NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET

Page created by Gilbert Goodman
 
CONTINUE READING
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
N ORTH TEXAS FARM & RAN CH

          NTFR                     August 2021

Hookin W Ranch
 Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher
FREE
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
2 | AUGUST 2021   NTFR
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM   AUGUST 2021 | 3
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
4 | AUGUST 2021   NTFR
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
N ORTH TEXAS FARM & RAN CH
                                                                                                       letter from the editor
                      NTFR      Volume 9, Issue 10

                                                                                                      H
                      publishing                      contribution
                                                                                                        Hello readers and welcome
                           PUBLISHER          CONTRIBUTING WRITERS                                    to the August issue of North
                             JM Winter        Rayford Pullen
                                              Lindsey Monk                                            Texas Farm and Ranch
                             EDITOR           Norman Winter                                           magazine.
                       Dani Blackburn         Krista Lucas Wynn
                editor@ntfronline.com         Phillip Kitts
                                                                                                        I’m not sure about y’all, but
                                              Lacey Newlin                                            I feel as if this summer has
                     production
                                              Jessica Kader                                           just flown by. Considering
                                              Robert Lang
                    ART DIRECTOR              Barry Whitworth, DVM                                    many of you work outside in
                   Kayla Jean Woolf           Annette Bridges                                         the sweltering heat, I am sure
             kayla@postoakmedia.net           Garrett Metcalf, DVM
                                              Dave Alexander                                          you are all counting down the
                                              Tony Dean                                               days to cooler weather.
              advertising executives          Andy Anderson
                                              Jelly Cocanougher
                                                                                                        I try to always pay attention
                       Kathy Miller           Jared Groce                                             to tidbits of news, songs,
            kathy@postoakmedia.net            Martha Crump                                            books or quotes that might
                                              Tressa Lawrence
                     Sherrie Nelson           Nikolyn Williams                                        strike my interest and be
           sherrie@postoakmedia.net                                                                   worth sharing with you, my readers, every month. This time, it comes
                Rosemary Stephens             COPY EDITORS                                            from a Facebook e-card of all places. The quote on it said, “Surround
        rosemary@postoakmedia.net             Judy Wade                                               yourself with people who build you up and encourage you to live
                                              Krista Lucas Wynn
                    distribution                                                                      out God’s plan for your life.” Along with the quote, it asked who the
                                                     administration                                   quote made you think about.
                         MANAGER
                   Kayla Jean Woolf                                                                     I’ll admit, it’s definitely not me. I’m that friend who thinks I need
                                              Brenda Bingham
             kayla@postoakmedia.net
                                              accounting@postoakmedia.net
                                                                                                      to be a shoulder to cry on. I’m not outspoken, or assertive, and would
                       DISTRIBUTORS                                                                   rather be a listening ear any day than the one who tells a friend when
                         Pat Blackburn                                                                it is time to make a change in their life or that they are in the wrong
                        Michael Burton
                                                                                                      in any situation. And if I’m being really honest, I don’t always want
                                                                                                      a friend to tell me when I am not being my best self. But I should. We
                                                                                                      should all strive every day to be the very best version of ourselves,
                                 CONTACT US                                                           following God’s plan no matter what. The easiest way to do this is to
                 North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine                                                    choose to surround ourselves with those who push us to do exactly
                   200 Walnut St., Bowie, TX 76230                                                    that. Be our best.
                  940-872-5922, www.ntfronline.com                                                      In this industry, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to truly
                                in association with                                                   make a difference in the world. In my job specifically I am blessed
                                                                                                      with such an amazing team of contributors, sales staff, production,
                                                                                                      and other editors who encourage me to be at my best just because
                                                                                                      each and every one of them lead by such great examples.
    NTFR and Post Oak Media are not responsible for omissions or information that has
                                                                                                        The ones I am blessed to interview each and every month as a
    been misrepresented to the magazine. Advertisers and its agencies assume all liability            profile are no exception. I get to listen as these successful individuals
    for advertising content. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission from
    the publisher is prohibited. The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily               ponder on their life goals and how they climbed to the top of their
    reflect those of the magazine or its employees.                                                   careers. This month was perhaps one of the most exciting profiles
                                                                                                      yet as I traveled to Rhome to meet Katie Perschbacher and Laramie
                            ON THE COVER                                                              Wilson of Hookin W Ranch, home to some of top bucking bulls in
                                                                                                      the world. Not only did I get to lay eyes on bulls like Woopaa and
                                                     N ORTH TEX AS FAR M
                                                                         & RAN CH
                                                                                                      Top Dollar, but I was able to get to know the genuine, hard working

  Katie Perschbacher and
                                                           N TF R                       August 2021
                                                                                                      pair behind the bulls.
                                                                                                        If you have a story idea for an upcoming issue, we would love to
  Laramie Wilson of Hookin W                                                                          hear from you. Email editor@ntfronline.com. To subscribe by mail
  Ranch, home to some of the                                                                          call 940-872-5922. Make sure to like our Facebook page and follow
  top bucking bulls in the world.                                                                     us on Instagram and Twitter. Wishing you all the best this August.
  (Photo By Dani Blackburn )

                                                Hookin W Ranch                                                                                 Dani Blackburn
                                                Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbac
                                                                                  her
                                              FREE
                                                                                                                                                     Dani Blackburn, Editor
                                                                                                                                                       editor@ntfronline.com

WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM                                                                                                                                             AUGUST 2021 | 5
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
CONTENTS

                                                              pg. 32 Hookin W Ranch

pg. 24 Red, Whitesboro and Blue

pg. 14 Ag Elsewhere: Wyoming                                  pg. 43 Lacey’s Pantry

     16                           26
                                  Rodeo
                                                      30
                                                     City Girl
                                                                               47
                                                                            On the Road
                                                                                                          54
                                                                                                         Grazing
    Freedom
 an’ Whiskey                Photography          Goes Country                 with Dave              North Texas
   The western life         Have you browsed     Is your life filled with      If you’re looking           Although
    is never about        through social media         routines?             for a place to enjoy      Kleingrass is not
    the things you        and come across cool       Do you have a          fine Texas wine, live    native to Texas, it is
   accumulate, it’s        rodeo pictures? Has     favorite shirt you         music and dining,      one of those grasses
  about things that          this ever sparked     would wear every           you’ll want to visit   that works very well
  touch your heart.              curiosity?               day?                 Firelight Winery.             here.

6 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                     NTFR
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM   AUGUST 2021 | 7
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
8 | AUGUST 2021   NTFR
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
SChOlarShip
OppOrTuNiTy
WICHITA FALLS AREA CATTLEWOMEN:
    Once again, it’s time to apply for the Wichita Falls Area Cattle-
Women’s scholarships. Students must be a sophomore in college with
at least a 2.5 grade point average, majoring in agriculture. If you qualify
and would like to apply, please contact Jane Ridenour at 940-586-0251
or 940-733-3579.

