Ouray Magazine's County Lines Locals Series
Welcome to the County Lines Local Series podcast. Join us as we dive into the heart and soul of our communities, uncovering the stories that shape our lives we'll explore the human experiences that connect us all.
Each episode will feature interviews with local residents, experts, and community leaders. We'll discuss everything from local history and culture to current events and challenges. Our goal is to shed light on the unique perspectives and stories that make Ouray County so special.
So, tune in and join us on this journey of discovery. Let's explore the County Lines together.
Ouray Magazine's County Lines Locals Series
Riding the Spirit of the West: Katie Coker’s Journey in Ranch Bronc Riding
Get ready for an exhilarating journey into the rodeo world with our spirited guest, Katie Coker. This dynamic young woman, who embarked on her women’s ranch bronc riding adventure in the spring of 2023, shares her captivating experiences from competing at iconic events such as the Cheyenne Frontier Days. Discover how she finds camaraderie among her fellow female riders, likening it to a close-knit rodeo sorority, and learn about the fascinating history and the promising resurgence of this thrilling sport, driven by social media and passionate associations.
Our conversation uncovers the extraordinary bond between rodeo athletes and their equine partners. We spotlight the talented and well-cared-for animals, particularly in the Professional Bull Riders circuit, and explore the essential role of trust and respect in bronc riding. Through personal anecdotes, Katie reveals the deep connection between rider and horse, celebrating the mutual understanding and dedication that defines the sport. Whether it’s the grace of ranch horses in everyday tasks or the adrenaline-fueled world of SkiJoring, the partnership between human and animal is front and center.
Katie takes us beyond the rodeo arena, offering insights into her multifaceted life on the ranch, where she balances farrier work, horse training, and the soulful preservation of the Western way of life. From her transition from a science degree to a fulfilling career in agriculture to the vibrant community events in Ouray County, Colorado, Katie embodies the spirit of believing in oneself and embracing passion. Join us as we explore how her story, set against the stunning backdrop of Colorado’s landscape, inspires the next generation and reinforces the importance of community, connection, and a love for the land.
Welcome to the County Lines Local Series podcast. Join us as we dive into the heart and soul of our communities, uncovering the stories that shape our lives and exploring the human experiences that connect us all.
Speaker 2:Welcome everyone to the County Lines Local Series podcast. I'm your host, marcus Van Meter, and today we're sitting down with an incredible young lady named Katie Coker. And Katie has a long background in cowgirl in ranching and she's got her kind of irons in all the fires. Katie, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to talk to you about what I do, what I love and who I am.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. So, looking at your Instagram profile and we're going to have a splash page on uramagazinecom for this podcast so that you can see all of Katie's assets and what she does and even a couple pictures, hopefully so that super impressive. And my first introduction to you was you were on the back of a bucking bronc, which I thought caught my attention. I'm like this is really cool. I need to learn about this young lady and what she's up to. Can you tell us a little bit about women's ranch bronc riding and what keeps you coming back to it?
Speaker 3:Sure, I got into women's ranch park riding in the spring of 2023. So I've only been doing it for a little over a year now, and what keeps me coming back would honestly be the environment in which that sport has. I love the women that I compete with. It's kind of like the sorority of rodeo, if you will. We're all a bunch of females that are in our own association and I've really enjoyed just being able to share common interests and passions of mine with other women that are competitive and driven and self-starters like myself.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Now you've got the chance to travel a little bit with doing the bronc riding, can you share a little bit about that? I know you were up at Cheyenne Frontier Days, is that correct? And you've bounced around even back to your hometown of Nashville, is that right?
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, this July I competed at the Cheyenne Frontier Days for the second consecutive year. For me, it's where my association holds their world finals. We have our own world finals at the Cheyenne Frontier Days. We're kind of a specialty act for them. And this year was really special because Cheyenne kind of advertised this year to the world and the rodeo community that it was the year of the cowgirl. So to win a world title this year was very special to me as Cheyenne put a lot up and promoted the sport of rodeo and women's rodeo really heavily. So I was really proud to be a part of that and Cheyenne is just an incredibly special rodeo to attend. Besides going to Cheyenne, which really wasn't a terribly long drive and it sure wasn't ugly, I love driving up north. The plains are really beautiful, wyoming.
