Buster McLaury figures he has started nearly 10,000 colts under saddle. Before becoming a full-time trainer and clinician, he cowboyed in the thick brush country of West Texas. He says there's nothing he loves more than working cattle horseback, and for many years he made a living working for legendary outfits such as the Four Sixes, the Triangle and the JA. However, his career shifted about 30 years ago when he began training horses for ranches such as the Moorhouse and Pitchfork. He also began teaching horsemanship clinics, inspired by gentler methods he learned from renowned horseman Ray Hunt. McLaury and his wife, Sheryl, have traveled throughout the country and hosted many horsemanship clinics at their home in Paducah, Texas. They have started colts for legendary ranches such as the Haythorn in Nebraska, the Muleshoe in Texas, the Parker in Hawaii, the Stuart in Oklahoma, and the Waggoner in Texas. Today, McLaury continues to start colts, teach horsemanship, and work cattle whenever he gets the chance. A big thank you goes out to our sponsor, 100th Meridian Ranching

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Mark Gardiner and his family raise Black Angus bulls near Ashland, Kansas. Their operation began as a dugout built in 1885 on a 160-acre homestead, and it has grown to a 48,000-acre ranch on the remote plains of Clark County. As a leading seedstock producer, the operation depends on technology, scientific innovation and marketing strategy. However, the Gardiners keep things cowboy, gathering and checking cattle horseback, long-trotting through vast pastures, and sorting bulls from the saddle. Like many ranches, Gardiner Angus is no stranger to natural disasters such as hailstorms, tornados, drought and wildfires. Mark recounts a devastating wildfire that burned most of the ranch in 2017. This conversation was recorded shortly before another massive fire consumed their land in February 2026. Through it all, Mark leans on family, his faith, a love for the land, and gratitude to work daily with cattle and horses.

Nick Dowers has never strayed from his cowboy roots. Although he has found success showing reined cow horses, he continues to run cattle in the desert country surrounding his home in western Nevada. Sometimes riding his show horses, and sometimes riding his mule, Sargento, Dowers manages a cow-calf herd in an arid and expansive landscape. The job also involves tracking, roping and tying down wild cattle in the rocky and brushy hillsides between Dyer and Elida, Nevada. No doubt, the trainer stays busy running cattle, hosting horsemanship clinics, and competing in reined cow horse competition. He won the National Reined Cow Horse Association's prestigious Snaffle Bit Futurity in 2013 on Time For The Diamond and has earned more than $1.7 million in the arena. He has also claimed multiple championships at Road to the Horse, the premier colt-starting competition held in Lexington, Kentucky. Dowers' ranch and training facility is located where he grew up, on his family's Triple D Ranches. Along with being raised on a ranch, he was influenced at a young age by horsemen such as Bryan Neubert, Joe Wolter and Bill Van Norman. A sincere thank you is given to episode sponsor Martin Saddlery (martinsaddlery.com) and its newly designed Cowboy Saddle.

Joe Glascock manages the historic Winecup Gamble Ranch, a 1.2-million-acre buckaroo outfit in northeast Nevada. Established in the Thousand Springs Valley shortly after the Central Pacific Railroad arrived in the area, the ranch features a combination of deeded land and government allotments that includes meadow pastures at 5,000 feet elevation, mountain ranges that climb to 8,700 feet and plenty of expansive, high desert ranges. Glascock, who hired on in 2020, shares the colorful history of the Winecup Gamble , which has been owned by the likes of Utah Construction Company, actor Jimmy Stewart, Paul Fireman of Reebok, and now Stan Kroenke, who also owns the Waggoner Ranch in Texas, the Gang and Douglas Lake in Canada, Singletons in New Mexico, and several other ranches throughout the West. Glascock also recounts his own background, which includes working for the Bureau of Land Management, studying at the King Ranch Institute in South Texas, and buckarooing on several Great Basin outfits. A special thanks to our episode sponsor, the R A Brown Ranch in Throckmorton, Texas.

A Rancher's Rendezvous 3.0 March 9-11, 2026 Throckmorton TX

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winecupgambleranch.com

Tucker Brown, Crockett Carothers, Tripp Townsend and Ross Hecox get together to discuss ranching, podcasting, cowboy codes and running a business in the Western world. This unique episode brings together three podcast hosts – Brown of Registered Ranching, Carothers of the Wealthy Cowboy, and Hecox of Cowboy Life. Townsend, a successful horseman and cattleman, adds his own wisdom and experiences to the mix. Recorded in Amarillo, Texas, during the Working Ranch Cowboys Association's 30thAnnual World Championship Ranch Rodeo, the conversation was arranged and sponsored by 100th Meridian Ranching (100thmeridianranching.com), a bull leasing company serving ranchers throughout the nation.