SOCializiNg
FACEBOOK WALL

TWITTER FEED

WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM                                                            AUGUST 2021 | 9
NTFR - Hookin W Ranch Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher - NET
meanwhile back at the ranch
                                                   By Rayford Pullen | rcpullen@yahoo.com

A
    August is the month we start making plans
for fall and winter pastures and making sure we
have our hay supplies in good shape. In con-
versations with several producers around the
country, one thing we have discussed is cutting
our winter supplement costs, if possible.
    We all know our costs of production have
gone up in recent months in regards to fuel,
fertilizer and feed, or as we call them, the big
Fs. As we look at our margins, about the only
thing we can do to increase our profits is to
decrease our overhead. While many producers
sell their calves as packaged beef there are not
a lot of other options to increase our margins.
While I do like this option, finding places to
harvest our cattle has become a nightmare as
our harvesting facilities are overloaded with
demand.
    So, we begin to look at what we can do to
cut our costs that relate to keeping an animal
year-round with winter feed cost being the
most. Among the things we have discussed is
making sure the hay we either raise or purchase
is high quality to reduce protein needs, feeding
liquid feed as opposed to cubes and utilizing       August is the month we start making plans for fall and winter pastures and making sure we have
winter pastures for our cow herd’s nutritional      our hay supplies in good shape. (Courtesy photo)
needs during the winter. We have not come up        hay needs to be 28 to 30 days old for the best       fact you are correcting the soil pH.
with the solution to our problems, but one thing    quality and quantity. While we do not want              Winter pastures are probably the most
that really sticks out is buying or producing       to run our equipment across a piece of land          cost-effective forages we can have to reduce
higher quality hay.                                 that only makes a couple of bales or so, that        our winter feed bills. Now, this is where many
    The stage of maturity of our forage when        is what we have to do to get quality. While          folks like to throw out, “But what if it doesn’t
baled and the time of year when it is baled,        fertilizing is very important for quantity, its      rain?” If that is what is on your mind, do not
particularly summer perennial grasses, deter-       effect on quality becomes less and less as the       take the chance and just buy your supplemental
mines the hay quality the most. Cool season         grass matures, meaning hay baled or sold as          needs. If not, we can produce three or four tons
forages in our area are the best if we can get      fertilized does not mean much to the buyer if        of forage for about $150 depending on your
them baled before they mature. This year that       it is pretty mature when baled.                      location. Put a pencil to it for your location
was pretty much impossible due to extremely             That also brings up the price of fertilizer      and soils to see if this may be viable for you,
wet conditions we had in May and June. Wheat        as a really significant cost in maintaining our      and pray that it rains.
hay was pretty much mature before we could          cattle. As we look at fertilizing our pasture or        When considering cubes, are we talking 20
bale and our ryegrass, while it does not drop       hay meadows, we believe if we are going to           percent, 23 percent or 38 percent? Are your
in quality as much as wheat when it matures,        fertilize, we need to use it on our most produc-     cows in good shape going into winter? How old
was also more mature than we would have             tive soils and maybe skip those marginal or          are they or are they nursing a calf? What about
preferred.                                          acidic soils where our return on our investment      liquid feed? How does it compare to cubes in
    Warm season perennials, such as Bermuda         is extremely narrow or below the cost of doing       price and nutrition?
grass, were also delayed this year due to wet       it. As soil pH drops below 5.5, you may not             There are a lot of changes going on out
conditions preventing us from getting into          see much or any benefit from fertilizing since       there, and if we are going to survive, we are
the fields. Also, as the summer gets hotter,        hydrogen molecules bind the fertilizer attached      going to probably have to change with it. Like
Bermuda grass quality goes down. While              to the soil and is not released to the plant. This   I said earlier, we still do not have this figured
Bermuda grass does not seed out to the extent       can only be overcome by liming your soils,           out, but if you do, please share it with me.
wheat or ryegrass does, its quality is mostly       which if you soil test for N, P and K, the recom-       It’s a wonderful time to be in the cattle
determined by age. Top quality Bermuda grass        mended fertilizer application is based on the        business.

10 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                                                 NTFR
WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM   AUGUST 2021 | 11
12 | AUGUST 2021   NTFR
M  Montana declared a state of emergency
                     because of the drought, but we’re still getting
                     cow work done.

WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM                                 AUGUST 2021 | 13
H
                      Haying season in Wyoming is marked by
                   record high temperatures and below average
                   rainfall. How many cuttings do you average?
                   Have you had the usual amount of rain?

14 | AUGUST 2021                                            NTFR
WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM   AUGUST 2021 | 15
Freedom an’ Whisky                      By Nikolyn Williams

T
    There have been plenty of                                                                                      Skinner.” I thought there is a big
times over the past 30 some odd                                                                                    rattlesnake den on “The Skinner.”
years when I have questioned,                                                                                      I know this because we have
screamed, yelled, and yes, even                                                                                    killed several big ones on “The
thrown rocks and dented what                                                                                       Skinner.”
was a brand-new pickup, new to                                                                                         So, as I followed his butt in he
us anyway. Most of us that live                                                                                    said, “High trot.” When I heard
this life without much other in-                                                                                   that familiar rattle, Woodrow
come sources never seem to have                                                                                    looked back and yelled, “Keep rid-
brand new anything. Once you                                                                                       ing.” That is code for immediate
figure all this out, “the life” never                                                                              and severe danger is on the direct
seems to be about the things you                                                                                   horizon. Knowing I probably had
accumulate, it is always about the                                                                                 no other choice, I kicked Hol-
things that touch your heart. That                                                                                 lywood into a higher gear. I have
my friends is how these cowboys                                                                                    no idea why I keep following his
trap their wives into staying for a                                                                                butt. I’m going to get some dang
lifetime, and consequently over                                                                                    counseling about my addiction to
time, become immune to danger.                                                                                     these rogue personality types.
Women are typically creatures of                                                                                       At least this time being the
the heart and every cowboy I have                                                                                  veteran I am, I kicked Hollywood
ever met knows it.                                                                                                 into that high lope instead of stop-
    It started raining again. In fact                                                                              ping right on top of the rattlesnake
we got four inches in one night;                                                                                   and yelling, “What did you say?”
however, we failed to get a pick-                                                                                  I think that is when I first got that
up out to the blacktop road. We                                                                                    endearing nickname, “Dammit
live on four miles of dirt, not re-                                                                                Nikolyn.”
ally much better than a turn row                                                                                       When we got to a safe distance,
road. These kinds of rains send us                                                                                 I yelled, “How big was it?”
back in time a century or so, and                                                                                      “Big,” Woodrow answered.
Woodrow, the cowboy I have been                                                                                    “You rode right over the top of
married to for 34 years, is in hog                                                                                 it.”
heaven when he has to saddle two                                                                                       Of course I did. I just close my
horses so we can ride to the road                                                                                  eyes and hope for the best like I
in a borrowed pick-up someone           One of the things all ranch wives understand is there is always the pos-   have always done, and well, I am
loaned us and pack “provisions”         sibility of danger. The ones that last 30 or more years become somewhat    still alive.
                                        immune. (Photo courtesy NIkolyn Williams)
back in here. This has been going                                                                                      So, all week long the roads
on for four days now. I am here         I have come up with exactly a        four dogs, and me.                    have been way too muddy for
to tell y’all anytime a cowboy can      million and one reasons why I           One of the things I think all      anything. Here is the endearing
revert to “the old ways,” they are      could not or was not going to go.    ranch wives understand is there       part where these cowboys make
like giddy children. If they can get    However, this particular Sunday,     is always the possibility of dan-     it virtually impossible for you to
you to come on the ride with them,      and thank God we woke up to four     ger. The ones that last 30 or more    stay mad at them. Due to this rain
even better.                            inches of rain, I knew we were not   years become somewhat immune.         we have had a bumper crop of wild
    Every Sunday for I do not           about to drive anywhere because      At least I think I did. Anyway, I     plums. Every night he has saddled
know how long now, Woodrow              we live on the aforementioned        always know one thing, it may get     my horse and taken me to pick
has loaded his Pan-yard on his          four miles of dirt road. I do not    western, but I am probably going      wild plums. Yes, after 34 years of
packhorse, got on his saddle horse      know what it was really; none        to see things that will be forever    rattlesnakes, bears and other dan-
and took off. It has become my          of those million and one reasons     etched in my mind and heart.          gers, I still get on that horse and
Sunday entertainment to watch           seemed to be able to hold me any-       On the way back we got caught      ride out with him. You know, the
this whole ordeal and make wise         more. Plus, he promised to take me   in a rain shower. We kicked those     ride with these cowboys can and
cracks. His biggest quest in all of     to the plum thickets, so away we     horses into a high trot, and as we    will get wild and woolly at times,
this has been how he was going          went on hours of adventure and       did, Woodrow yelled back to me        but I guarantee it never gets old,
to coax me into going with him.         laughter; Woodrow, two horses,       we were cutting through “The          and it is certainly never dull.