Speaker 3:But, I've been everywhere, from North Dakota, south Dakota, texas, the Bay Area of California, san Francisco, and I just it's a really exciting thing. I love traveling, I love meeting new people. Obviously the rodeo community expands the entire world, but within women's ranch, bronc riding, it's not very centralized and there aren't very many of us that do it, so it's kind of a niche, smaller event within women's rodeo and because of that you have to travel pretty far. That and I don't live in the most central place. As you know. Your a is just the Box Canyon area and it's hard to get out of where we live. But it sure is nice to be there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you know, and I you know being familiar with rodeo and I've I've shot a lot of rodeos as a photographer before and I've never seen the women's ranch bronc riding, and I know that you know most of our listeners are used to that. They've been to a rodeo once or twice at least. They know about saddle bronc riding and bareback bronc riding. Can you tell us a little bit about what's different, or is anything different really, in the women's ranch bronc riding?
Speaker 3:Yeah, women's ranch bronc riding this is not the first time that it's appeared in the sport of rodeo. It's been. Women have been riding bucking horses since horses could buck it just. It kind of got organized in the late 1800s through the 1900s and women were doing it and doing it successfully and actually beating the men at times. So Pendleton Roundup is a really historically significant place for women's ranch monk riding, as is Madison Square Garden. Women traveled together just kind of like we do now, and they were kind of an attraction at times. But a lot of the times they did compete against the men and a lot of times they won.
Speaker 3:And it was in 1929, I believe, that a woman passed away from her injuries eight days later from riding a bucking horse in Pendleton at the Pendleton Roundup, and that kind of coincided with the World War going on. So collectively some articles came out that said women are getting hurt in the sport of rodeo. We have to stop this. They need to be making bullets and jello. So women's ranch bronc riding took a hiatus for, I'd say, roughly about 100 years and within the past 10 to 15 years there's been a reemergence of women who have said you know what? This is awesome. We can do this and I think we should do it again in full force and with the help of social media.
Speaker 3:I think it's become way more of a mainstream thing to observe and see at rodeos. It's not at every rodeo because it's not sanctioned within the PRCA, which is the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, but we're slowly getting there. We have established associations, we have money that's secured for us. We're kind of more so like a specialty act in addition to the rodeo and we kind of compete amongst ourselves. But there are some open rodeos that are looking to attract more spectators, so they're more interested in having cowgirls, and what's better than cowgirls? I mean, I think we're going through a renaissance of cowgirls and it's just a great time to be alive, be a woman in rodeo and be a cowgirl.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I totally agree with you on that and I think it's a super exciting development to expand the sport of rodeo in general and get more people involved. And rodeo is an inclusive thing. But they've always attributed the bull riding and the bronc riding to men, and I think this is what's so exciting about the women's ranch bronc riding is it gives an opportunity not only for the spectators but for the athletes as well and it is different from, like you said.
Speaker 3:Uh, it is different from the other types of bronc riding. You see, men traditionally compete in which would be saddle bronc riding and bareback riding. Those types of bronc riding have different equipment than what we use Women's ranch bronc riding. You compete in a stock saddle, which would be any saddle of your choice. That you know plays by the rules. So you have to have a horn on your saddle and you can't modify your saddle in any particular way. That would create an extreme advantage. So the bronc saddles that you see the saddle bronc riders competing with those are built. You know, they're just built to help the rider, more so than the horse, and the horse has obviously all the advantage. It's a 1500 pound animal, you're not going to out muscle it. But the equipment that they use is, uh, just to give them a little bit more of an advantage to perform with the horse. I mean, you could say you're competing against the horse, but at the end of the day it's really with you.
