Judy Wagner | Western Lifestyle Industry Icon

Judy Wagner is a respected leader in the Western lifestyle industry, best known for her longtime role as Chief Marketing Officer of Montana Silversmiths, one of the most recognized brands in Western buckles, jewelry, and lifestyle accessories. Throughout her career, Wagner played a major role in expanding the company’s national presence while helping preserve the authenticity and heritage of the Western way of life.

With decades of experience in branding, partnerships, and event marketing, Judy became instrumental in building Montana Silversmiths’ relationships with major rodeo organizations, country music events, western heritage festivals, and professional associations across North America. Her leadership helped position the company as a premier sponsor and trusted brand within the rodeo, ranching, country music, and Western fashion industries.

Known for her professionalism, creativity, and passion for Western culture, Wagner helped guide marketing campaigns tied to some of the biggest events in the Western world, including PRCA rodeos, the National Finals Rodeo, and numerous Western heritage celebrations. She also became widely respected for mentoring young professionals and supporting artists, entertainers, and Western influencers throughout the industry.

Beyond corporate leadership, Judy Wagner is admired for her dedication to preserving Western traditions and promoting the people and stories that define cowboy culture. Her influence extends far beyond marketing, as she has become a well-known advocate and ambassador for the Western lifestyle community.

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🎵 In This Episode:
• Judy Wagner interview
• Western Industry Icon
• Montana Silver Smiths
• Western Leadership
• Art of the Cowgirl
 
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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey music lovers, welcome to Musical Miles Podcast. I'm your host, Byron Delphin, and I am here with my friend Judy Wagner. Great to be here with you. Man, thanks for taking time. We're in Wickenburg, Arizona at the Art of the Cowgirl, which is such a cool event. And you have been involved since day one, right?

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Yes, I have. And just to share a little bit about that, uh Tammy Pate, the founder of Art of the Cowgirl, had a vision long before she even started it. And that was to really celebrate cowgirls through their art, whether that be in the arena or creating a saddle or whatever their passion was to be able to do that. And I think the magic of that, if I can share, is that with her vision, she got a small group of people together that understood her purpose and saw her vision. And with that nucleus, actually built what you're seeing here today. Just starting slow with people that understood that. And then right now, this is a phenomenal event for anyone who is a core cowboy or anyone who loves the lifestyle.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Oh, absolutely. Whether it's whether it's fashion, horsemanship, roping, team roping, uh stock horse, uh uh the ranch rodeo event that they put on. Is this whole thing is so cool. And the music taboo. So we which is why we're here. Absolutely. We've known each other a long time. Uh and and uh um yeah, tell us a little bit your what's your first memory of Byron? You know the ropes. Yeah, yeah, I do know the ropes. So Judy is the original founder of Gatores, which is uh uh I ended up a while after uh I became the GM of Gator Ropes and Rocky Mountain and Magnum Rope Companies in Idaho, and uh so we got to know each other after the fact, but uh after you uh ended up not having it anymore, selling it, whatever whatever transpired. But I have always admired you and I've loved your marketing skills. She, if any of you know anything about the rope business and know about gator ropes, she came up with the coolest marketing scheme, if you will, the little rubber gators. You put little rubber gators on every one of those gator team ropes, and it was a huge hit.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

If you really roll back the clock there a little bit, when we started a gator at that time, um there weren't computers to take care of it, take care of inventory, uh, but there weren't your sales, receivables, all of that was done by hand. And if you think about it on a rope thing, and I I just want to share with you that how really effective that was. It made it look like a gamut, and sometime I used to tease guys, I said, the rope is free, but that gator's gonna cost you. And it was actually an eraser that I used to torture my kids, Ross and Tiffany, you know, when they cut home from school, I said, Go punch gators. They punch gators, you know, but you would find gators hanging on guys' mirrors, you might find it in their horses' manes, but you know, it really became very iconic to the brand. And if you're out there as a business person or you're trying to do that, what makes you different, better, special? Well, this beautiful gator that actually enhanced the brand's name right there also helped identify it for me. If you can imagine back in those days, we had traps where we had all the inventory on. So you don't know how many head ropes you have, you don't know how many heel ropes. What about what about the lay of the rope? Is it soft? Is it medium hard? Is it medium? But with the gator color coded on it, I knew how many medium hards there were, I knew how many softs there were, I knew how many mediums there were instantly looking at the rack, talking on the phone, because that's how we did it the old school way.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