16 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                                               NTFR
WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM   AUGUST 2021 | 17
18 | AUGUST 2021   NTFR
land market report                                  By Jared Groce

                     June 2021 Rural Land Sales

                J  June land sales in North Texas continue on an unparalleled pace with prices still continu-
                ing at an all time high. The number of transactions has increased which leads me to believe
                there is more available inventory to satisfy the never-ending demand that is out there right
                now. More and more concerns about changes in the capital gains taxes has land owners
                rethinking their positions about keeping their land, and many are selling while the market is
                high and the capital gains rate is 20 percent before stretching to the estimated 44 percent or
                48 percent in 2022.
                   Many investors are coming out of the woods, looking for any land they can buy and chop
                up into smaller pieces in order to make a quick return on their dollar. It is getting harder and
                harder to find a tract of land over 500 acres in our area anymore. On this topic, I hear some
                folks complaining about landowners cutting their properties into smaller tracts in order to make
                more money, but if you live on a tract of land less than a league, which is 4,428 acres, then
                you too are a part of the population who benefits from cutting up land into smaller tracts.

                                                                                Information from North Texas Real Estate Informa-
                                                                             tion Service. (NTREIS) for raw land data, 10 or more
                                                                             acres, ag exempt, for the month of June 2021. SP/LP =
                                                                             Sell Price to List Price ratio.DOM= Days on Market.

WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM                                                                                                 AUGUST 2021 | 19
Summer Pneumonia
            By Barry Whitworth, DVM / Area Food/Animal Quality and Health Specialist for Eastern Oklahoma

S
    Summer is usually hot and dry
for most of Texas and Oklahoma.
This type of weather is great for
baling and hauling hay, but un-
fortunately, this type of weather
is not great for animals. A disease
that thrives in these conditions is
summer pneumonia in nursing
calves.
    Summer pneumonia is the
name given to bovine respiratory
disease in young cattle still with
their mothers on pastures. Accord-
ing to the National Animal Health
Monitoring System 2007-2008
Beef Cow/Calf Study, the number
one cause of death in calves three
weeks of age to weaning is bovine
respiratory disease. The disease
tends to strike with no warning and
has been seen more frequently in
recent years.
    The usual suspects associ-
ated with cattle pneumonia cause
summer pneumonia. Viruses
involved are Infectious Bovine
Rhinotracheitis Virus, Bovine          Calves diagnosed with summer pneumonia usually fall into two age categories. One group consists of calves
Viral Diarrhea Virus, Bovine           that are usually less than one month of age. Veterinarians believe they fall victim as the result of poor quality
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and       and/or quantity of colostrum. The other group is three to four months of age. These calves tend to get sick
Bovine Coronavirus. The bacteria       at the same time the protection of the colostrum begins to wane. (Courtesy photo)
associated with summer pneumo-         pneumonia are hot, dry and dusty       luctance to eat, droopy ears, and       for summer pneumonia includes
nia are Mannheimia hemolytica,         conditions. Adverse weather cir-       reluctance to move. Other signs         proper cow management, vac-
Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus     cumstances such as cool nights         sometimes found are coughing,           cinations and a maintaining a low
somni, and occasionally Myco-          and warm days are also affiliated      ocular discharge, nasal discharge,      stress environment.
plasma bovis.                          with calf pneumonia. As herd size      and breathing difficulties. These          Prevention starts with making
    Calves diagnosed with sum-         increases, the chance of summer        signs may be difficult to observe       sure cows are in good condition
mer pneumonia usually fall into        pneumonia rises as well.               in the early stage of the illness but   before and after calving. Cows that
two age categories. One group             Herds larger than 500 head          normally become more severe as          are in good body condition, on a
consists of calves that are usually    are most susceptible. Manage-          the disease progresses.                 good nutrition program, and have
less than one month of age. Vet-       ment practices that result in cattle       If the disease is diagnosed         been properly vaccinated should
erinarians believe they fall victim    being crowded such as estrous          early, then treatment with most         have high quality colostrum. Co-
as the result of poor quality and/or   synchronization, intensive graz-       antibiotics will be successful.         lostrum plays an important role in
quantity of colostrum. The other       ing, and creep feeding are linked      However, a delay in diagnosis           preventing diseases.
group is three to four months of       with summer pneumonia. Lastly,         will result in more complications          A successful vaccination pro-
age. These calves tend to get sick     ranches that expose their calves to    and failures.                           gram to prevent summer pneumo-
at the same time the protection of     older steers or orphan calves are          Even though most treatments         nia requires using proper vaccines
the colostrum begins to wane.          more prone to having issues with       are successful, producers can be        and using them at the proper time.
    Studies have found several         summer pneumonia.                      frustrated with the difficulties as-    A vaccine that addresses the
factors associated with summer            Typical clinical signs of sum-      sociated with treating calves on        common pathogens (IBR, BVD,
pneumonia. Environmental char-         mer pneumonia are high fever           pastures.                               PI3, BRSV, M. heamolytica, P.
acteristics connected with summer      (106° Fahrenheit or greater), re-          A good prevention program           multocida) involved in calf pneu-