Speaker 3:Don't really have a choice yeah but the the saddles that we use in women's ranch bronc riding and ranch bronc riding in general, it's not just a women's thing, uh, it's just your stock saddle. So I have a saddle that I've ranched out of and I've ridden ranch Bronx and I'm really comfortable with it. I know that saddle and that's what I've chosen to use. Typically we're allowed to hold on with two hands because we're not given the advantage of someone like a saddle bronc rider who has a saddle that's built for their sport. We're just given something that we put on a bucking horse. It's not really built for a bucking horse. So there are some advantages and some disadvantages. But with women's ranch bronc riding, typically the stereotype is oh, they're women, they get to hold on with two hands. But I'm here to tell you that's not the truth and ranch bronc riding is the foundation of all bronc riding that you see in today's day and age. I mean that just comes from breaking horses that didn't have the genes of good minded, sound, safe, quiet horses.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So that's bronc riding. In today's day and age, what you see at the rodeo really originates to what I do, which is ranch bronc riding what I do, which is ranch broncoing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think anybody that spent time working on a ranch knows that the horses that they use out there are completely different than the nose to tail ponies that most people take on a little tour or something, and these horses have their own mind of their own, their performance horses, and you know. Just to share a little story, my first time we working at the at the local ranch here in Deeray County, we were getting ready to move about 600, head up 62. And I'd just gotten on a horse that had been to pasture for two years and it took that pony about a minute to figure out that he was going to give me a test ride. And so I think the bucking aspect is something that any cowboy or cowgirl that works on a ranch is used to, and I think that's part of the appeal for this discipline. Now in regular bronc riding you've got to mark out and all that, so you guys kind of have different rules than that. Is that correct?
Speaker 3:We do. We do have different rules. They don't expect you to mark a horse out. That's because they say it gives an advantage to the animal. It really just comes down to a different type of bronc riding, like foundationally speaking. But ranch bronc riding is got a little bit of flair to it. It's a little wild.
Speaker 3:Usually the horses are somewhat uh I'd say more than not uh, they are like the rejects of the professional rodeo world when it comes to bucking horses. They don't have timing, they're a little more inconsistent. So for the ranch bronc riders of the world, if you're a stock contractor and you have the stock, you want to still be able to make money off of that stock. So ranch bronc riding is kind of supplementing, and it has for a while, and it has for a while. It's kind of supplementing the need for a job that a horse just might be a bit for, better than becoming a bronc or a bareback horse.
Speaker 3:So but then then again there I will say, in women's ranch bronc riding we have been to encourage more women to enter the sport and continue in the sport. We've been given bron, usually of the level of high school level. So sometimes I will get on high school saddle broncs and I will get on them in a ranch bronc saddle. That doesn't mean that I have the same rules that I have to ride by if I were to ride that horse in a saddle bronc saddle. It just means that that horse for me has timing and it's going to be more consistent has timing and it's going to be more consistent.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay, yeah, that was. My next question is what stock do you pull from with these? And you know, aaron, and we just had a podcast that was released the other day with Aaron Stadelman and the Erie County Rodeo Association we had a long talk about the stock and the difference between riding a bucking bronc, which is kind of like riding a jackhammer, and the benefit of riding a horse is, if you come off it, horses are really careful about where they put their feet, whereas a bull will just stomp you and spin and just get you know. I've never seen a complete event like a bull come out of a bucking chute. And you know the bronc guys and female riders, they've got a different set of challenges with that because the horse is, just, like I said, a jackhammer. I mean, it's just amazing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the stock nowadays, the genetics that has progressed since the beginning of rodeo, is nothing short of incredible to witness. I don't know if you you keep up or watch any of the PBR, but the stock in the PBR is absolutely insane when it comes to what they've they've accomplished. Those are incredible animal athletes I mean, first and foremost, any of the livestock that participates in rodeo. They are athletes and they love their job. Uh, if anybody were to go and spend time with stock contractors, they love their animals. They wouldn't do it if they didn't. And it's it's just something to behold because they're they're athletes just as much as we are, if not more, and they're trained to do what they do. I mean, I love to see bucking horses when I get the photos back from rodeos. They're all bright-eyed and their ears are forward and they're doing what they know to do best. And I think bucking horses especially have some of the best quality of life that a horse can actually have in terms of being cared for and pampered, and taken all over the country and admired.
