Archdale ranch becomes filming location for rodeo sequel

Movie crews turned Jerome Davis Ranch at 5667 Elmer Beeson Rd. in Archdale into a set for The Farmer and the Belle 2: A Rodeo Marriage, giving a working rodeo property a rare turn in the spotlight.

The project is a sequel to The Farmer and the Belle: Saving Santaland, the 2020 film directed by Wes Llewellyn and starring Jenn Gotzon and Jim E. Chandler. The first movie followed a romance between a famous model and a farmer trying to save a beloved Santaland festival. Promotion for the sequel says the same couple now works to save a historic farm camp established in 1917, with the husband returning to competition as the oldest bull rider in an invitational event.

That story fits the place. Jerome Davis won the 1995 PRCA World Bull Riding Championship, and NCpedia says he was paralyzed in a March 14, 1998 accident at the Tuff Hedeman Championship Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. Davis says his first movie role came in 1993, when he worked as a stunt double for Luke Perry in Eight Seconds. Bull riding is a sport built on a risky eight-second ride, and Davis’s background gives filmmakers a setting that feels lived in rather than dressed up.

For Archdale, the shoot is more than a one-day novelty. Jerome Davis Ranch already runs active rodeo programming, including Boot Barn Wild West Wednesday competitions every first and third Wednesday from June through September, which gives the property a steady stream of visitors and a natural base for repeat attention. A film credit can help a venue like that build bookings for future events and productions, while also drawing eyes to the surrounding area.

The sequel is not set to premiere until 2028, so the ranch’s role will keep paying off long after the cameras left. In a county where property values often rise and fall on visibility as much as on acreage, a screen-ready rodeo ranch can become part of a longer business cycle, not just a local curiosity.