accident, she felt moved to accept Swearingen’s offer, thus beginning her work for the APRA. She stays in the Northeast for three or four months, living with Stump and Renee Hazlet in Pennsylvania. She loves watching rodeo’s popularity grow in the Northeast, and seeing how much the audiences appreciate the burgeoning sport.
While Danna works as a secretary, she also times many of the rodeos she’s a secretary for, except for the AFR and IFR. She also has her PRCA card. “I secretaried a qualifying steer wrestling for (RFD-TV’s) The American, which I loved, because it was a new challenge for me. I also did the Best of the Best Calf Roping in Carthage, Mo. When someone calls me up to ask me to do a rodeo and says it might be difficult, that’s my cup of tea. I love a challenge!”
Ever occupied, Danna finishes cabinets from her home in Lonoke between rodeos. Her hobbies include refurbishing furniture, which she often paints horses on, depending on the item. Rob and his wife, Kim, live just across the driveway from Danna. Her two granddaughters, Laynee (8), and Karoline (2), are her everything. “It’s hard to be away from them when I go north,” Danna admits, “but Stump and Renee Hazlet’s son calls me Nanny. It’s such an honor to secretary the APRA finals. That job position is voted in by the contestants, and it’s a big deal to me to be selected!”
