Cowgirl Channel

Hey CC babes, welcome to SEASON 3 of the Cowgirl Channel! If you've been here since the very beginning, welcome back!!! If you're new here, we're so very excited to welcome you into the CC community - a common ground for women living rurally, and those longing to live rurally, to share real stories and laughs.

Today we are joined by the incredible Kaitie Nash. Now you might know Kaitie as The First Time Farmer on instagram, but today we dive into how Kaitie came to be a "first time farmer" at the age of 30 with a toddler and a baby - the reality was far from expectations she had romanticised from Farmer Wants a Wife!

Kaitie opens up about the challenges of the isolation, adjusting to a complete lifestyle change and losing herself in it all. After battling through the severe 2019 drought, financial stress and self inflicted shame of not loving life on the land like she had first hoped, Kaitie fell into a depression and shares what helped her heal and overcome the numbness she was experiencing.

It's an incredible tale of hardship, adversity and love. Kaitie is so vulnerable about her own journey in the hopes that it makes others experiencing similar feel less alone in their battles.

You can hear Kaitie's love for the farm and all things agriculture in her voice and she's now teaching people from the perspective of someone who is learning the ropes.

Please note this episode does discuss depression and suicide. If you or someone you know finds this triggering and needs support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For more mental health resources:

Lifeline

Beyond Blue

Rural Aid

If you have a question or embarrassing story to get off your chest, we would love to hear it! Send a voicenote or dm to us on Instagram here

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday!

Love Tons & Bell x

Hey CC babes, happy Friday!!! For this chat, Tons & Bell are back behind the mics for a catch up. This week Tons decides the theme is: it's not all sunshine and rainbows. We dive into uncovering everyone's worst fears and how we can turn some of those fears into confidence. From chickens to goannas to failure, there sure are a lot of fears amongst the girls. Tons chats about grief and loss and her reason for wanting to talk to a professional and Bell breaks it to Tons who her new boyfriend is - but you'll have to listen to find out for yourself. We share your most embarrassing stories and boy are there some good ones this week!

It's not long now until we run our half mara to raise funds and awareness around cancer and mental health in the bush. All funds raised are going directly towards Cancer Council Australia and Rural Aid Australia. It would mean the bloody world to us if you could donate the price of one drink and be a part of this journey to make a difference. Find our go fund me page here

If you have a story, question or embarrassing storytime to get off your chest, send a voicenote or dm to us on Instagram here

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday!

Love Tons & Bell x

Hey CC babes, happy Friday!!! As promised, here is part 2 of our series on endometriosis. In this ep, we're chatting with Jessie Borg from Blue Mountains and El Brady from Clermont.

Both these incredible women have started instagram pages to increase awareness of endometriosis rurally. Jessie's Page is Endo In The Country and El's page is Rural Endo - please follow along!

Jessie is a 19-year-old uni student, cane farmer and grazier who was accused of faking illness by her doctors when she experienced excruciating pain in the lead up to her year 12 exams - to the point that she was hospitalised. After ongoing advocacy from her mother, she was referred to a gynaecologist (a male one - which Jessie touches on) and had endometriosis removal surgery within 15 days of that first gyno appointment! One of the main messages that Jessie wants to get out there is that endo is not just cramps. There is an extensive list of symptoms that are caused by endo.

El Brady is a 22-year-old govie at Clermont with stage 4 endo who was a nurse on shift the first time her endometriosis pain resulted in her being flown out by the RFDS. She has suffered pain since she was 12 but was only diagnosed as an adult. El discusses how her endometriosis often caused her to haemorrhage and resulted in anaemia. This lead to doctors prescribing El the pill and encouraging her to skip her period which worsened her haemorrhages. El discusses what has helped keep her pain as minimal as possible and brings up a triggering topic about medical advice promoting that she chooses between have a hysterectomy, having a baby, or going through medical menopause in order to help her endometriosis. El would give up everything to have kids in the future and is now navigating what her fertility journey might look like.

Some of the biggest take homes from both these conversations were that living rurally adds another layer of difficulty with managing endo and endometriosis is in fact hereditary.

If you have a story or question to share (anonymously), feel free to send us a voice note or dm the Cowgirl Channel on Instagram here

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday!

Love Tons & Bell x

Hey CC babes, happy Friday!!! We're excited to bring you part 1 of our endometriosis series!

In this series you'll discover that the journey to an endometriosis diagnosis is a long winding road, and even longer for the girlies living out west.

Today, we're joined by the beautiful Brooke Watt and Hannah Rhee who open up about their own experiences with endometriosis and the years of gaslighting from medical professionals before their pain was taken serious enough to undergo a laparoscopy to be formally diagnosed with endometriosis.

Brooke was faced with having to make a decision about whether she wanted to be a mum or not at the ripe age of 20 with one remaining ovary, grade 4 endo, and bladder complications. At the age of 23, Brooke has undergone 13 surgeries and made the decision to freeze her eggs with the hopes of becoming a mother and understanding that her fertility is a ticking time bomb due to her health conditions. From gaslighting doctors to finding a gynaecologist who she can put her faith in, Brooke is open and candid about her Endo journey, and regardless of how shit the cards were that she got dealt, was always able to spread positivity. She shares her story in the hopes that it helps at least someone who might be experiencing similar.

Hannah was working remotely in a stock camp near Camooweal when her symptoms were at their worst, debilitating her and making it a constant struggle to carry out her day-to-day work. Hannah opens up about navigating the health system in remote North Australia and explaining her circumstance to employers in a male dominated industry. Her pain was so severe that she was hospitalised and continues to experience immense pain to the point that some days she cannot get out of bed. After years of enduring chronic debilitating pain, Hannah took matters into her own hands, found a specialist who she requested the RFDS refer her on to and advocated for her pain to be taken seriously - something she wishes young girls didn't have to do. Find out all about Hannah's story in the second half of this ep!

