| Nov. 11, 2009 CONTACT: Shawn Burns, 806-651-2300, sburns@wtamu.edu COPY BY: Rana McDonald, 806-651-2129, rmcdonald@wtamu.edu University Mascot Places at Texas Bison Association Exposition CANYON, Texas—The West Texas A&M University Herdsmen traveled to the 2009 Texas Bison Association (TBA) Exposition Nov. 6-7 in Fort Worth, and their charge, University mascot Thunder X, walked away with a prize. The University mascot earned high marks in various categories at the event but took the third-place prize in the yearling bull category. Thunder X, the only university mascot to compete at the TBA event, came to WTAMU in August 2008 as the first bottle-fed bison the Herdsmen have had in their rotation of mascots. He made his official debut in November of that year and now serves as the University’s official mascot. The Herdsmen is a University spirit organization in charge of the care and training of the live mascot, and the November 6-7 trip marked Thunder X’s first appearance at a TBA event. “We weren’t surprised at how well Thunder X showed because we have a good animal,” Shawn Burns, University chief of police and Herdsmen adviser, said. “He did very well considering what he was up against. The first-place winner will probably end up at the national show.” In addition to the mascot’s showing at the event, the WTAMU Herdsmen also were recognized by TBA officials with a Gold Sponsor Honorarium for their support and assistance during the Exposition. The WTAMU group helped with the loading of animals for the show and sale and provided technical support for the presenters and offered assistance to TBA board members during the event. “The guys did a great job helping out with extra hands and feet, but they gain a lot, too,” Burns said. “They get the chance to talk to those who know the species, and right now we are trying to fine tune Thunder X’s feeding regime after talking to experts at the event.” The Herdsmen have attended the TBA Exposition before. In 2008 the group spoke at the event about the method of handling and training buffalo, and their presentation was mentioned in the inaugural 2009 edition of the Texas Bison Journal.
—WTAMU— | 
