Johnson makes NFR debut as gift show exhibitor

Bonsall’s Sue Johnson had been to Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo in the previous three years, but she made her debut as a gift show exhibitor during the 2006 NFR. A longtime professional in the banking industry, Johnson enjoys expressing her artistic side, as time allows, designing attractive western wear.

Johnson shared a booth at the Cowboy Marketplace gift expo held at Mandalay Bay. Her company, Tarachel, is named after her two daughters and sells custom-designed belt buckles, jewelry, denim jackets, and scarves.

“The belt buckles are the biggest hit out there this year,” Johnson said.

The term “Cowboy Christmas” originally meant the rodeos held during the Fourth of July weekend, when a cowboy could enter multiple rodeos and earn significant money for suitable performances. In the 1980s the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctioned a Cowboy Christmas Gift Show, giving visitors to the National Finals Rodeo city (NFR has been in Las Vegas since 1985 after spending 20 years in Oklahoma City) activities during the day. The Cowboy Christmas Gift Show is now held at the Las Vegas Convention Center and attracts between 150,000 and 175,000 visitors for the ten-day exhibit coinciding with the NFR dates.

Although the gift shows at Mandalay Bay and elsewhere are not official PRCA events, the PRCA does not discourage those shows. This year’s Cowboy Christmas had 407 vendors, and the Convention Center booths were sold out by July. Approximately three-quarters of the official show’s vendors return the following year, so the cowboy gift expositions at Mandalay Bay, the Sands, and elsewhere in Las Vegas allow new exhibitors an opportunity to display their products.

Johnson, whose full-time job is as a financial services officer for Pacific Coast National Bank (that bank doesn’t have a Fallbrook branch, so Johnson works in Encinitas), started Tarachel in spring 2006. “Eventually someday I want to have something called Tarachel Farms,” she said. “I love this world, this whole lifestyle.”

Tarachel shared a booth at Mandalay Bay with Sturdee Brothers, the apparel line created by Alex Hassinger, Jake Vinci, and Gary Stevens.

Hassinger, who has lived in Temecula for the past five and a half years, lived in Bonsall for six years and is married to Johnson’s sister. Hassinger was a trainer at San Luis Rey Downs Thoroughbred Training Center for eight years and also spent five years as a public trainer in Kentucky and two years with Godolphin Racing at Santa Anita with six weeks in Dubai for Godolphin. Since July 2005 Hassinger has been the West Coast representative for LubriSyn, an equine nutritional supplement used for treatment of joint pain and inflammation. In 2005 Hassinger was in the LubriSyn booth at the Convention Center, but in 2006 LubriSyn had booths at both the Convention Center and Mandalay Bay, allowing Hassinger to work at Mandalay Bay show and have easy contact with the Sturdee Brothers workers, including the Tarachel representatives who took over for Sturdee Brothers in the absence of Gary or Angie Stevens or Annie Hassinger.

Tara Johnson spent some time at the Tarachel booth before returning to Fallbrook. Rachel Johnson is currently a freshman at Azusa Pacific University and was not able to travel to Las Vegas during NFR. “She’s bummed that she’s missing this,” Sue Johnson said of her younger daughter. “She wanted to help us out, but she’s in the middle of finals.”

Devon Camilleri also made the trip from Bonsall and helped in the booth during part of the gift show. “We brought the troops with us,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s mother, Frances, also made the trip from Fallbrook to Las Vegas to help at the Tarachel booth. Annie Hassinger also represented Tarachel in the absence of her sister. “It’s definitely a family affair. It has to be,” Sue Johnson said.

Gary and Angie Stevens also represented both Tarachel and Sturdee Brothers when they were the sole booth personnel.

This year’s NFR, and thus the gift shows, ran from November 30 through December 9. Johnson, who is the master of ceremonies for the Student of the Month award ceremony for Fallbrook Union High School District students, made two trips to Las Vegas and returned to Fallbrook for the December 5 Student of the Month breakfast. “Student of the Month was too important for me to miss,” she said.

The ten NFR days and gift show days ran from Thursday to Saturday, a change from past NFR schedules of Friday through Sunday. That may have affected gift show traffic. “It was a little slow this year, but I think it’s a little slow everywhere,” Johnson said.

The Saturday ending date allowed the Las Vegas Marathon to be held on Sunday, December 10. The marathon began and ended at Mandalay Bay, and the parking lot was being reserved for marathon-related use while the gift show was still present. “For having the parking lot taken over, it’s a great crowd,” Johnson said of the Cowboy Marketplace show.

For many exhibitors, the right people rather than the sheer number of people can aid business. One Texas merchant saw Johnson’s buckles and offered to have some displayed in a Texas store. “There’s a lot of connections out there,” Johnson said. “It’s been cool.”

Johnson first displayed Tarachel products at the Poway Rodeo in September. The Cowboy Marketplace was her second venue. Johnson noted that the opportunity arose to share the booth with Sturdee Brothers. “I come here anyway,” she said.

While in the booth, Johnson met people from throughout the country. “That’s the best part of it,” she said.

Johnson also encountered visitors from Fallbrook and Bonsall who recognized her.

Johnson is also the chair of the Poway Rodeo Queens Pageant Committee. She also worked as the business development officer for Fallbrook National Bank when The Grove Agency orchestrated the bank’s public relations campaign and reigning Miss Rodeo Lakeside April Papalio handled many of the press releases, although Johnson did not work directly with Papalio.

The Cowboy Marketplace was successful enough for Johnson to warrant a planned return in 2007, which would translate to the December 6-15 NFR dates. “So far so good,” she said. “I would think we’d come back here.”

Johnson is unsure whether she will display Tarachel at the 2007 Lakeside and Ramona rodeos. She hopes to exhibit at the San Antonio and Cheyenne rodeos in the future. “Then you can combine your vacation with a little bit of work,” she said.

To learn more about Tarachel designs, call (760) 216-2355 or e-mail [email protected].