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[marrowbone]

VERSE Welcome to Marrowbone, where bloodlines run deep, cattle kick up red dirt, oil rigs tick like slow bombs on the horizon, and secrets burn hotter than the Texas sun. It’s a town that clings tight to its own mythology: Sunday sermons, Friday night lights, rodeoing till your bones give out, Fourth of July parades, and a hundred ways to ruin your name if you don’t walk the line. SETTING Tucked deep in the sunburnt folds of West Texas in Rawhide County, Marrowbone is the kind of town where dust clings to your boots and reputation sticks even tighter. Established back in the days when cattle drives ran long and tempers ran hot, Rawhide County earned its name from the industry that built it — hard men, harder land, and the endless scrape of leather and horn. Marrowbone grew up in that same tough soil. It’s a small town with folks who can trace their lines back to vaqueros, outlaws, and the first settlers who carved fence lines into the open prairie. There’s a trailer park at the south end of town where gossip travels faster than cell service, and a stretch of preserved Old West ghost town out near the highway where tourists come to pose in front of false-front saloons and sun-bleached gallows. Every spring, the ghost town becomes the centerpiece for the annual Founders Day Parade — a dusty spectacle of floats, horseback riders, Queen of the Miss Marrowbone pageant, fourth-grade history projects brought to life on flatbed trucks, and more. But Marrowbone isn’t just wide open spaces, double-wides, RVs, and mobile homes. Over the past five decades, the town has seen the rise of a few middle-class neighborhoods — streets lined with modest brick homes and manicured, sun bleached lawns where young families settle in search of Friday night lights and small-town charm. These newer developments sit at the edge of old pastureland, where cul-de-sacs dead-end into barbed wire fences and kids grow up learning the difference between soccer practice and calf roping. It’s a strange blend of rural tradition and creeping suburban sprawl. Surrounding Marrowbone are miles of open pasture, farms and homesteads, and three sprawling ranches, each with its own brand of history and legacy. The biggest and wealthiest belongs to the Tate family — a dynasty that’s had their hands in Rawhide County soil for generations. The Tates were once cattlemen like everybody else, but over time, they evolved into something sharper, harder, and far more calculating. Miller Tate, the current patriarch, left Marrowbone in his twenties for a career in finance in the city, and came back with a head full of numbers and a Rolodex fat with investors. When his father passed, Miller inherited the ranch and expanded the family empire beyond livestock, sinking money into oil leases, land development projects, real estate holdings, and construction contracts that reshaped half the county. The Tates now own everything from local subdivisions to the luxury PIRR competitor accommodations — full-service lodgings for visiting rodeo competitors with more amenities than most Marrowbone locals will see in their lifetime. Miller keeps his boots polished and his shirts starched, and while the town officials love him for lining their pockets and keeping Marrowbone on the map, the locals hate him for going soft, for trading dirt under the fingernails for dollar signs and politics. Still, nobody says no to the Tates. Not if they want to keep their job, their land, their life. The second wealthiest family in Marrowbone, didn’t make their money in cattle or oil, but football. After a decorated career as a professional quarterback and then a top-tier NFL head coach, the family patriarch returned to his hometown with a mission: to turn the Marrowbone Mustangs into a statewide — football powerhouse. Under his leadership and financial backing, the Mustangs became more than just a local team. The stadium was rebuilt from the ground up, now a state-of-the-art sports facility that could put some small colleges to shame. With professional-level locker rooms, hydrotherapy pools, strength and conditioning centers, and film rooms with NFL-grade analysis equipment, the Mustangs became a magnet for recruiters and scouts. Their Friday night games draw spectators from neighboring counties and sports journalists from across the state. The Marrowbone Mustang Cheerleaders perform with NFL-level precision and choreography, their routines more akin to halftime shows at pro games than small-town pep rallies. Friday night lights in Marrowbone aren’t just an event — they’re an institution. A spectacle. A point of pride and pressure that leaves its mark on every player who pulls on that jersey. The third powerhouse family comes from south of the border — a Mexican family of vaqueros and generational bull riders who carved out their own empire on Rawhide County land. After years spent working rodeos across Mexico and the American Southwest, they crossed the state line with enough winnings to buy land, livestock, and a future. They founded Professional Ironhide Rodeo Riders, Inc. — PIRR for short. What started as a small operation supplying bulls and broncs to the PCRA and PBR circuits eventually grew into something bigger. Over time, the family pulled away from the national circuits and launched their own summer-long event: the Ironhide Circuit. Now, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, riders and spectators from across the country and as far south as Brazil make the pilgrimage to Marrowbone. The circuit runs on a brutal schedule — bull riding one weekend, bronc riding the next, with timed events like barrel racing and steer wrestling filling the gaps. Every weekend offers a new chance for glory — or injury. It’s high risk, high reward, and more than one cowboy has left Marrowbone with scars to prove they tried. The Tates, ever business-savvy, have their fingers in both pies — partnering with the PIRR family to provide arena expansions, practice facilities, and housing for riders during the season. Likewise, they’ve invested in the football program, their name stamped on scoreboards and locker room plaques in exchange for land rights and development deals. On paper, it’s a symbiotic relationship — power feeding power — but underneath it all, the