Speaker 3:So yeah yeah, it's interesting to see people and their understanding of what the stock does, um rodeo stock does, and how their livelihoods take on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then the rodeo stock. I mean they're well taken care of. I mean some of them get chiropractic work and and, uh, you could walk up and they're just big, lovable babies, even the bulls, um, faster, you know, and, uh, one of my I followed rodeo for a long time and you know, like many, many people out there that follow rodeo, jb Mooney is kind of like my hero and we were talking the other day about how he bought Bushwhacker, a famous bull, and and he's got him in his front yard and, you know, just gives him big back rubs and everything. And these are two athletes that battled each other. Do you, do you find that you like a certain particular kind of horse better, or a bucking horse better for characteristics, or you just kind of get out there and ride it all?
Speaker 3:I'll ride them all. You ride what you draw, as they say in rodeo. But there are a couple of horses that come to mind that are just special, personality wise and experience wise. There's a horse that I have highlighted on my Instagram and she's just all stretched out and bucking so beautifully and her name is Brittany, with an I and I've seen other people get on her and when I get on her we just connect. It's bizarre to say that, but she just flies through the air and it's almost like a, like a communication that we have with each other. That's like I got you, you got me, we're gonna do this and everybody's just gonna go wow, and horses, I think you can just.
Speaker 3:It translates no matter what you're doing with them, but they're the mirror to your soul and they reflect about a lot of how you're feeling and acting and such. I mean they can hear your heartbeat from up to four feet away. So I tell a lot of the girls I'm like it's just a horse, like they're going to work just like you are. But if I think you have to have horsemanship in order to be successful in rodeo, especially if you're a bronc rider and all of my experiences with horses whether that's been in the English world, the Western world, the world of ranching, whatever it is it all comes together and it just I can just execute anything behind the buck and shoots that I need to do, or out in the arena.
Speaker 3:And those horses, like I say, they're athletes and my athletic background, from as early as I, could compete in T-ball, in track and field, in basketball, volleyball, whatever. It's just it translates to this because they recognize that I'm an athlete, I recognize that they're an athlete and we just have this, just this moment, where we're gonna do this, do our thing for eight seconds, and it's a partnership, it's not. I'd say, yes, sometimes there are horses that I've had to go and grit it out and battle it out, but I respect them, whether I make the pickup man and make the pay window, or whether my butt or my head gets driven into the dirt, because they've done their job regardless. So I don't get mad when I get bucked off, I just get. I just want to get better because they've done their job. It's just. I need to do mine the next time I get on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you touched on a really important point that I don't think a lot of people that aren't familiar with horses understand. A horse can feel a fly land on its butt and they can feel. If you're scared, they're going to feel it and you've got to make that pony know that everything's going to be okay and they're very well connected. Like you said, they can hear your heartbeat and I don't think a lot of people understand that when you're making a connection with a horse, you're making a pretty profound connection and, uh, that's super important. You seem to do a really good job of it and that pony is that the Roan that's pinned to your no, she's a.
Speaker 3:she's like a gray toned color. She's a Grulia. Um, I'm in a white shirt. It should be pinned in the middle, uh, of my Instagram. But, like I said, horses, they just remember you, they, they know how you treated them and they have an extremely impressive memory for a mammal. And, like I said, you, just you have to do right by them every time you're around them. I think you have to be, you know, gentle about what you're doing, but firm in how you do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yep, yeah, yeah. Training a horse is not like training a dog, that's for sure. You, they don't, you can't come back to it. You have to teach it to them until they, until they get it and uh, you know, that's um, they're just impressive animals. Okay, so we've been talking a lot about your summer horse activities and your competition, but you participate in ski during as well. Is that correct?