20 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                                                NTFR
monia is essential. Many ranches     diagnosis and treatment is es-
have begun to administer these       sential for a successful outcome.
vaccines at branding or turn out     Hopefully, more information will
time (approximately at 60 days       be discovered in the future to aid
of age) in hopes of stimulating      producers in preventing this dis-
immunity and reducing summer         ease. For more information about
pneumonia.                           summer pneumonia in calves,
    For more information about       producers should contact their lo-
a vaccine program, producers         cal veterinarian or Oklahoma State
should seek the advice of a vet-     University County Agriculture
erinarian.                           Extension Educator.
    Stress needs to be managed as                References
best as possible. Producers should      Woolums AR, Berghaus RD,
castrate and dehorn calves at an     Smith DR, et al. Case-control
early age. This should reduce        study to determine herd-level risk
stress since these calves con-       factors for bovine respiratory
tinue to stay with their mothers.    disease in nursing beef calves on
Also, producers should try to        cow-calf operations. J Am Vet
avoid situations that crowd cattle   Med Assoc. 2018;252(8):989-994.
in small spaces. Unfortunately,      doi:10.2460/javma.252.8.989
even the best-managed herds can         Woolums AR, Berghaus RD,
still have problems with summer      Smith DR, et al. Producer sur-
pneumonia.                           vey of herd-level risk factors
    Cattle producers need to ob-     for nursing beef calf respira-
serve their herds frequently this    tory disease. J Am Vet Med
summer for any clues of pneu-        Assoc. 2013;243(4):538-547.
monia in their calves. Prompt        doi:10.2460/javma.243.4.538

WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM                                                        AUGUST 2021 | 21
Proud Flesh – An Age Old Problem
                                                         By Dr. Garrett Metcalf, DVM

I
    If you have been around horses                                                                                   matory phase when the wound
very long you know horses love to                                                                                    is created. This phase becomes
hurt themselves a lot, and when                                                                                      mediocre and prolonged compared
they do it is many times on their                                                                                    to other animal species and even
lower extremities. This is the                                                                                       when compared to ponies. This
favorite place for a horse to grow                                                                                   phase seems to be the key to jump
proud flesh or as veterinarians call                                                                                 starting the healing process, and
it exuberant granulation tissue.                                                                                     horses just do not do it very well.
Many people think of granulation                                                                                     Getting stuck in this prolonged
tissue or proud flesh as a nega-                                                                                     inflammatory phase leads to proud
tive outcome of wounds, but it                                                                                       flesh formation.
does have a purpose in helping                                                                                           Other factors that lead to poor
the horse heal. Unfortunately it                                                                                     wound healing in the lower limbs
does not always behave the way                                                                                       of horses are they do not have
we want it to, and sometimes it is                                                                                   muscle tissue in the limbs that
both the horse’s and the people’s                                                                                    help provide blood supply to the
fault when it comes to taking care                                                                                   wound. Limb wounds tend to be
of these wounds.                                                                                                     dirtier and contaminated because
    Phases of Wound Healing                                                                                          they are closer to the ground. Mo-
    There are three main phases                                                                                      tion is also a problem on the limbs,
of wound healing in the horse,                                                                                       especially when wounds occur
inflammatory phase, proliferative                                                                                    over a joint that is a high motion
phase and maturation/remodeling                                                                                      point. Blood supply also is a factor
phase. Inflammatory phase oc-                                                                                        in wound healing in horses’ legs
curs within minutes and lasts for                                                                                    and is just not as good as in the
hours after a wound is created. In                                                                                   upper part of their bodies.
the inflammatory phase, swell-                                                                                           How We Make It Worse
ing, hemostatsis and migration of                                                                                        Many times part of the reason
white blood cells to the wound is                                                                                    wounds grow so much proud
initiated. This inflammatory phase                                                                                   flesh is because of the things that
is one of the most important steps                                                                                   are applied to the wounds. Some
in setting the stage for the rest of                                                                                 of the most harmful products to
the phases. Granulation tissue is                                                                                    wounds are caustic wound pow-
part of the natural healing process                                                                                  ders or wonder dusts that claim to
for wounds in horses during the                                                                                      burn back and destroy granulation
proliferation phase. It becomes                                                                                      tissue. The problem with these
present in the wound bed of horses                                                                                   products is they cause more in-
around five to seven days after the                                                                                  flammation and are indiscriminate
wounding occurred. This tissue is                                                                                    at what they destroy in the wound
made up of fibroblasts and lots of                                                                                   such as the newly formed and very
new blood vessels that form from                                                                                     delicate skin that is coming across
the edges of the wound. This tis-      Many people think of granulation tissue or proud flesh as a negative          the wound.
sue will fill in the gaps between      outcome of wounds, but it does have a purpose in helping the horse                Some antimicrobial wound
the wound and will convert part        heal. (Courtesy photos)                                                       dressings have been shown to
of the cells to myofibroblasts.        the size of the wound by up to       quality collagen tissue.                 delay wound healing through
These myofibroblasts have very         40 to 80 percent to allow the rest        Where It Goes Wrong                 research and should not be used
small microscopic muscle fibers        of the wound to be healed by             There are many reasons horses        in certain stages of the wound
that help pull the wound edges         epithelialization. The last phase    heal slowly, especially on their         healing process. Lastly wound
closer together during what is         is when the wound strengthens by     extremities, but the difficulty in       dressings that are too occlusive
called contraction. Contraction        the replacement of poorly orga-      wounds in horses and granulation         can cause the wound to be starved
occurs around 10 to 14 days after      nized collagen tissues with more     tissue lies in the fact that horses do   of oxygen and lead to more proud
wounding, and this helps reduce        organized, cross-linked and better   not produce a very good inflam-          flesh production.

22 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                                                NTFR
compared wound dressing oint-         wounds to promote better healing.     thumb is if you cannot put the
   Managing and Minimizing            ments and recently a study found      Skin grafting wounds are also         ointment in your eye it is not safe
            Proud Flesh               that triple antibiotic wound oint-    a very good way to reduce the         for a wound.
    Proud flesh can lead to delayed   ment (Neosporin) produced the         wound size or even completely            5. If proud flesh begins to form
wound healing because the new         least amount of proud flesh when      cover the wound to get it healed      have it cut off or have your veteri-
cells growing from the edge of        compared to others.                   with new skin cells. There are        narian prescribe a steroid cream
the wound cannot migrate up               Another very safe and effective   many methods and techniques to        such as Triamcinolone or Betame-
over a mound of granulation tis-      wound ointment is SSD or silver       graft skin in horses and often are    thasone to help safely shrink down
sue as well as they can over a flat   sulfadiazine wound ointment           dictated by the size, shape and       the granulation tissue.
wound bed.                            often used for burn wounds in         location of the wound.                   6. Skin grafting is another
    One method of managing gran-      people. Even honey, specifically       Take Away for Horse Owners           method to cover a wound more
ulation tissue when it does become    Manuka honey wound dressings             1. Clean the wound as soon         quickly with new skin to reduce
too proud is by sharply cutting       or ointments, help improve wound      as possible with mild soap and        granulation tissue formation.
it flat with a scalpel blade. This    healing.                              water or diluted Betadine solution       The approach to dealing with
removes the excessive tissue and          Biological products such as       products.                             wounds and proud flesh is rather
refreshes the wound to encourage      amnion can help reduce proud             2. Often it is recommended to      a simple one and does not require
proper healing.                       flesh and improve wound healing.      have wounds examined as soon as       a magic ointment or treatment to
    Another method is by medical      Amnion is tissue that surrounds       possible by a veterinarian, espe-     keep it under control.
treatment of granulation tissue       the fetus in the womb and is rich     cially if the wound is over a joint      Remember the goal is to keep
with topical steroids which also      in stem cells, growth factors and     or other important structures.        it under control early on and to
helps reduce the production of        anti-inflammatory cytokines that         3. Closing the wound if pos-       avoid things that are used on the
excessive granulation tissue and      help reduce scar tissue and pro-      sible with sutures will help reduce   wound from making it worse. If
keeps the proud flesh from form-      motes healing.                        having proud flesh.                   you are concerned your treatment
ing, but when used too much can           Another biological produce           4. Use appropriate wound           or care is not working for your
lead to delayed wound healing.        produced from the bladder of pigs     dressings and ointments your          horse please reach out to your
    There are studies that have       called A-cell has been applied to     veterinarian advises. The rule of     veterinarian for help.

WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM                                                                                                              AUGUST 2021 | 23
Red, Whitesboro and Blue                          By Krista Lucas Wynn

N
    North Texas has experienced quite a bit of
rain the past couple of months. The rain did
not keep the annual Whitesboro, Texas rodeo
from continuing its tradition of hosting some
of the top rodeo talent and attracting spectators
from miles around.
    The rodeo is conducted every year on
Fourth of July weekend as a United Profes-
sional Rodeo Association event, and award
winning Flying C Rodeo Company provides
the stock.
    The rodeo festivities kicked off with a night
of slack on Thursday, July 1. What started out
as ideal weather conditions, and the arena’s
new ground ready to go, soon turned into
storms moving in and about five to seven
inches of rain pouring down onto the rodeo
grounds.
    Slack was about halfway through with the
barrel racing when the rodeo committee decid-
ed to pause for the safety of the contestants and
everyone involved. Runs were able to resume
shortly, and the committee and riding club did
their best to accommodate everyone and make
the best of a “sticky” situation.
    It remained muddy throughout the weekend,
with more rain coming that Friday, and finally
clearing off for the last night on Saturday. De-
spite the muddy conditions and dicey parking
situations, that did not stop people from attend-
ing and filling the stands. Rodeos near and far
over the Fourth of July saw record setting at-
tendance numbers, showing that rodeo is alive       A. D. Davis got off in a wet mess and was still able to get a time of 5.1 and a third place finish.
                                                    (Photo courtesy Wayne Gooden Photography)
and well in 2021, especially in small towns.
    Contestants braved the mucky conditions,            Dalton Kingery won the saddle bronc rid-       featured in NTFR, scored an 86 for the win and
and in the bareback riding it was Hunter            ing with a ride worth 87 points, and Thomas        $1,011. J.A. Cezere and Landon Coulston were
Ramsey who won first place with an 81-point         Moellering won the ranch bronc riding with         second and third place respectively.
ride. He actually split the win with Yance Day,     88 points.                                            The Whitesboro Riding Club includes many
and Marvin Alderman came in third with 79               The tie-down calf ropers had to get down       individuals who contribute to putting on a
points.                                             and dirty as well, and Atrell Carmouche walked     hometown rodeo full of fireworks and fam-
    In the steer wrestling, Connor Gentry threw     away with the win with a time of 9.29 seconds.     ily fun. They volunteer their time and efforts
his steer in 4.1 seconds for first place and        Cash Palmore and Cody Hogan roped their            throughout the year to make this annual rodeo
$1,056. A.D. Davis, who is pictured, got off        steer in 5.29 seconds to win the team roping.      a reality even in less than ideal conditions,
in a wet mess and was still able to get a time          Barrel racing turned out to be a tough race    and they appreciate everyone who attended
of 5.1 and a third place finish.                    as usual, but some of it depended on the luck      this year.
    Breakaway roping has seen a rise in con-        of the draw. Chazli Massey chose to make the          There are many local rodeos to choose from
testant numbers all across the country, and         best of the situation and had a smoking time of    for North Texans to attend, as a contestant or
Whitesboro was no different. Cassidy Pineda         17.9 seconds for the first place win. Stephanie    as a spectator. These events support the local
won the event with a time of 2.17 seconds. It       Joyner, Riley Welch, Shelbi Reynolds, Chani        community and the rodeo committees and rid-
was a tough roping in even tougher conditions,      Graves, and Lauren England rounded out the         ing clubs that work tirelessly to put on these
with the times ranging from the winning 2.17 to     top six with a time of 18.4 seconds.               great rodeos, and they always welcome new
3.31 seconds for first through sixth place.             In the bull riding, Mike Lee, previously       members to join or new sponsors.

24 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                                              NTFR
WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM   AUGUST 2021 | 25
The World of Rodeo Photography
                                                                     By Phillip Kitts

H
    Have you ever browsed through
social media and come across cool
rodeo pictures? Has this ever
sparked curiosity?
    Opening with a disclaimer that
not all rodeo media operates the
same and some photographers
have other goals than media pho-
tos. In this case, this description
comes from a Professional Rodeo
Cowboys Association photog-
rapher who has a dual focus of
providing media sources with us-
able images as well as generating
revenue based on commercial and
retail sales.
    A good place to start is with
the preparation and the equipment.
The average rodeo photographer
requires more than one camera,
and in this case three cameras is
the standard. On average a rodeo
photographer breaks or damages
two to three camera bodies a year.
This is just the nature of dodging
several 1,000-pound animals in an      When the chute latch cracks, the fun part of being a rodeo photographer begins. (Photo courtesy Phillip Kitts,
arena surrounded by steel panels.      Avid Visual Imagery Rodeo Photography)
If that was not enough, then you       tographer that is eager to hit the        comes. Placing lights is much          what athletes will be attending and
add numerous lenses of different       road. These photographers use             more than strapping each strobe        what stock they have drawn is just
quality and design. The other          the winter months to lock rodeos          to the fence. Strategic placement      the first step. Once you have all
factor is often working a rodeo        in the southeast where they can           is a fine balance between staying      of that base information, it is key
can require different setups for       avoid the cold weather and keep           close enough to a power source         to research the behaviors of the
different images.                      their schedule full, and as the heat      that the light will perform its pur-   human and animal athletes. This
    Working as a professional ro-      of summer and spring develops,            pose, along with ensuring the light    little bit of information can play
deo photographer is not a cheap        they plan their runs to the north         sites will not become a hazard to      a key part in capturing those wild
adventure. Depending on the            where the weather is cooler.              the athletes or fans.                  photos that you see as you scroll
photographer, equipment can run           No matter where the road takes             Along with setting up the arena    through your favorite social media
from $10,000 all the way up to         them it all starts the same. Over         there is finding a good location for   platform.
$30,000 or more.                       several days there is inventory           an office area and hoping the local        After three or four days of
    So, what is it like week to week   of gear and prepping equipment.           Internet can support the uploading     getting ready, the first picture is
in the business of rodeo photog-       Once the inventory is handled, the        of photos. Working in the rodeo        finally ready to be taken. How-
raphy? Since rodeo tends to ramp       packing starts.                           industry one quickly learns to         ever, it will not be a bucking horse
up in early spring for most rodeo         Finally, it is time to hit the road.   always have backup equipment.          or timed event athlete. Hours prior
photographers most of them use         Depending on the assignment,              This plays a role in the strategic     to the chute gate cracking open for
the winter months to plan, sched-      with several hours of driving, ar-        location of the office area and        the first time there are hundreds of
ule and promote their availability.    rival is one day prior to the first       storage of backup gear.                photos of sponsors banners, arena
There are a few that have been in      performance. This time is used                Now that setup is done, the        geography and community activi-
the business for a while that have     to assess the arena lights, where         research begins. This may come as      ties to be photographed.
a good series of indoor winter         the power sources are and con-            a shock to many that taking rodeo          Finally, the fun begins, and the
rodeos that pay the bills during       template where each event will            photos is much more than pushing       chute latch cracks. The reality is
the cold months. Then there is a       be photographed. It is about this         the camera button. The night prior     that this is the fun part of being a
whole other breed of rodeo pho-        time that the next phase of work          to each performance, finding out       Continued on page 29

