Last Cowgirl Standing...J Storme Jannise
Tonight (Sunday, October 20th) is the finale of the 6 night epic event for the Ultimate Cowboy Challenge on INSP TV. We find out who wins the title of Ultimate Cowboy and walls away with $50,000 in cattle. I'll be tuning in...will you be watching too? If so, who are you rooting for? Zane, Ethan, or Cuatro?!
Episode 5 (which ran on Friday, October 18th) saw the last cowgirl standing (J Storme Jannise) eliminated. I, for one, was rooting for her and felt disappointed when she was let go from the competition by Trace Adkins (country music star and the show's host).
A couple of weeks ago I got a chance to interview J Storme on the phone. We had cowgirl friends in common so I felt like I had known her for a long time even though it was our first time chatting. What a nice gal and she's super easy to visit with!
I asked her how she found out about the Ultimate Cowboy Showdown competition. She said that it had been shared on Facebook and someone had tagged her. She checked it out and after her friend urged her to try out she decided to. She had to make a 30 second video of why she would be a good fit for the show and a good contestant. Sometime later she noticed that someone from the Los Angeles area kept trying to call her. She isn't in the habit of answering calls from people she doesn't know. Finally she answered and it was the folks from the show. They eventually did a FaceTime interview and she was chosen to be one of the ten cowboys competing for the title of Ultimate Cowboy and the $50,000 prize of cattle.
She traveled to Alabama from southeast Texas in May where they filmed for two weeks. She brought her own rig, horse, and gear. I took note that the horse she rides is a nice one. Everyone cowboy and cowgirl likes to talk about their horse. J Storme is not exception. She told me a great story of how she came to own her nice little bay mare that is known as Marie Laveau. J Storme asked me if I knew who Marie Laveau was (from the song). I laughed and said I definitely did (it's a favorite from my childhood). J Storme said that her mare isn't a witch like the woman the song is about. That's good to know! I could tell that J Storme thinks a lot of her 9 year old mare. She talked about how determined Marie Laveau is and that she never gives up. J Storme said she grew up with hand-me-down horses. When she came back to the ranch her grandfather said it was time that she got her own horse. J Storme said that her mare doesn't have papers, but does have good bloodlines. I think we chuckled over the fact that you don't ride the papers. From the sounds of it, these two were meant to become pals. She and Marie found each other and quickly formed a bond. They work well together with whatever task comes their way.
J Storme also talked about competing and the other contestants. She said that she formed a fast friendship with the show's other woman competitor. She said they keep in touch and said Tara Powers from Iowa was sweet and down to earth. J Storme could identify with her.
All-in-all J Storme said she made some friendships, good contacts, and got out of her comfort zone. Even though she didn't make it to the last episode she is glad she competed and she got a lot out of it. She wanted to make sure to show that a cowboy is a cowboy no matter their gender. She was up for whatever task came their way and she didn't back down.
I agree with her and tip my hat to her. She definitely represented the cowboy-girls well in all aspects. Well done, J Storme...way to cowboy up!!
P.S. Here's a little more info about J Storme:
