Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #1: The People
Here we are, the top spot. After months of slowly unveiling the top reasons to be a cowboy, hopefully the No. 1 reason is obvious: the people.
Interestingly, as I examined the other top 24 reasons, on nearly all of them I found myself having to purposely write around mentioning the people in this lifestyle as the overarching reason to be in it. That validated this choice, I believe.
For some reason, the people in the ranching industry are just different than the general public. Sure, we’ve got our share of outlaws and ne’er-do-wells, but in general, ranchers and cowboys enjoy a community of like-mindedness and support unlike any other profession.
The Working Ranch Cowboys Association might just embody this principle better in its mission than I can describe any other way. The WRCA exists to promote ranching and preserve the lifestyle of the working ranch cowboy. They do this by, of course, hosting the World Championship Ranch Rodeo. What all their efforts in the association are really geared toward, however, is funding the WRCA Foundation. Which, in turn, exists to provide financial and other assistance to working ranch cowboys and their families when a cowboy is injured, natural disaster devastates a herd, or a child gets sick. They also fund scholarships for the next generation of agriculturalists.
You see, the WRCA cares about its people. And not just cowboys and ranchers who are members, but anyone who works taking care of cattle on a ranch.
They truly understand that ranching isn’t about all the 24 reasons I’ve listed previously. Cattle, horses, roping, sorting, saddles, and the great outdoors are benefits of the profession, but it’s the people who make it special.
In ranching country, you know you can count on your neighbor to pull you out of a jam if you need it. We are connected enough to the land and to each other to realize it’s not the government’s duty to care for us. That true, compassionate, and meaningful service is not driven by bureaucracy but by the Golden Rule.
As a community, we have a set of shared experiences that allow us to connect. We can lament (and sometimes rejoice) over weather and market conditions, we can laugh knowingly over a ranch work story, we mourn losses of shared friends, and we hope together in a brighter future for our operations, our nation, our loved ones, and even our own souls.