And that was such a smart deal. And and I knew that because as I got to experience that same deal, we we had racks and racks of those ropes, but as soon as they were finished, the gator went on. And then, of course, every kid rope had to have one on them. And the kids absolutely love those. They you're right. They the the ropes were free, the gators were anywhere from twenty-five to forty bucks, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:28

Yes, and uh you know, I was just feeling a need as a young entrepreneur, like to be honest, I didn't really know what I was doing, you know. But I was just reacting to what the customers were telling us and what they needed. I had I had little kids like this, so who do you cater to? I might let all the good guys walk on by, yeah, but I cater to the young and to the old, and especially the young, you know. And if you do that, I did a thing I called gatorized because as you gatarize them, then they become lifelong fans. And that was uh like the X factor.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Oh, without a doubt. In in in fact, funny story, as we've tied this, you know, now now you know I've been out of the road business for over ten years and and I am now doing a podcast, a music podcast. Interviewed a songwriter from from Tennessee, from Nashville, Tennessee, by the name of Bryce Long. And Bryce Long and I were having a conversation in Whitefish, Montana, and I said, Well, what took you to Nashville or to Tennessee anyway? And he said, I went out to go to college to rodeo. I said, Oh, you used to rodeo. I said, What'd you do? He said, Oh, I team ropes. I said, No, kidding. I said, I used to work for a rope company. He goes, You did? I said, He said, Which one? And I told him, I said, Well, Gator was one of the brands. He says, I used to use your all's ropes. He said, That white hero, I said, the albino. And you know what, Judy? That's the other great thing you did in that part of the business was the naming of the ropes. The albino, the dominator, the intimidator. Right. I mean, they were just all such great names, and they all had a a unique look to them. You had a blue eye on the intimidator and right.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

And actually, that was that was a way to personalize the brand, uh, really, you know, helping the customer identify with it a little bit. But each name came along and and as it did, um, another fact that helped elevate that, if you will, was I partnered with Wally Badgett, um, a pretty well-known um artist. He was a rodeo coach from Miles City there, NFR, uh, all-time great champion there as well. But Wally is the one who drew the Al Gator, uh, all of the gator team. He had a sick sense of humor like me. And like you told me he talked about the albino gator. I remember one cartoon he did when we introduced the albino gator, uh, which was 100% nylon at that time. And we pushed that out. I I had Wally draw this deal with the white uh albino gator or sitting on his horse, and he says, What? Call me another white lizard here, you know, like and it's like we had so much fun just making making fun a little bit, but really enjoying the brand as well, it was more something special.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

It was the brand that everybody wanted. Everybody wanted a gator rope, just not just to say they owned a gator rope, and they were great ropes to boot. But that being said, uh, you had some great champions that use those ropes. How many world championships do you remember? Were one with the gators in the early days?

SPEAKER_02 7:34

In the early days, uh the very first man uh was Jake Barnes, yeah, uh Claire O'Brien Cooper, Speedy Williams. Yeah, and I can remember those guys calling, and we were all young, you know, back then doing it, but just really growing up with the brand and actually the sport and and how that's changed over the years. But I'm very thankful for that because it really added a credibility to the brand. I I didn't initiate it. They they called, but they liked they like the freshness of it. And they I think they liked uh being on something uh, you know, at that level uh growing up with it.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Well, what I loved was was that it was it was different, definitely different. I mean and and and uh you know, growing up, my early days when I first learned a rope, there was about three brands. You know, there was Cotters and Kings and and uh I'm not sure who the other one was, but there weren't very many out there. And they were the old age now, kings, yeah, Cotters Kings, and but they'd aged those ropes out in the sun for and and we learned a lot in the in the in the years over the years of how ropes were made and how they how they changed with time and and temperature and and it's been really interesting. But I also got to meet your husband Alvin and him and I got to rope together, which was cool. Actually, we won a pretty good check, I think, in uh Billings one year at the Wrangler Finals. So and I got to meet your kids. I've met Ross and worked with Ross a little bit, and uh met Tiffany here. But let's talk. So you've you've been here with our out of the Art of the Cowgirl since the beginning, and Tammy has since passed, unfortunately. So did she get to see it come to fruition?