26 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                                                   NTFR
WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM   AUGUST 2021 | 27
28 | AUGUST 2021   NTFR
Continued from page 26
full-time rodeo photographer, but
it also becomes the most stressful.
Not only does there need to be a
ton of focus to keep the camera
dialed in and the focus point where
it should be, but the stress comes
with making sure not to miss a
shot. If this is not enough, there is
the real danger of bucking horses
sprinting around the arena or
bucking bulls being on the prowl,
plus tons of other risky factors.
    Once the rodeo has come to an
end the real work begins. This is
the part that so many in the public
never see and many aspiring pho-
tographers never realize. Walking
out of the arena means straight
to the computer and prioritizing
work. On average there are several
publications that require photos,
but before that can even be started
the client comes first. Depending
                                        With the need to stack events on top of each other, it is quite common the same photographer will have his
on the agreement with the event,        next event in mere days and sometimes states away.
a photographer may be required
to load specific images or even
possibly all of the photos from the
event. So, the balance begins, the
rush to get the publications and
the event their photos, followed by
the quick effort to process labels
and sort all of the photos so the
photographer can get their own
photos up for sale.
    Depending on the photog-
rapher, this process can take
anywhere from four to five hours
to several days. It is at this point
where the hope for good sales
begins; however, there are factors
to the quality of sales. Things like
tough ground in barrel racing that
effect performance will reduce the
number of sales the photographer
gets. This also applies to the rough
stock side, if a lot of cowboys ride
and the stock performs well, sale
numbers will be 60 to 70 percent
higher at the average event.            Many think there is an inherent glory with being on the road as a rodeo photographer, but many are never
    Now, you would think the pho-       really introduced to the hard work and long hours that go with the career. (Photos courtesy Phillip Kitts, Avid
tographer has one focus, and that       Visual Imagery Rodeo Photography)
is to get the photos processed and      road. With the need to stack events   So, the balance continues, process    inherent glory with being on the
released. Unfortunately, this por-      on top of each other, it is quite     photos, tear down gear, set up        road as a rodeo photographer, but
tion is often interrupted with the      common the same photographer          gear, and find time in between to     many are never really introduced
rush of packing all that same gear      will have his next event in mere      do research.                          to the hard work and long hours
into its travel place and hitting the   days and sometimes states away.          Some may think there is an         that go with the career.

WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM                                                                                                                AUGUST 2021 | 29
When  a city
     goes countrygirl
                                                                 By Annette Bridges

I
    Is your life filled with routines and favor-
ites?
    Do you have that favorite shirt you would
wear every day if you could? My hubby does,
or I should say he did. That old shirt finally
had so many holes in it and was worn so thin
I could count the hairs on his chest. It had to
finally be retired to the dusting rag basket, or
so I thought at the time.
    Still, my hubby definitely has his two or
three go-to shirts with dozens of others that
never get touched.
    I have never understood the inclination to
wear the same things every day until this year.
I have discovered there is some comfort level
in not having to think twice about what to
wear each day, especially when you’re living
through a season of uncertainty.
    Although I do have a brand new pair of gor-
geous work boots, and who says work boots
can’t be pretty?
     I have had my old trusty green boots for
years, and they were not worn out, but I wanted
some pretty ones.
    I do have my beloved, red flannel jacket
shirt that gets worn every cool weather day. I
adore this shirt. I even keep our house as cool as
possible year-round so I can wear my precious
red inside as much as possible, too.
    I also have become a hat gal. Hats are one
item I enjoy having a variety of. I am not
limited to one style preference. I have trucker
caps, bucket hats, visors, knitted winter caps,
                                                     Annette Bridges has a beloved, red flannel jacket shirt that gets worn every cool weather day.
and floppy sun hats.
                                                     (Photo courtesy Annette Bridges)
    My “usuals” are not confined to what can
be worn. I always drink my morning coffee            kind of gal, however. There are ways and times     Grabbing a favorite shirt, boots, hat, and coffee
out of the same cup. I relish every sip I take       when I want to do something that I have never      cup takes the guesswork out. Not spending a lot
out of my “Live, Love, Moo” coffee mug that          done before. Getting out of my comfort zone is     of time making decisions about what to wear
features the face of my favorite cow, and it         exhilarating, and I love the feeling of reaching   or what to cook leaves more time for doing all
makes me happy.                                      a new goal, honing a new skill and experienc-      the things I love to do.
    I definitely have my favorite meals that         ing new sights and sounds.                             Yes, I think that is the bottom line for me.
get prepared most often. I am not sure if it is         Lately, I have gained a greater appreciation    I am definitely interested in spending time on
because I love these foods best or because of        for routines and favorites, and I can see their    what I love most, wearing what I love most
the ease in fixing. I like not having to think       value in being good for you. I have read rou-      with whom I love most.
too hard about what to cook. Spending time           tines help ease stress, and can provide an an-         What does this mean for my darling hus-
in the kitchen is definitely not my favorite         chor of predictability that can be reassuring.     band? I will never again retire his favorite shirts
place to be.                                            For me, I think what I appreciate most about    to the dusting rag basket no matter how many
    I am not always a “same old, same old”           mine is not wasting time on indecisiveness.        holes they have.