Endometriosis Australia is a valuable resource if you want to learn more about all things Endo

Thank you to Bushmits for sponsoring this episode of CC!

If you have a story or question to share (anonymously), feel free to send us a voice note or dm the Cowgirl Channel on Instagram here

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday!

Love Tons & Bell x

Hey CC babes, happy Friday!!! This week we sat down with Dos (aka Hayden Hanson - Bell's baby brother) to get the inside scoop on a few things. We ask him:

- What his first memory is of us - from biting to being lost sheep

- How can women tell if a guy is genuinely interested?

- Do girls need to step up and make the first move?

- What's his dating advice?

- Is chivalry really dead?

Tons & Bell chat about their recent terrifying experiences and Hayden shares one of the most beautiful weekly recommendations - check in on your male friends. June is Men's Mental Health Month and we couldn't think of something more fitting. If you ask someone how they're going, make sure to follow it with 'how are you really going?'.

If you have a story or question to share (anonymously), feel free to send us a voice note or dm the Cowgirl Channel on Instagram here

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday!

Love Tons & Bell x

Hey CC babes, happy Friday!!! This week we welcome Tylen Wallace on the podcast to talk tactics with Tons, from social media, to contracting, reality shows and all the pieces in between.

His passion for livestock and working on the land initially inspired him to share his point of view on Tiktok for those that don't get to experience the simple pleasures and thrill that comes with a muster. From mustering on school holidays as a kid, that skillset has evolved into a contract mustering business around Central Queensland and an online income stream from sharing his reality on social media - something which has even opened doors to opportunities such as reality TV shows! In the past few years, Tylen has worked alongside his dad to establish a Droughtmaster stud by improving their bottom line of genetics within their commercial herd and investing in quality bulls. For Tylen, it's always been about starting small and working your way up.

Tylen and Tons dive into an important conversation about the drought and the mindset that you develop from it - "the emotion goes out of it and it's always the animal's best interests at heart".

There's some golden nuggets of advice in this ep, but we're not giving anything away so you'll just have to listen to find out!

If you have a story or question to share (anonymously), feel free to send us a voice note or dm the Cowgirl Channel on Instagram here

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday!

Love Tons & Bell x

Hey CC Babes, happy Friday!!! We're back in your ears this week to share the chaos that is our life at the moment. We bring up the conversation of 'Yard Talk', questioning whether it is acceptable, who even started the notion that swearing and abusive language is acceptable in the yards and how can we go about changing this culture that has embedded itself, creating a hostile work environment for many. Feel free to join in our conversation around yard talk or share your own experiences by sending us a DM or voice note here!

We also discuss burnout, phone dependancy, talk future kids, share stories of snakes, uncover whether onions are the worst part of cooking and Bell shares her experience of being hypnotised. There's plenty of sarcasm, laughs and stories to go round so make sure to give this ep a listen if you're in need of a pick-me-up.

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday for our guest episode!

Love Tons & Bell x

Hey CC babes, happy Friday!!! We're so excited for you to hear Bell's chat with Madeline Curr, the cowgirl queen! You might know her as byeponyboy on Instagram. She's a fashion icon, model, photographer, writer, cattlewoman, business owner and so much more! Honestly, it might be easier to list the things this woman can't do.

Madie opens up about feeling like she had to fit back in to the 'country cowgirl community' after returning home from the bright lights of New York, the dangers of country clicks and why she still feels the need to prove herself as a real cowgirl in an industry she grew up in. She shares her business ventures, what it takes to build a successful brand, what's next on the cards, and what the reality is behind dating in a small town.

Find out if Madeline plans to stay in the country or return to the city, what spontaneous adventures she's been on and what doors her social media page has opened for her.

One of the biggest take homes from this conversation is "don't be a sheep" - something that we all need reminding of from time to time when we get caught up in the comparison trap.

Thank you to Bushmits for sponsoring this episode of CC!

If you have a story or a question to share (anonymously), feel free to send us a voice note or dm the Cowgirl Channel on Instagram here

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday!

Love Tons & Bell x

Hey CC babes, happy Friday!!! Listen to find out what Bell and Tons got up to at Beef week, what on earth the 'skincare dating code' is and what's the difference between a social circle and a friendship group.

Bell breaks down what has happened over in WA with the recent live export ban on sheep and how important it is for us to engage in political conversations (even though it might seem detached or boring) to prevent our industry from being used for future political ploys.

Tons brings up an important conversation around the pressures applied to having sex, and don't miss the embarrassing stories sent in by listeners!

If you have a story or question to share (anonymously), feel free to send us a voice note or dm to the Cowgirl Channel on Instagram here

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday!

Love Tons & Bell x

Hey CC babes, happy Friday!!! Today we are joined by Madie Moloney, queen of the cowgirls and the incredible powerhouse behind Treasure Chest Co. In today's conversation, Madie shares some golden nuggets on how to let go of age expectations, why she started Treasure Chest Co, the journey of developing an off-farm income driven by a passion, and how she balances her involvement within her family's beef cattle operation. She shares what it takes to run a successful business, including the 4am starts. The biggest takeaway for us from this conversation was to let go of the expectations we place on ourselves and just have fun.

Thank you to Hide to Tide for sponsoring this episode of CC!

If you have a story or question to share (anonymously), feel free to send us a voice note or dm the Cowgirl Channel on Instagram here

Join us on Tiktok

Or join the Facebook group here

If you love the Cowgirl Channel, we want you to shout it from the camp, from the paddock, from the branding cradle, and all the way to the head bale.

See you next Friday!

Love Tons & Bell x