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Oh yes. Uh she was she was here through five years, I believe. Okay. Um and and watching it grow to what it is now. But it really, again, as I spoke earlier, it was her vision and to be able to if she could get to be here now, which I I feel she's here watching and saying, you go, girls, uh, I believe that she would be so thrilled because I was uh I was honored, I guess, uh two years ago when we had her rodeer um at that art of the cow girl that was in Queen Creek that year.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

Right.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

And and it was hard to stand up in front of everybody to say something meaningful, but I I really mean this from my heart. We truly are her boots on the ground. And so each one of us here are doing things to express and showcase and hand down our talents to that next generation while we're still doing something that enriches each of our lives. So, you know, it doesn't matter what decade you're in or where you're at, you still have room to learn.

SPEAKER_03 10:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

And there's there's empowerment. And every time you help, excuse me, every time you help someone, it always comes back to you tenfold. So if you're out there trying to compete against somebody, you're gonna get beat every time. But you go out and you do the best you can do and you cheer for those that are gone. Guess what? You're gonna end up winning tenfold, a lot more than you ever enhanced.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

100% agree with you there. So um the the Art of the Cowgirl brand is no longer in the family. It was sold to Ty Yoast and Stacy Yost, and their partner is Ty Grantham. Grantham. And then um, but daughter Mesa and husband Kurt are still involved. Are they hearing? I was told they were here helping. I haven't I've never met either one of them, but uh I haven't seen Kurt.

SPEAKER_02 11:07

I'm sure he's on the sideline, and I do know that uh Mesa is boots on the ground with the event, the horse sale, all of that, helping the team and and and works with Ty Yoast and the team there. And of course, then there's the the fellowships and the foundation and what we do and really the heart of it, you know, taking masters that are exceptional in their craft and those that want to give back then uh with a whole fellowship program that anybody can apply to. And actually, that's open to the end of March here right now. And I'd encourage you, if you are, yeah, to have a chance, no matter where you're at or in your own career or whatever, to learn from somebody that that also benefits the master because that legacy then carries on. We don't want it to die out.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Sure. Well, you have master craftsmen here like Nancy Martini, absolutely incredible saddle maker and leather worker. Um, you've got Shorty's uh hattery. Uh, I saw the the uh interview they did this morning on stage with the uh um young lady who came from Scotland.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

Scotland. And wasn't that interesting? And what I loved about it was the respect, the actual uh exchange of friendship, and that it it wasn't all cushy. You had to get in and do your work, but just to do that like um in unison, I will, yeah, from from somebody who knew it and somebody who was hungry to learn, sure, and just see that relationship. Well, it was beautiful. I just found myself having a smile on my face.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

Oh, sure. Yeah well it was very interesting, and so um, yeah, there's there's actual uh artists here, they're they're painting, doing paintings out out here in the isn't that amazing to watch these artists paint uh um their you know horses and and it it's just amazing. And and the bead work, and then you have the the uh the silent auction items that are out for people to bid on uh to help with the foundation. And so just a lot of cool things going on.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

And you know, every little bit helps, but then those beautiful auction items there are like treasures in them of themselves. So, you know, if you like a bargain, or not a bargain, an opportunity to go for something that is truly artisan and celebrate to help and support the foundation, that's great. But then if you just like shopping, yeah, how about the shopping here?

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Oh, the shopping's amazing. Miss Shanda's behind the camera. She that's her that's her favorite place on this podcast is to be behind the camera. But uh she loves to come here. She's an Arizona native, and so she she loves the turquoise. And she she also has worked uh diligently for Stetson Clothing for 18 years at the NFR, 19 years, and uh, of course, they're now one of our official sponsors. So we're grateful to speak. Oh, it's crazy. So let's talk about that again. Uh um, you after you left the road business, you ended up going to work for Montana Silversmith, which is the buckle maker to the world champions.

