SPRINGDALE — John Payne never envisioned himself as an award-winning rodeo entertainer some 25 years ago. Thanks to a stroke of bad luck and Payne’s encounter with a flawed rodeo act he has become one of the top attractions in the business for the last two decades.
Payne, also known as “The One Armed Bandit,” lived a typical cowboy life after losing his arm in 1973 when 7,200 bolts of electricity ran through his body while helping his father tear down a house. For the next 13 years, Payne worked as a rancher in his hometown of Shidler, Okla. However, when a poor cattle market left Payne $100,000 in debt, he needed a way out.
Thanks to a visit to the 101 Wild West Rodeo in Ponca City, Okla., in 1986, Payne discovered his new path.
While visiting the rodeo in Ponca City, Payne watched an act he describes as “awful.” Not short on words, Payne let the stock contractor in Ponca City know just how he felt about the poor rodeo performance he had witnessed.
“I had no idea when I went to that rodeo that day that I would get into rodeo,” Payne said. “I had caught some bulls in Florida and was coming back through, and they had an old Civil War re-enactment show that just plain sucked.
“So I knew the contractor, and I mouthed off that I could do a better show. So he told me to go ahead and do the show the next year.”
Right then and there, Payne’s One-Armed Bandit act was born.
For the next year, Payne worked to perfect what would become one of the most crowd-pleasing, unique and dangerous acts in the rodeo business.
Using trained mules, buffalo, mustangs and longhorn steers, Payne’s show is unlike any other around as he leads the herd through a variety of thrilling acts with the animals featured high atop his custom-made trailer.
For Payne, it’s an act that comes with plenty of excitement and even more risk. But the One-Armed Bandit and Company act also comes with rewards as Payne has been named the PRCA Specialty Act of the Year 12 times, including most recently in 2011.
“I had a year to get ready for my first rodeo show, and it still wasn’t perfect,” Payne said. “But it has evolved and grown a lot over the years.
“After 59 years, I finally figured out what I am and what I wanted to be. I’m a hardcore, Okie, redneck cowboy.”
Payne has been thrilling the fans at the 68th Rodeo of the Ozarks at Parsons Stadium this week, making his fifth appearance in Springdale with his One-Armed Bandit show.
For Payne, any trip to the Rodeo of the Ozarks feels like coming back home.
“I love it here,” Payne said. “These are my kind of people. I’m an Okie, and in my mind, there ain’t much difference between an Okie and an Arkie.”
Payne’s One-Armed Bandit act has not only developed over the years, it has spread out into a family business. Payne’s daughter, Amanda, and son, Lynn, also perform as part of the One-Armed Bandit gang.
“You can live for 500 years, and you’ll never see another show like mine or like the one me and my family do,” Payne said. “There’s nobody else that does what we do.”
That unique aspect makes Payne and his show a much-desired attraction at rodeos across the country and beyond as Payne even worked his act for the King of Oman in 2011.
And it’s that same attraction that leaves Rodeo of the Ozarks fans on the edge of their seats each and every time Payne rolls into town.
“It’s a great honor to have him back,” said Rick Culver, Rodeo of the Ozarks board member. “He’s a great crowd pleaser, and I’m sure, as long as he’s doing the show, we’ll try to get him back every three to four years.”