Speaker 3:Yes, ski during. I love it.
Speaker 2:It's like the winter rodeo event for me it is, you know it's in Ridgeway in the Webers. You know we've kind of for anybody that's been here in the county for a long time I've kind of seen the Webers progress with Ski Juring into making Ridgeway one of the better venues on the circuit. Ski during um draws a huge crowd. It just like the labor day rodeo does, but I think even more because it's winter and people want to get out and it's festive. And you know, I have one thing I've always noticed is people I'd never knew owned a cowboy hat, would sure wear it on the day of ski during up in Ridgeway and I think getting behind that kind of spirit is really cool. And um, you've traveled a lot with ski drawing, is that right?
Speaker 3:Yes, Uh, the first season I did it was in 2023 and I went to Driggs, Idaho, Red Lodge, Montana, Big Sky, Montana and did a bunch of the Colorado races Ridgeway included, Leadville, which is a huge one. They've almost been having a ski drawing events for almost a hundred years now, which is a huge one. They've almost been having ski drawing events for almost 100 years now, which is really significant, especially when everybody thinks this is kind of a newer thing that's been happening. But really, with social media, it's just brought more attention to something that's existed and it's only getting better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and nothing depicts the Western lifestyle more than ski drawing and rodeo. But so for all the listeners out there, Katie, can you tell us a little bit about what ski touring is?
Speaker 3:Sure, ski touring is a winter sport, it's a winter equestrian sport that combines the thrill of horseback riding with the technicality of skiing and, uh, it's kind of like ski racing, but all of your speed and your momentum is generated by the horse, it's generated by horsepower.
Speaker 3:So, uh, these teams that you create consist of a horse, a rider and a skier and typically, to uh keep kind of things in check with horse and rider, you're only allowed to run one horse twice a day at these events, so usually they span two days. Your horse will run the ski drawing course approximately around four, maybe five times, with the exception if you're pulling small children. But because it's such a physically demanding thing on the horses, there's some checks and balances in place to make sure that we aren't overexerting the horses or anything like that. But it's a team sport, it's a three heartbeat sport. You have to get all three heartbeats across the finish line, um, in order to place and place well, but it is a speed event and there's some penalties you can, uh you can obtain if your skier misses certain features like gates or or jumps or something like that. But it really is. It's so exciting and I think it's just another testament to how athletic and amazing horses are yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And the people that ride them in in the in the, I mean the skiers behind them, I mean that's, that's pretty brutal. Some of it, I mean holy crap, it's not a natural thing that horses do? No, you don't. And you think of skiing, they think they think of telluride and maybe cross-country stuff. But being pulled at full throttle behind a horse and then navigating obstacles on top of that, the spectator value for that is just huge.
Speaker 3:It's electric, it's a big deal. Lots of horse folks are realizing that it's another avenue in which they can compete within the horse world. It's different, it's fast paced, it's exciting. You obviously people dress up for it, spectator and rider. But really, like I, just get such a thrill out of it because it's, like I said, just another, just another sport that showcases how athletic horses are. But ski drawing also requires a huge element of horsemanship because there's so many things outside of your horse's normal elements. Considering we go to fairgrounds like leadville, you're running down main street where there's traffic lights and 3 000 people screaming announcers, pyrotechnics, you name it and these horses are so tolerant and brave. That's what I admire most about the horse that I ski drawer. She is so brave but heaven forbid, we do see a rock somewhere that she isn't familiar with.
Speaker 2:This is ridiculous yeah, so now you're, do you use a special pony for for the ski during, or do you use one of your ranch horses?