30 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                                                  NTFR
WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM   AUGUST 2021 | 31
32 | AUGUST 2021   NTFR
Hookin W Ranch
                                                  Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher

                                                  T
                                                      The most dominant bulls in the Professional Bull Riders circuit are superstars
                                                  in their own right. The well-deserved spotlight comes from fans’ admiration for
                                                  the bull’s agility, ability to spin and forceful bucks despite massive muscularity
                                                  and size, but what does it take to raise one of these professional athletes?
                                                      For stock contractors Katie Perschbacher and Laramie Wilson, it takes lead-
                                                  ing a life that revolves around rodeo, but for them it is nothing new. Rodeo and
                                                  bulls all but runs in their blood, and together, they are a formidable pair in the
                                                  world of bucking bulls.
                                                                                   Katie Perschbacher
                                                      Perschbacher is the granddaughter of Denny McCoy, who has bred top
                                                  bucking bulls since the 1980s and developed some of the best genetics in the
                                                  industry. A few of the McCoy Ranch bulls include Bells Blue, a PBR Short-Go
                                                  bull born in 2001, Coyote Ugly and Dixie Chicken. Perschbacher said growing
                                                  up around the McCoy Ranch, she was just always a bull girl.
                                                      “My family has always had bulls. The day I was born, my dad had a rodeo.
                                                  I know nothing else other than that. The photos I have I look at and I’m little
                                                  but there is this huge Brahman bull, but they just always amazed me with their
                                                  athletic ability and personalities. I like their personalities, it’s what really draws
                                                  me to them,” Perschbacher said. “We’ll turn them out and they have a big dirt
                                                  pile and may have played in it 30 minutes ago, but you put them up in the
                                                  pen then turn them out and they are going to play in the dirt like they haven’t
                                                  played in it in two weeks. We are around them every day, so we know if this
                                                  one doesn’t like you to watch him eat and this one doesn’t care. You learn what
                                                  they each need.”
                                                      The stock contractor grew up competing in barrel racing and attended Con-
                                                  nors State College on a rodeo scholarship, where she graduated with a degree
                                                  in agricultural communications. Her focus remained on barrel racing until June
                                                  2018, when everything changed. She attended a futurity with her grandfather
                                                  and decided at that moment to make the switch from barrels to bulls.
                                                      “There are some people who have never even seen a bucking bull. We were
                                                  in Stephenville last weekend, and they brought in some new people. They were
                                                  PBR fans, but they had never seen a bull up close. Here I am thinking, ‘Golly, I
                                                  have to go to feed in the morning,’ and these people were just beside themselves
                                                  excited. I think you have to step back and remember, ‘Wow, we are really blessed
                                                  to be able to even do this,’” Perschbacher said.
                                                                                     Laramie Wilson
                                                      While Perschbacher was gaining experience on her grandfather’s ranch,
                                                  Wilson was getting first-hand knowledge of his own with bucking bulls. Born
                                                  in west Texas, his family made the move to the Dallas - Fort Worth area from
                                                  Monahans when Wilson was eight.
                                                      “We moved because of the rodeo atmosphere. There wasn’t a whole lot going
                                                  on in west Texas at the time. The only rodeos happening, my parents put on and
                                                  produced. They found the bulls and everything. They saw it’s what my brother
                                                  and I wanted to do, so they moved us up here where we could go to one a day
                                                  if that’s what we wanted,” Wilson recalled.
                                                      Wilson said he got hurt quite a bit growing up while bull riding, but he
                                                  would make the most out of his recovery time with trips to the sale barn with
                                                  his brother.
               Photo courtesy Bull Stock Media.   Continued on page 34

WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM                                                                                                AUGUST 2021 | 33
Continued from page 33
   “We would buy stuff out of the sale barn
and buck it, and just piddle with it. It kind of
took off from there. We were always buying
and trading. If there was a little bull in there
we thought would buck, we would buy him,
take him home and we would buck him two or
three times and either resell him or take him
back to the sale barn,” Wilson said.
   Around the time the American Bucking
Bull, Inc., was really getting started, Wilson
and his brother began buying a few bucking red
cows and grew their business from there.
   The ABBI owns and manages the largest
bucking cattle registry in the world with DNA
records of 145,000 animals.
   The ABBI sanctions competitions around
the country with a World Finals event in Las
Vegas.
   It is dedicated to developing and promoting
the industry through pedigree preservation and
events showcasing the world’s finest bucking
bull stock.
   ABBI created events for the younger bulls
to prove themselves and make bigger paydays.
Today, the bulls can earn hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars; some before they even begin
competing in PBR events.
              Working Together
   In 2018, Wilson and Perschbacher’s worlds
collided when they met at a bucking bull event.
Together, they operate Hookin W Ranch, full
of world record holding bucking bulls.
   While Wilson and Perschbacher do own
some of the bulls at Hookin W Ranch, there
also are bulls they handle for other owners who
send bulls to them to haul and train. Investors
can also own shares in a bull, from as little as
three percent.                                     (Above) Growing up around
   Since joining forces, they have worked side     bulls at her grandfather,
by side as Perschbacher was named the 2019         Denny McCoy’s ranch, Katie
ABBI Women’s Futurity World Champion;              Perschbacher said she was
                                                   just always a ‘bull girl.’ (Left)
Top Dollar, owned by Tom and Peggy/Cour-
                                                   Katie Perschbacher and
tenay DeHoff/Hookin W Ranch, was named             Laramie Wilson of Hookin W
the ABBI Regular Season Yearling Champion,         Ranch. (Courtesy photos)
and Woopaa, owned by Larry Barker and
handled by Wilson, was the ABBI Classic
World Champion.
   “I know for sure I wouldn’t have won the
women’s futurity in 2019 if it weren’t for Lara-
mie,” Perschbacher said. “He is very knowl-
edgeable, and he did help me. There are little
things a new set of eyes sees, and he would see
something and suggest doing it another way. It
would make a world of difference.”
   For Laramie, he enjoys having a partner
Continued on page 36

34 | AUGUST 2021                                                          NTFR
WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM   AUGUST 2021 | 35
Woopaa enjoys an afternoon at Hookin W Ranch. (Photos by Dani Blackburn)
who gets what it takes to raise bucking bulls         that use it on the bulls. I think they were try-   30 minutes before sunset.
and the daily grind of caring for the perfor-         ing to tap into a different market and being           “They are still a natural grazing animal, but
mance animals.                                        able to say that Woopaa or Top Dollar uses         if you have them on a schedule, they do better.
    “It’s having somebody else that can help          the products helps. If you are winning, it’s the   Their bodies seem to function better and get
you work the cattle and understands we don’t          same with anything, they want to know what         used to that. If you feed them at 11 a.m. and
just whoop and holler and try to make them            you are using,” Perschbacher said.                 4 p.m. one day and 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. the next
go fast,” Wilson explained. “Competitions are            It is a busy lifestyle, with their work week    day, you’re not going to get along very good.
won with the slow work you do here getting            starting on Friday morning loading up bulls to     We feed them more like a show horse or show
them ready, once you get to the event there’s         head to the event scheduled for that weekend.      steer. They get fed at certain times,” Wilson
nothing you can do so you have to take care           Typically, the events are in Texas or Okla-        explained.
of them here and slow them down. It’s great           homa, but they travel as far as Vegas each year.       The bulls also are fed supplements, with a
having somebody who understands that and is           The majority of events begin Saturday morning      custom feed mixed. The couple takes top care
willing to sit out there when it is 105 or 110        and last the duration of the day. They travel      of their hay fields. Chiropractors can be found
and handle them one more time.”                       home on Sunday, only to get up on Monday           visiting the bulls, and they receive in injections
    Wilson said Perschbacher’s equine knowl-          morning and begin work on whatever needs           in their hocks and back hips.
edge and techniques used to care for horses           improvement from the weekend.                          “We do treat them a lot like horses in that
also has carried over in the care for the bulls,         “If there was one we didn’t take because        sense in taking care of them. It’s just not your
which has helped tremendously.                        he wasn’t ready or whatever, we’ll get him         average vet will come inject a bucking bull,
    “I had one with a hock swell up and she had       ready and start working him. We’ll do that         but we have been fortunate enough to have a
all kinds of medicine, she went to rubbing his        Monday through Thursday, and we go help            good vet,” Wilson said.
leg down, and it just drew all that swelling out.     her grandfather buck calves. Anytime we are            For Wilson, keeping the bulls sound and
Ever since, if they are a little bit sore, stiff or   available, he’s ready to buck them. Just about     healthy is one of the more difficult parts of
swelled up, she’ll get her stuff and rub on him.      every other week we go there and if nothing        his job.
Me, if Banamine or Dex couldn’t fix it, that was      else, we stay here and buck at least every             “They don’t know how go slow. They’re not
all there was, you know,” Wilson laughed.             week,” Wilson said.                                an athlete that understands, ‘Hey, this is just
    Their knack for using horse products on                                 Care                         practice, let’s just go half speed so we don’t
their bulls has brought in sponsors looking to           The best demands the best care, and that is     hurt anything. We are just going to go through
tap into different markets.                           exactly what Wilson and Perschbacher provide       it for practice and be safe.’ They give it a 110
    “Those who are behind us are more geared          the bulls. The performance athletes eat like       percent every time they are in the chute, every
towards horses. We are some of the only ones          kings and are fed 30 minutes after sunrise and     time you buck them. They don’t know if you