SPEAKER_02 14:10

I did. I was very fortunate um, you know, to get that opportunity to still be in Montana to work for a national brand. Yeah. And to really watch that brand uh excel and flourish uh as I came into, you know, with a lot of different sponsorships, uh, but really also giving back um into the future, you know, with a scholarship program and a whole other uh plethora of things that go in there. But it's so much more as a brand. There's a responsibility uh not only to grow your business and do the best that you can do, but also to give back, you know, so partnering with great retailers across, partnering with associations across, um, being able to hand world champions their gold Montana Silversmiths uh buckle, whatever, was the highlight of my career. And I'm happy to say that I was I was in the moment when they were doing it, and I I had the opportunity to hand my nephew Ty Erickson, world champion, uh steer wrestler in 2019 his gold buckle. And here's the thing on that I know what it took for Ty as a young kid who used to sit in the boxes that gate of ropes to go down the road, get his college education, and do all that, and then become a world champion in a steer wrestling. And it's not a given, and uh you just it was a lot of hard work. I also know what it was like as a chief marketing officer at that time, and know what the artisans at Montana Silversmiths did to create that beautiful pinnacle gold buckle that everybody strives for, and to hand it to my nephew was an unreal moment for me. Absolutely the best one.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

I can only imagine. Yeah. How cool is that. So um you're officially retired from Montana Silversmith now, or kind of sort of.

SPEAKER_02 16:10

Yeah, like that's a strange word, you know, retired. You know, like I'm I'm moving, yes, on a little bit. Uh I I am really honored that the brand I I do some contract work and help support what I can, especially on on things like the out of the cowgirl or cowgirl 30 under 30, where you're talking to young women or talented, and I'm I'm so invested in it. I'm here, and um, it's a great honor to represent that. And then, you know, I who knows? And to all of you out there, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm gonna be when I grow up.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

Aren't we all? Aren't we all? Byron, and did you ever think Byron would come from being in the road business back into the ag business and the manufacturing and then be a podcast host?

SPEAKER_02 16:55

And kudos to you guys. I mean, like, it's so cool to watch you do that, and what you're doing is very cool. But I do have one quick story on on my life as I continue on with wherever it is I'm going to end up here, you know. Uh, and it goes back to the rope business, and it was actually a roping school somewhere. I maybe it was Pocatello or somewhere in Idaho. I just remember we went there and it was cold. It was Ross and I went there. Jake Barnes was was leading the roping school there. Sure. And I remember him telling me, surely I didn't make a mistake, but maybe I did. And he goes, Judy, don't ever quit till you're in the catch pan. So my career right now, and I have people going, What are you doing? You're still working. Why aren't you like whatever? And I said, Because Jake Barnes told me, don't ever quit till you're in the catch pan, and I'm not in the catchpan yet.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

I love that. I think that's so cool. Well, we don't we don't find ourselves getting up in the morning and going and punching a time clock, you or myself, but we get to do what we love. We do.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

And uh and hang around people, like-minded people that also love what we like. You know, that goes back to our values and and what's important to us. And I think that's what's drawing people into the art of the cowgirl or into Western lifestyle in particular, is like, what is that about it? It's a family generational sport. You give it out. You feel it when you come in here. You can be kind to other people and actually have it work worlds in your own life. You know, it's it's so much fun. And communication, sitting down and actually just visiting with each other. I mean, how how treasured is that?

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Oh, work on can't put a value on it. We walked through the gate yesterday morning, first morning here, the first morning of the art of the cowgirl, and we didn't make it 10 feet before we ran into someone we knew. A young lady that Ms. Shandra worked with at has worked with at Stetson at during the NFR, and then a good friend from Idaho who now lives here in Arizona full-time, ran into him, and then it just we couldn't get two feet. And then we ran into uh um Ray and Frank Grant. You remember those guys? Yeah. And and I said, Are you living here now? Oh, hell no. We just come down for a visit. So what are the odds? But you know, you know where they're at, they're at the Art of the Cowgirls. So this is such a cool deal. This is only our second year here, but fortunately my brother lives about 20 minutes from here, and so we get to go stay with my family and uh hang out. And uh he's actually had a roping today, and so we got to town and got to go watch some ropings and ran into some people we know. So, you know, we got a lot of history and lots of water under the bridge in the in the cowboy world, and we're grateful for it.

SPEAKER_02 19:37

So well, here's to you, cowboy. I sure appreciate sitting on the couch with you.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Thank you. All right, well, for uh with Miss Judy Wagner, Byron Duffin, we're here with you in Wickenberg, Arizona from uh Musical Miles Podcast. We'll see you somewhere down the road. Adios for now.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

This episode of Musical Miles Podcast is sponsored by Stetson, a true symbol of Western heritage and American craftsmanship. For generations, Stetson has stood for quality, style, and authenticity. Stetson is a built for those who live the music and the lifestyle.