Martin Black discusses ranching, horsemanship and making a living in the southwestern corner of Idaho. The lifelong horseman has deep roots in the region, as both sides of his family settled in Owyhee County more than 150 years ago and raised and sold thousands of horses to ranchers and buckaroo outfits throughout the Great Basin. Black himself ran cattle and trained horses for many years before he began conducting horsemanship clinics, a livelihood pioneered by his former father-in-law, Ray Hunt. Black's reputation as a teacher of practical horsemanship skills has taken him throughout the United States and into Australia, Brazil and Europe. In addition to working as a rancher and clinician, he has competed successfully in colt starting competitions, won major ranch horse events, claimed a Ranch Horse Association of American National Championship, and started multiple performance horses that went on to win titles in cutting and reined cow horse. He has also released several DVDs, written numerous articles and co-authored the book, Evidence Based Horsemanship with Dr. Stephen Peters. Today, Black continues to ranch in Idaho and conduct private and public clinics.

Don Murphy is well-known as an elite cow horse trainer, however his roots reach down into the ranching culture of the West Coast. Before training and showing was a sustainable business, he was cowboying in the steep hills of Northern California and embracing the traditions of vaquero horsemanship. His grandfather, Thomas Murphy, homesteaded near Mount Diablo and established a cattle ranch in 1873. Don Murphy was raised in the steep foothills, checking on cows and calves, roping steers and breaking colts. He was also learning the finer points of riding in the hackamore, two-rein and spade bit. After a few years in college and a short stint in the U.S. Army, he began working horses full-time during the late 1960s. As the reined cow horse industry grew, he trained and showed standouts such as Black Hawk Willie, RS Lilly Starlight and Bald N Shiney. During a career that spanned five decades, he trained 23 AQHA world and reserve world champions. He is also respected as a successful coach, helping both amateur competitors and professional trainers step up their game. Many horsemen agree that his savvy as a coach and a mentor stems from an understanding of how modern cow horse competition relates to traditional work done on a ranch.

Red Steagall has sung the praises of cowboys and the ranching way of life for decades. As a musician, songwriter, cowboy poet and radio and television personality, his pursuits as an entertainer consistently shine the spotlight on America's Western heritage. He is the official Cowboy Poet of Texas, hosts the TV show "Somewhere West of Wall Street," and continues to perform his Western music across the country. His passion for preserving the Western lifestyle can be seen in the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering, his new book, Texas Red, and the soon-to-be-built Red Steagall Institute for Traditional Western Arts. For many years he joined the cowboy crews of the Four Sixes Ranch and the JA Ranch during spring works, which continued to inspire his poetry and songwriting. Here, he shares his story, which reveals the same type of perseverance, determination and work ethic that have shaped the American West. Thanks to our sponsors, the RA Brown Ranch October Sale, the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering, and Farm & Ranch Candle Co.

Gary Morton has spent a lifetime working on cattle outfits throughout the West, most notably the legendary Bell Ranch in New Mexico. He also has established himself as a respected Western artist, painting scenes of working cowboys and beautiful landscapes of the American West (visit garymortonart.com). As a founding member and current board member of the Working Ranch Cowboys Association, Morton has helped promote and preserve the ranching lifestyle for decades. Recently, he contributed to a new audio book, I'll Drop You Off, which is a Christian devotional written by Kris Wilson. Learn more by sending an email to [email protected], or shop online at amazon.com

More Information on the Bell Ranch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Ranch

Jeff Williams has been starting colts for big ranches for four decades. Some of those outfits have included the Beggs, Haythorn, King, Muleshoe and Spades. Williams started out as a cowboy on various West Texas ranches, but it didn't take long for him to discover that starting colts was his passion. He has continued to day-work on cow-calf operations, and he has competed in roping and ranch horse events. However, starting colts under saddle is his focus, and many ranches trust him to put a solid foundation on their youngsters and train select prospects for elite ranch production sales. The Post, Texas, horseman has also influenced countless young men and women who have worked for him, and he has judged at numerous ranch horse shows, ranch rodeos, and colt starting competitions such as Road to the Horse.