Franklin, Tenn. (April 20, 2026) – Franklin Rodeo fans will be treated to some of the best rodeo entertainment in the nation.
Jessica Blair Fowlkes will Roman ride during all three performances of the rodeo, May 14-16. The cowgirl performs a stunt that goes back to the days of the Roman Empire, when soldiers stood atop a pair of horses, one foot on each horse, as the horses gallop around the arena. It requires excellent balance and the ability to shift weight from one leg to the other as the horses run.
Jessica’s team of horses, her “boys,” as she calls them, are Wishbone and Waco, a pair of gray geldings.
Wishbone is 18 and is her most consistent horse. “I wish I had ten of him,” she said. She trained him ten years ago and he took to it very easily.
Taco, who is ten years old, is “by far my prettiest horse,” and is bred to run, “which makes him scary fast,” she said. “When he runs, he floats.”
She’s trained her horses to overcome their natural fear of fire and places four fire stakes in the arena, riding over them, a horse on each side, as part of her act.
Jessica grew up in Athens, Tennessee but now lives in Crofton, Kentucky. “I claim Tennessee as home,” she said. She’s a graduate of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
She also does liberty work with her horses. Using vocal commands and footwork, she has trained them to do tricks. The horses don’t have anything on them – no headstall, bridle, bit, lead rope, halter or saddle.
Jessica’s husband, Preston Fowlkes III, has a tie to the Franklin Rodeo. His granddad Preston Fowlkes Sr. provided the bucking horses and bulls for the rodeo from its inception in 1950 until the mid 1970s. His son Preston Jr. did the same until 1987. Preston Sr. and his brother John lived in the Franklin area for a time before the family moved to Crofton, Kentucky.
Jessica and Preston’s daughter Farrah, who is six, will do a trick horse act at the rodeo. Farrah’s pony Toodles is part of the act.
The couple also has a son, Wilder, who is nine.
Jessica has worked the most prestigious rodeo in the nation, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, pro rodeo’s world championship twice, in 2021-22. She’s entertained at rodeos across the nation, from Cheyenne, Wyo. to St. Paul, Oregon, and everywhere in between.
The Franklin Rodeo takes place May 14-16 at the Williamson Co. Ag Expo Park, Franklin. Shows start at 7 pm each night. Tickets range in price from $18-$52 and can be purchased online at FranklinRodeo.com. For more information, visit the website
Jessica Blair Fowlkes and her daughter Farrah will entertain during the Franklin Rodeo. Jessica will Roman riding and liberty work. Photo courtesy Fowlkes.
Farrah Fowlkes, the daughter of rodeo entertainer Jessica Blair Fowlkes, performs with her horse Toodles. The six-year-old will be part of her mother’s act at the Franklin Rodeo May 14-16 at the Williamson Co. Ag Expo Park. Photo courtesy Fowlkes.