About The Ain't No Dummy

When my daughter began goat tying in 2024 I reached out to a former collegiate coaching friend, Jill Francis, to coach my daughter.

During her first practice session I attended, we shared the same sentiment; 

that we weren't quite happy with the various dummies our kids were tying on for various reasons.

I thought to myself- well, I bet I can figure out a way to make something better. 

Before I realized what I was getting myself into; I blurted out with more conviction than I felt,  “I can make one!”. 

My kitchen table quickly turned into a workspace where I, and my family spent many hours and late nights working through developmental prototypes through trial and error. 

The best part of this whole experience was the chance for my daughter to be a part of the actual creation process (she actually was the one who discovered the sleeping bag concept while we were in our local department store seeking ideas; and she excitedly exclaimed at the time, that the sleeping bag “feels like a squishy goat tummy momma!”).

After an entire year of praying over this process and working hard to incorporate the sleeping bag concept, testing various materials, and contemplating suggestions from many family & friends alike- to achieve the “feel” of a real goat, my daughter, Jill's two amazing kids, and Jill, all, deemed the dummy’s feel as “realistic”- and we finally arrived at what was first only jokingly referred to in conversation as the:

 “Ain’t No Dummy”

The nickname somehow naturally stuck.

Jill took a few of the initial prototype dummies I had made at the time to a goat tying clinic she held for kids to feel, as well as to a collegiate goat tying coach and an athlete at the collegiate level to feel.

I created a social media page for the dummy, an ordering form, and began lightly posting to goat tying or rodeo pages to gain  traction and reach.  Little by little, there's been some growth, and these dummies have slowly made their way across America into multiple states so far. The goal has always been to create something that truly helps kids practice better. 

This truly has been an amazing, challenging, and fun experience.

These little dummies come with removable sleeping bags, serving two unique purposes, which is especially "fun" for the littlest of goat tying athletes, making them perfect to take to the rodeos or to rodeo bible camp, as your kids' bedding is already packed!

It may only be a hobby for me at this point in time, and that may very well always be what it will ever be, but spending the time hand making a unique & customizable, yet, realistic, feeling goat tying dummy with my two kids and my husband, for a few rodeo kids across the country just like my daughter,  to practice on and grow their love for goat tying and the western way of life, is worth it for me, and it truly brings joy to my life to create unique custom creations; as unique as each kid they are made for.

-Amanda