Inductees

On a farm in the scenic hills just outside of an east central Missouri town called Cuba, you could find Jeffrey Brummet riding horses on the family farm years ago.

Naturally, that grew into competing in rodeos, first in saddle broncs and then bulls before he turned his attention to being a rodeo clown who saved hundreds of lives.

And then one day, while at a Horse Fest in Springfield in in the early 2000s, Brummett saw a competition called mounted shooting. The riders dressed in cowboy attire and fired revolvers at balloons.

That piqued his interest and, years later, he became one of the Show-Me State’s best in the sport. That’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Brummet and his American quarter horse, Tucker, with the Class of 2025.

In the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association World Championships, they have won the Senior Men 1 in 2019, SM2 in 2020 and SM3 in 2021.

In 2024, they were the Super Senior Limited Champion in the Eastern, Western and National Championships, and the Senior Limited Reserve Cowboy in the Western Championship – all as Brummet and Tucker ended 150^th in the rankings.

Call it an adrenaline rush.

“An adrenaline rush is correct!” Brummet said. “For anyone entering the sport, it does take time. You have to find a horse, and that took two years. I bought a pair of guns, one year Ruger Vaquero .45 long colts. Then I had the horse trained, and then they had to work with me and the horse. Then I had to find a club to practice with, so it all takes time. Then finally, after three years, I entered a competitive contest.”

Mounted shooting is the fastest-growing equestrian sport in the nation, with 20,000 members. They compete in the timed event using two .45 caliber single-action revolvers, each loaded with five rounds of specially prepared blank ammunition. Contestants dress in western attire of the late 1800s, and pistols must be western in design from the late 1800s, based on the Colt .45 model.

Brummet shoots two Ruger Vaqueros .45 Colt single-action revolvers, along with a Yildiz .410 over-under that shoots .45 Colt rounds and a Winchester 73 lever action rifle.

Contestants ride one of more than 50 specific patterns, shoot 10 balloon targets with blank rounds of black powder, which are loaded to break balloons from a distance of 15 feet.

Fortunately, he found Tucker locally.

“Good matches are more like taking the time to ride your horse consistently to form a bond with him,” Brummet said. “And then practicing to improve your communication with your horse is key. At first, it seemed easy because of my raw talent with a gun and shooting targets, but it became harder with faster speeds.”

Somehow, Brummett — a graduate of Missouri Military Academy who attended Missouri Science & Technology, Brummet – has found time for the sport while working as a vice president with Stifel Financial in Rolla.

He got a late start in mounted shooting only because he took care of his family first, as “taxi driver” to every horse show. He also was a plumber, electrician, carpenter and mechanic.

In 2018, after already having had a humbling competitive event, Brummet entered the Missouri State Fair competition to redeem himself. That set him up for a tremendous run of success in recent years, as in 2019 they won or placed in several events, including in his class at the state fair.

Confident, Brummet entered the world competition in Amarillo, Texas, and won his first World Buckle in the Senior Men’s 1 class and the high point champion title. He also won the CMSA Eastern Championship in SM1 Reserve that year.

In 2020, he and Tucker won or placed throughout the Midwest and won their second world competition in World Class in Senior Men’s 2.

In 2024, he lost the senior incentive by three-hundredths of a second in the Eastern Championships and came in second in senior men’s class by less than a second.

Fortunately, Shawn Hallahan (strategy) and Paul and Kara Cain (riding skills) have been mentors.

His wife, Jane, has always been supportive. They are parents to Jared, Jacob and Katie.

“Most guys my age would love to be in my position, and I’m sure thankful for all the sport has given me,” Brummet said. “What a great way to spend a weekend dressing up like my western heroes and shooting .45 caliber pistols at balloons. Win, lose or draw, it sure is fun!”