Houston Jewelry Power Embraces Rodeo Season Full Force With Longhorns and Scholarship Funds — Tenenbaum Goes Western

There’s a longhorn steer atop the roof at 4310 Westheimer. Baby goats, pigs, cows and horses are also grazing in the surrounding parking area. It’s all a sure sign that the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is on its way.

For years Tony Bradfield has been dressing his Tenenbaum Jewelers boutique on Westheimer in themed paraphernalia — massive tennis balls for the River Oaks tournament, enormous baseballs for Houston Astros playoff runs, larger than life sunflowers for spring and basketballs for the Houston Rockets. And now this — a steer on the roof of the two-story jeweler and a menagerie of farm animals, all reflective of the bovines, equines and other animals that are exhibited by school kids, earning the youngsters much needed scholarship funds.

Clearly Bradfield loves a theme, but he also embraces the community engagement that such support of the Houston Rodeo builds. In particular, he is proud of the scholarship element of the Houston Rodeo and his role on the Steer Auction Committee.

With committee partner Dana Barton, the Rodeo Auction Angels, as Bradfield and Barton call themselves, raised close to $250,000 last year for scholarships through their participation in the Steer Auction Committee. Bradfield is a Silver Spur member of the Rodeo scene, having given $25,000 for scholarships.

As Bradfield approaches his sixth year on the committee, his interest in the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo isn’t buckling.

“To a certain extent, it’s in honor of my father’s Texas heritage even though I wasn’t born here and raised here,” Bradfield tells PaperCity. “It’s also what it does for the city and what it does for youth. It truly is for the kids and it brings our community together unlike anything else.

“No other city has this wonderful asset of bringing every demographic, culture, race and interests under one event.”

Raising funds for the auction for scholarships is his main goal as is supporting the children who spend a year and some $7,000 raising a calf into adulthood. The Rodeo Auction Angels are the final hangers-on in the steer auction when all the glamour is over, when all the million dollar and six-figure sales are over. They step up to the plate for the youngsters at the bottom of the pack, remaining in the arena as late as 6:30 in the evening for an event that begins in the early morning.

No kid goes home unrewarded, thanks to this duo and their supporters.

As part of the rodeo homage, the interiors of Tenenbaum Jewelers are sporting a new Western look including a tequila and whiskey bar dubbed The Sapphire Saloon. Cowhides, faux animal trophies and little animals share space with diamonds, emeralds, turquoise and all the fabulous jewels that Tenenbaum built its reputation around.

In a further nod to the Houston Rodeo, Bradfield is bringing in a special collection of sophisticated Western themed jewelry from Vincent Peach Fine Jewelry. Already there are close to 50 pieces of glorious jewels ranging from diamond studded horseshoe earrings in 18 karat gold to sterling silver necklaces. The pieces feature spurs, stirrups and other cowboy inspired designs. Beginning Monday, Tennenbaum Jewelry will have the full collection available.