town knows that every handshake with a Tate comes with fine print. Marrowbone is a town where you can feel the tension in the dirt — where old grudges live in the bones of the land and new ones grow like weeds. The Pasadena, a honky tonk and bar sitting on a sprawling parcel of land near the highway, is open Monday to Sunday, from dusk till dawn, with a dance floor that always stays packed on Saturday nights. It’s the kind of place where someone’s always getting thrown off the mechanical bull, someone is starting fights at the bar, and someone else is slipping out the back door with someone they shouldn’t be seen with. Thirty-five miles east sits Lariat, the closest city worth the gas money. Lariat is where you go when you need a real hospital, a mall, or a fast-food fix that didn’t come out of a deep fryer built in the 1970s. It’s where the recruiters, sponsors, and rodeo scouts fly into, and where the bar scene stretches long enough for nights you don’t want to remember. Out here, legends don’t retire — they break, heal, and climb back in the chute. Rivals become bunkmates. Sweethearts become strangers. Friends become enemies by the time the gate swings open. Rodeo and football — the twin gods of Rawhide County — leave little room for anything soft. You either hold on tight, or you get bucked off. This is Marrowbone, Rawhide County, Texas. Where the dirt is red, the lights are bright, and nobody’s story ends clean. PROFESSIONAL IRONHIDE RODEO RIDERS, INC The Professional Ironhide Rodeo Riders, Inc. (PIRR) is a summer-long rodeo championship drawing the top riders from across the country. Though modeled after the PBR, it’s its own spectacle — more intimate, more brutal, and more personal. CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES Circuit Bronc Riding Champion: Determined by cumulative scores across all their rides (standard 8-second PRCA-style format). The winner of the event will earn a coveted gold buckle, $1 million dollar bonus, and the title of PIRR All-Americas Champion. Circuit Bull Riding Champion: Determined by cumulative scores across all their rides (standard 8-second PBR-style format). The winner of the event will earn a coveted gold buckle, $1 million dollar bonus, and the title of PIRR All-Americas Champion. The Longest Ride Champion: For those daring and skilled enough to ride their bull past 10 seconds. Each second beyond earns 10 bonus points, and only rides over 10 count toward this title. It's high risk, high reward — and often invites the boldest riders or those with nothing left to lose. The winner of the event will earn a coveted gold buckle, $10 million dollar bonus, and the title of PIRR Longest Ride Champion. All-Around Champion: For riders who compete in bull or bronc events, plus one timed event (tie-down, barrels, etc.). A mark of true grit and versatility. The winner of the event will earn a coveted gold buckle, $1 million dollar bonus, and the title of PIRR All-Around Champion. Circuit Barrel Racing Champion: Determined by fastest cumulative times around the cloverleaf pattern. It’s the speed, agility, and bond between rider and horse that separate contenders from champions. The winner of the event will earn a coveted gold buckle, $1 million dollar bonus, and the title of PIRR All-Americas Barrel Racing Champion. Rookie of the Year: In PIRR, "Rookie of the Year" refers to the bull and bronc rider who achieves the highest number of points on the premier series (Unleash The Beast - UTB) during their first year competing at that level. To be eligible, a rider must either achieve a Top 30 position in the UTB standings or qualify for and compete at Finals for the first time in their PIRR career. COMPETITION FORMAT Week 1: Bull Riding Week 2: Bronc Riding (Bareback) Week 3: Mixed Rodeo Events (Barrels, Steer Wrestling, Tie-Down, etc.) Week 4: Showcase Weekend (Special challenges, open-call slots, or Junior Rider Day) Then the rotation repeats through the summer until Finals. KING AND QUEEN OF THE RODEO Miss Rodeo America: Elegance meets grit in this time-honored tradition. The Miss Rodeo America pageant is where horsemanship, charisma, and deep-rooted rodeo spirit collide. Held each September during the end of the rodeo championship, contenders from across the country compete for the crown based on appearance, horsemanship, and personality. The winner receives over $10 thousand dollars in prizes, including a sparkling crown that fits her cowboy hat, custom Montana Silversmiths buckles and jewelry, Justin Boots, and Wrangler apparel. But it’s not just about beauty and charm — she rides hard, speaks for the sport, and covers over 120,000 miles across the country during her reign, appearing at schools, rodeos, and public events. Mr Rodeo America: A brand-new honor in the PIRR legacy, the King of the Rodeo recognizes the cowboy who embodies the full spirit of the Western way of life — champion-level competition, sportsmanship, public service, and leadership within the rodeo community. Finalists are chosen from top PIRR competitors who compete in multiple events, inspire crowds, and serve as role models in and out of the arena. Judged on athletic excellence, ambassador presence, and commitment to rodeo values, the King of the Rodeo will receive a custom crown-inlaid Resistol, a Montana Silversmiths buckle, $10 thousand dollars in ambassador bonuses, and will join the Queen as the official face of the PIRR at public events, national promotions, and outreach efforts throughout the season. Together, the King and Queen of the Rodeo ride at the front of the PIRR Parade of Champions, standing as symbols of tradition, grit, and the future of rodeo. MISCELLANEOUS Seeing Red: An unsanctioned, illegal, one-night-only event whispered about but rarely witnessed — only the most vengeful riders with a score to settle take part, facing dangerous bulls in a makeshift arena, dressed in red, with no bullfighters to save their hide when the horns come for them. Livestock Legend: A bull or bronc gets crowned, too. The “Beast of the Circuit” title goes to the animal no one could ride. INSPIRATION Broke by Carlyle Eubank Fearless by Andrew Fried Friday Night Lights by Peter Berg Not Her First Rodeo by Jorden Halvorsen Ransom Canyon by by Jodi Thomas The Longest Ride by George Tillman Jr. Yellowstone by by Taylor Sheridan