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See the WRCA’s top and current news.

Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #13: Never a Dull Moment

One of the biggest challenges of ranching and cowboying for a living is the variety of tasks one must be proficient at in order to keep a ranch going. The list of necessary skills on a ranch is not short: range management, advanced accounting, market analyzation, doctoring, horse training, nutrition, roping, stock ... … Read More

Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #14: The Tack

Have you ever considered just how unique the cowboy tools of the trade are? Take the saddle alone. Only stockmen use this tool and only the American cowboy uses one with a cantle, swells, and a horn. Drill down a bit more and there are myriad styles even within that narrow subset: Wade, Will James, Association, Buster ... … Read More

Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #15: The Art

Have you ever noticed that it seems like someone is always taking pictures at a branding? Or just how many photographers are either on assignment or freelancing at the World Championship Ranch Rodeo in Amarillo? … Read More

To 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #16: The Books

“What a blessing it is to love books as I love them; to be able to converse with the dead, and to live amidst the unreal!”– Thomas Babington Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay was not a cowboy. He was an English writer, politician, and historian in the 19th century. But his idea of what makes books special hits ... … Read More

Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #17: Free Beef

Work for nearly any ranch and one of the benefits will undoubtedly be free beef. If there’s one thing a ranch can usually spare, it’s home-raised, nutritious protein. There are few other professions wherein your employer basically provides you a perpetually full freezer of food. And, if you’re a self-employed ... … Read More

Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #18: Life on a Ranch

Ever since the average American left the field to participate in the Industrial Revolution—and the subsequent fallout of a more urbanized economy and society—we’ve been trying to get back to the country. Think about it: where do many average Americans go on vacation? National Parks. They spend 50 weeks cooped up ... … Read More

Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #19: The Brands

There’s a universal human drive—especially here in America—to make our mark. We want to matter, we want to make a difference, and we want to be remembered. Some build multinational companies, some seek political office, some create art. Ranchers brand their cattle. The National Cowboy and Western Heritage ... … Read More

Membership Highlight: Craig Haythorn

As we head into the 25th Anniversary of the World Championship Ranch Rodeo, it got all of us thinking here at the office on how far WRCA has come since the very first idea of this organization, and how many people have been with us from the beginning.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who were ... … Read More

Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #20: The Heritage

When we talk about Western heritage, what we mean is something that is handed down from the past as a tradition. And while many professions have wonderful traditions and heritage, the Western or cowboy heritage stands tall among them. From the perspective of a broader view, agriculture could be considered among the ... … Read More

Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #21: The Great Outdoors

As everything we do, think, or say is centered around COVID-19, I’m increasingly thankful for my work as a beef producer. I look around and see people extremely scared of this unseen enemy. And I understand and share, to varying degrees, that fear. But the one thing I can do that so many in the urban centers of this ... … Read More