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QUOTES:

What do you think it is about the cowboy lifestyle that has caught people's attention now? I think, at first glance, it's pretty interesting to do what we do from atop a horse. The Q&A last night was kind of funny—someone asked, "Do you think you could shoot a bow from a horse?" It’s like, whoa, we do a lot of other things from horses. You’re gathering cows, roping, riding, and not to mention rodeo events. That alone has an adrenaline factor and intrigue. But there’s also a romantic side to it—you’re a shepherd, taking care of cattle, and a provider not only for your family and those around you but for the country.

Most of the beef throughout the country comes from smaller ranches. There are some big ones, like the Four Sixes and the King Ranch, but most beef actually comes from people with fewer than 50 head. So, the small-town rancher is still a large part of what provides health and nutrition for the country.

What do you think is misunderstood about the cattle industry? Much like the hunting industry, there are a lot of myths. People assume we don't care about animals, but, like a true hunter, you can’t go through life without seeing the passion and love for animals. You can't make that up. That’s how we feel. My horse, Boone, is going to be 23 in April. It will be a sad day, week, month, or year when I have to say goodbye to that friend of mine. I’ve got a bond with that horse. That’s probably the biggest myth—that we don't care about animals, when it's actually the opposite. I was raised to believe that animals have their place, but they’re not more important than humans. I believe that with all my heart.

I would argue that we probably care more about animals than most people.

Some people might think it’s unnecessary to have a horse because there are four-wheelers or Polaris. Well, a lot of cows will come when you shake a feed sack, but when you’re on a larger operation, or even a smaller one, there’s always one or two cows that won’t. On bigger outfits, you might honk a horn, but in a big pasture, they won't hear it. Some of them are wild, and you just have to have a horse. In the jobs I’ve had in the industry, you can’t show up on foot. You have to be on a good horse because we’re going to gather these cows, and if it's in Texas, it has to happen fast because it’s going to be 110 degrees by lunchtime. So, it's not only necessary but mandatory to have a good horse to get the job done. That bond you have with them will happen no matter what, but it’s a fun job, and Yellowstone does a good job of showing the romantic side of it, where it’s enjoyable as well as necessary.

If you’re lazy, it will be sniffed out in the first 10, 15, 20 minutes. If you’re lazy, you’re not going to last.

It’s not necessarily always the top hand that gets the job; it’s someone willing to do every job. If you’ve got a good attitude and work your butt off, you’ll get invited back, and you’ll be successful.

When I was born, my dad was working on the Pitchfork Ranch, which neighbors the Four Sixes—they share a fence and are similar in size, though the 6666 is a little bigger, I think. We worked on the Pitchfork at West Camp, so I was born into that lifestyle. We moved away from there, and my dad was also a rodeo cowboy. So, I grew up dreaming of working on the Pitchfork one day, and if I wasn’t doing that, I was rodeoing.

I was talking to a SEAL Team Six guy named DJ Shipley behind the chutes at a rodeo. He said he had a lot of respect for what we were doing. As a SEAL, they clear houses, and he said 90-95% of the rooms he’d go into were benign. (I had to Google what "benign" meant.) The rooms would be empty, but he always had to be ready for a fight when going around the corner. Emotions had to be in check. He said, "You guys, every single time you meet that fight when the gate opens, you have to fight."

The mountain is pure, and it pretty much washes away any trash talk.

Confidence without preparation is arrogance.

Eight seconds feels like an eternity.

You're able to execute fundamentals consistently, and that's what delineates the good from the great.

At all these rodeos, when you go to a town, it might be that town’s carnival, stock show – their big party for the year.

Any size rodeo is fun. Sometimes the smaller ones are better. The big rodeos like Houston, Pendleton, Cheyenne, and the NFR are great, but the small 500-added rodeos we like to call "duck-offs"—those are America, in my opinion.

In the PVR, there are points where you pick your own bull, and some guys pick bulls according to their level because they want a qualified ride. JB, however, would pick the baddest bull. Nobody remembers 85-point bull rides, and it's the most gangster thing to say.

I just don't want to get there and then screw up the opportunity. I want to take advantage of it every time. That's the point of training for me.

For the things I’ve been passionate about—snowboarding is just a fun hobby—but with rodeo, cowboys, and horses, I’ve had to work extremely hard. It made me realize how little talent I have, and it all comes down to work ethic.

Some guys might think, "I don't want to work that hard at this particular thing in my life." That's okay, but in rodeo, like I tell these guys, if that’s you, you better realize it quick. If you get on 15 or 20 more bulls knowing deep down it's not what you want to do, you're going to get hurt—maybe seriously. The stakes are too high. You can play golf for an extra year or two, knowing you don’t want to, and nothing bad will happen. But not bull riding.

I think it's a gift to have that perspective—to know how special your dad was to you and cherish every moment, even knowing he might leave early. I don't know if you're lucky or blessed, but being able to look back and not be bitter is a blessing.

I don’t really feel like any of us deserve what we've been given.

I would never tell someone, "I know how you feel." I didn’t even say that to my brother and sister, and it's the same dad. Every relationship is unique, and each person’s experiences are different. I would never tell someone how they should feel about losing a loved one. You never know someone’s struggle.

My dad told me twice, once right before he died, that he felt like he was supposed to accomplish something great and hadn’t yet. He said that verbatim: "I don't know what it is, but I feel like I'm supposed to do something great." So, me driving from Paris to San Antonio, I was going 90 miles an hour, punching the steering wheel, talking to God. I knew something was going to happen soon. The night he died, they called me and said, "He's gone." I knew it was coming, but he hadn’t done that great thing yet. Then I realized, as people came out of the woodwork—people he had affected, those he rodeoed with, or students he taught as an AG teacher—that his ripple effect was the great thing. He lived his life, and the cherry on top was being blessed with an exit doing what he loved—being horseback at a rodeo. His faith pulled our family back together.

Every guy needs a fight.

Whenever he got on a bucking horse, he'd pull his hat down, crunching his ears. That was his moment. He talked about going to a place in that moment where even your own mother doesn't recognize you—that level of fight.

A lot of what you do has passion and meaning. You might joke about it, but you care. This is the lifestyle you're trying to highlight and share because your dad brought you up to cherish rodeo, animals, and ranching. You're just carrying on that legacy in your own way.

We didn’t have a lot of money growing up. We weren’t the poorest, but we didn’t have much. I think that fear of being poor drives me on the business side.

"Rejoice in suffering. Suffering produces endurance. Endurance produces character. Character produces hope."

We live this life to be here for each other, to help elevate and support one another.

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