At age 92, Boots O’Neal still gets horseback every day. The longtime Four Sixes Ranch cowboy was raised in West Texas and started working at age 15 in 1947. He has since hired on with legendary outfits such as the JA Ranch, Matador, Waggoner, Babbitts and now the Sixes. Despite encountering his share of broncy horses, snorty cows, merciless droughts, severe winter storms and visits to the emergency room — a couple of them recently — he has never wavered from his chosen occupation. He received the Working Cowboy Award from the National Ranching Heritage Center in 2018 and was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2023.

The devastating Smokehouse Creek Fire in 2024 scorched many family ranches in the Texas Panhandle, including an operation run by Jason Pelham. Despite dealing with many natural disasters, the longtime cowboy and rancher has remained devoted to the cowboy life for four decades. Pelham wasn’t raised on a ranch, but he stepped into the cattle business as a young man. He worked on the famous Spade Ranches for many years, but now he runs cows with his daughter and son-in-law. Here, he discusses wildfires, freezing weather, great horses, and impressive people who have shaped his life.

Special thanks to our sponsor, RA Brown Ranch and its Rancher’s Rendezvous event in March.

https://www.rabrownranch.com/upcoming-sale

Steve Friskup has watched ranch horses skyrocket in value during the past few years, playing a crucial role as the auctioneer at the most elite sales in the Western industry. In addition to working at prestigious auctions such as the Western Heritage Classic and Return to the Remuda, he is the CEO for Clovis Horse Sales in Levelland, Texas, a sale that attracts consignments from many cowboys and ranchers. Friskup also auctioneers at National Cutting Horse Association event sales. Swinging a gavel and selling horses has been his passion since he was a teenager growing up in Oklahoma, and today he is regarded as the top auctioneer in the Western performance horse industry. He also commands a large following on social media through his “Coffee with the Colonel” videos, which are viewed by thousands of Facebook users five times a week.

Donnell Brown mixes modern technology with deep-rooted ranching history on his family’s cattle operation in Throckmorton, Texas. The RA Brown Ranch is widely respected for its leading Angus genetics, world-class bull sales, champion Quarter Horses and close family ties. Donnell explains how his family’s rich history, innovative business endeavors and traditional values guide the Browns into the 21st century. 

Sponsor Ag-Gear "Outerwear For The Toughest Days".  15% Discount code COWBOYLIFE

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Along For The Ride Symboisim January 16, 17, 18 

SouthPoint Hotel Las Vegas

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Thomas Saunders V has left his mark on all arenas the cowboy lifestyle, working as a cattle rancher, colt starter, movie wrangler and stock contractor. His drive is fueled by the legacy left by generations of Saunders before him, who spearheaded cattle drives in the late 1800s, cultivated the early beef market in the Fort Worth Stockyards, and established a ranch in Weatherford, Texas, that still operates today. Great stories of the great western lifestyle photographer David Stoecklein getting his start shoting Texas Cowboys.

Thank you Ranching Heritage Association 

www.ranchingheritage.org

Wild cow catcher Travis Ericsson describes the thrill of roping feral cattle in rugged country. It’s a skill and a passion he inherited from his father, legendary Arizona cowpuncher Dave Ericsson. Travis’ cowboy career also includes training rope horses, competing in rodeo and raising cattle in desert country.

Broken Arrow Crop Insurance

Perryton TX

Jason Schickedanz (979) 229-1481

Ed Ashurst has cowboyed on the most iconic ranches in Arizona. His experiences working cattle in the mountains, deserts and along the Mexican border have inspired more than a dozen books, both fiction and nonfiction. He is also a working cowboy who has ridden and gathered cattle and horses on over seven thousand square miles of the American West, accumulating over fifty years of experience as a big ranch cowboy. He currently manages a large cattle ranch in southeastern Arizona. He has also been involved in producing rodeos and horse shows, as well as horse sales, and has competed in the rodeo arena for over fifty years. His books are about his life's experiences covering different aspects and scenes that race across his vivid memory and water a fertile imagination. All that he has written originates from stories that are well worn from being told many times. He believes that storytelling is an art form that is no less important than painting or sculpting, and people say that his books read as if the storyteller is there in person. Here is a list of books he was written in the order in which he wrote them: "Miracle or Coincidence," "Real Cowboys," "Wagon Boss," "Mavericks," "Alligators in the Moat," "The Life and Times of Warner Glenn," "Stealin' From The Neighbors," "Charlie Gould," "Stories That Terrell Shelley Told Me," "Mel Potter and Friends," "Kidnapped," and coming soon, "Some of Them Dallied, Some Tied Hard and Fast.”  If interested in Ed’s books go to Amazon

John Welch says ranching is every bit as risky as snow-skiing down a steep, forest hillside. Nevertheless, he and his family have built a cattle operation from scratch, something few people can claim in this modern era. He shares his insights and experiences from his ranch headquarters in southeastern Colorado.

Jolyn Young shares her stories about the life of a cowboy – from the perspective of a real-life ranch wife. It turns out that being married to a cowboy takes just as much nerve and grit as chasing down a wild cow. Jolyn is known for her captivating and humorous stories, sharing them through her blog, a regular magazine column, and her newly released book, Never Burn Your Moving Boxes.

Listeners interested in purchasing her 248-page book, a true story about her experiences as a cowboy’s wife, can save 25% by visiting TrafalgarBooks.com or HorseandRiderBooks.com, and entering the code

Shannon Hall and Johnny Hill both learned the ropes of cowboying on the RO Ranch in the Texas Panhandle. Their baptism into the Western way of life included plenty of bronc rides and sticky predicaments. They shared those stories on stage in Amarillo, Texas, during the 2023 World Championship Ranch Rodeo, hosted by the Working Ranch Cowboys Association.