36 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                                                  NTFR
are bucking them for a million                                                                   the rest is history.
dollars or just for the fun of it,”                                                                 “The year 2019 was a slow
Wilson said.                                                                                     year, a rebuilding year. My good
               Woopaa                                                                            two-year-old got hurt. I didn’t
    The couple was sitting at the                                                                really have any big bulls. I was
Finals in 2019 when Wilson                                                                       trying to just focus on futurity
turned to Perschbacher and said,                                                                 calves, and if it hadn’t been for
“Larry Barker had a really good                                                                  Woopaa we would still be focus-
yearling, and I haven’t seen that                                                                ing on futurity calves,” Wilson
bull.” Perschbacher said she could                                                               chuckled.
still recall the exact spot they were                                                               Woopaa arrived in January
sitting in at the South Point Hotel                                                              2020, but there was a catch. Barker
when he said it.                                                                                 had not bucked him in 12 months,
    The thought crossed Wilson’s                                                                 choosing instead to allow the bull
mind as he was considering get-                                                                  some time to mature. They worked
ting an outside bull. He told                                                                    with the bull for several months
Perschbacher he was going to call                                                                before he was ready, but the wait
Barker and see if he would send                                                                  was worth it.
the bull to them.                                                                                   “When we got Woopaa, he
    “So, I called him, and he said,                                                              wasn’t in bad shape, but you
‘Oh, I’ve been thinking about                                                                    could tell he hadn’t been bucked
sending him to somebody, but I                                                                   in a year. So we were a little bit
didn’t know who to send him to.                                                                  behind the curve. I felt like about
Would you take him?’” Wilson                                                                     the time we got him going and
recalled.                                                                                        everything, Covid-19 hit. They
    The answer was obvious, and         Top Dollar enjoys a scratch under the neck from Katie.   Continued on page 38

WWW.NTFRONLINE.COM                                                                                            AUGUST 2021 | 37
Continued from page 37
started canceling events so we de-
cided, ‘Hey, we are going to have
to focus on him and we are going
to go where we can with him, and
that’s just what we’ve got to do,’”
Wilson said.
    When Woopaa seized the
ABBI title, he also was named the
2020 ABBI World Finals Classic
Champion when he met up with
bull rider Jose Vitor Leme during
the PBR World Finals.
    Leme hung on, earning a score
of 95.75 and the championship,
while Woopaa clenched a bull
score of 46.75 and the title.
    The bull turned five in March
2021; with high hopes he will be
a contender in this year’s title race
for the YETI World Champion
Bull after snagging the ABBI title
last year. It is no surprise Woopaa
loves to buck and go on the road.
    “We handle them every day
and they go every weekend,” Per-
schbacher said. “We could back
the trailer up and open the gate
and Woopaa, wherever he is at,
him and Top Dollar will go to the
trailer. When people say we make
them buck, we don’t do that. These
bulls enjoy it. They like to go. We
went to a futurity last year and we
                                        One of the couple’s roan bulls shows off his bucking skills. (Photo courtesy QuickSand Photography)
didn’t take Woopaa and he was
right there where we loaded, run-       like man, that one sure looks the         there is to say about it.”             at Top Dollar’s videos as a re-
ning and bucking and bellowing.         part and he acts right. He kind of            Fortunately, that fourth time      minder to give the bulls more than
He wanted to go. I felt bad, but he     watches you and all of that, but          was Top Dollar’s moment to             a few chances to prove themselves.
wasn’t going to do anything that        when you start bucking him the            shine, and Wilson’s suspicion that     He explained there are some bulls
weekend so I told him he would          first two or three times, he may be       he had his eye on the right one was    who give it all their first time and
have to stay home that week. They       the sorriest calf in the bunch. You       proven correct.                        can’t do it any better. Then there
like it, they enjoy it.”                wonder what you were thinking                 “The fourth time we bucked         are a few who don’t do so great the
             Top Dollar                 and if you even know what you’re          him, and it was probably his last      first time out of the chute, but it all
    Wilson’s favorite part of rais-     looking at,” Wilson said. “Top            chance to be honest because he         comes together later on.
ing bucking bulls is seeing the         Dollar, I can go back and look at         hadn’t been very good, he tried            Top Dollar proved himself in
moment it all clicks.                   pics of him when he was three or          to do it but just wasn’t good at       a tough year of Covid-19 cancel-
    “I like seeing the calves put it    four months old. He was just a lit-       bucking, it finally flipped. You’re    lations as he was named the best
all together when they start finally    tle specimen, but he always looked        like, ‘Wow. Where did that come        yearling bull in the world for
reaching their potential,” Wilson       the part. We handled him and he           from?’ I bucked him two or three       2020 and chances are high he will
said.                                   was always a little crazy and wild,       days later to make sure it wasn’t a    remain ranked among the top bulls
    For their other best bull, Top      but not too bad. The first time we        fluke, and he bucked even harder.      in the world.
Dollar, that moment took a bit          bucked him he almost stopped              I turned him out for a few weeks,                 What’s Next?
longer than normal.                     and the second and third weren’t          got him back up and that sixth trip,       The bulls develop their own
    “We have 30 head of calves,         a whole lot better. If I hadn’t liked     it was unbelievable. It may be one     fan base, with loyal followers
and I don’t want to say you pick        him so much, I might have sent            of the best ones he’s had,” Wilson     who are excited to see the bulls
your favorite, but you always           him to the sale barn. He was just         recalled.                              perform. Wilson said fans might
have your eye on one that you’re        sorry the first three times, that’s all       Wilson periodically looks back     not know who Laramie and Katie

38 | AUGUST 2021                                                                                                                                      NTFR
You can also read