Less Me, More We

I SPENT THE past 20 years or so as a magazine editor, observing and writing about horsemanship, rodeo, and cowboy culture. When that phase ended, I decided that rather than write about people doing interesting things, I wanted to do interesting things.

- Bob Welch

The first and best opportunity I’ve experienced is as a member of a ranch-rodeo team. My family’s ranch joined up with a neighboring outfit to form a Working Ranch Cowboys Association-approved team, with the goal of earning a spot in the WRCA’s World Championship Ranch Rodeo. WRCA came into being 22 years ago to showcase ranch cowboy skills, preserve cowboy culture and the Western way of life, and raise money for cowboys and their families who were facing tough times. Since then, their WCRR has grown into the must-attend event for the Great Plains ranch cowboy culture. Spectators pack the Amarillo Civic Center to check out the handiest cowboys at work, as well as shop the best pure-cowboy trade show in the West.

To compete at the WCRR, ranches must qualify by winning one of 23 sanctioned rodeos across six states (our ticket to Amarillo). The WRCA sets itself apart by requiring that teams are from actual working ranches and team members are legitimate working cowboys—no PRCA ringers allowed. Two ranches may combine to field a full team of four to six people, and each team must compete in five events: ranch bronc riding, stray gathering, wild cow milking, team penning, and branding.

Finding the Right Fit

During my writing career, I was blessed to attend the gamut of horse-related events, from local clinics to colt-starting contests to major breed association or discipline shows to professional rodeos. As much as I love to watch highly trained horses at work, after a half hour at a show, my attention drifts.