Speaker 3:She is a working ranch horse but I think she prefers to run and you can't run cows over. That's not a successful way of running an operation. So I've kind of curated her life to be a little more focused around winter so she gets time off during the summer but she still competes or completes ranch activities, um, like moving. She's really good horse to check fence on quickly, but you have to meticulously look at your lines of fence, uh, so you don't miss anything. But I do run a horse. Her name is echo. She's part thoroughbred, part warm blood. She's a big horse. She generates a lot of power, she's really fast and she's got such a big heart. I mean, and I admire her bravery and she's just very graceful and she's badass horse. I don't have another way of explaining that other than she's taking care of me and she's brave and so badass. I love her so much.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, what a connection you have with your ponies. And you and I had talked off mic a little bit that I inadvertently shot two of your ponies. It was funny. I was out. I like to go out sometimes after work and just get out and shoot in the ranch country because it calms me down and I love it. And to give our listeners a little feedback on this, a couple of weeks ago I was out in the Cimarron shooting and these two ponies were very curious about who I was and they were super friendly and so I shot some pictures of them and they followed me up and down the fence line and I thought you know, these are are working, working horses. These are not just pasture decorations. They're smart and they're curious, which are two traits you want in a horse. And come to behold, they ended up being Katie's horses. And uh, I was impressed by that. And and uh, they're. They're both ranch horses, correct? That work for you on the ranch.
Speaker 3:Yes, it was. It's just funny. Funny. You asked me kind of in the preliminary questions before we did this podcast. You're like, what are you looking for when you're training horses? And I think that's uh, just a general interest in humans. Yeah, um, they have to want to trust you and you have to create an environment for them to trust you. And I think horses that have been handled appropriately and uh, graciously and just correctly is that they're curious about interacting with humans, which is why my horses came and saw you at the fence. Um, I think also sometimes it is related to food. They know that, uh, humans usually feed them, but they have, obviously, as know, they have a huge area in which they can roam and just mind their own business, but they chose to come and see you. So I think that that's that is just a testament to their training and their handling.
Speaker 3:Really so when they interact with humans every day. They're like I'm going to go see another human.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and for a lot of ranch horses they won't come near you unless you've got a grain bucket to catch them. And and these two were just like who are you? I want to know who you are. And I thought that was just super impressive. And you know, you touched on something with the ski during ponies, the thoroughbred aspect, and I had a my, my personal ranch horse when I worked. There was a thoroughbred that I had trained and and they're great. You know they're great animals. But you know, usually the only thing they know how to do is run fast and make left hand turns. And what? What do you like most about your, your ski joring pony, having that thoroughbred aspect about it? I mean, you said it's tall, what is it? 16 hands or?
Speaker 3:She's 16, three.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:She's a big horse.
Speaker 2:That's a big horse.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she's a big horse. Uh, funny enough, the story of how I became her, her owner uh, translates to riding bucket horses, hilariously enough. Uh, she was a horse that her previous owner was having issues with. They weren't getting along and he ended up passing her around to a couple different people to try out. She bucked every single one of them off and Mike said to me if you can ride her, if you can, if she tries to buck you off, you ride her, she's yours. That actually ended up happening.
Speaker 3:She did try and buck me off at a ski drawing event in downtown leadville. I have this funny picture. Uh, it's a cool picture, but she's just reared up and she's bucking in the middle of leadville and she did that. I had anticipated she was going to do that, but she took off at mock 11 and then just broke in half and started bucking and I the crowd was going wild. It was the most hilarious thing. I was frustrated, but I just spun around in circle. She stood, she started doing the signs that you'd say a horse is understanding what's going on. She was licking and chewing and then we walked back to the start line and I grabbed my skier again and and we went down successfully without any other problems and she has never offered a buck since.
Speaker 3:She did have some health problems that I had to sort out, but after that, I mean she's just in your pocket and I think she was just trying to tell someone that she needed help, but no one was really willing to listen. But I thought it was just hilarious that she was deemed dangerous and crazy and hard to deal with Some of the characteristics that I guess ex-husbands describe their wives and I was like I'll take her. She sounds perfect for me and she has been, and she's a very intelligent horse and I think she just needed a second chance and it worked out. I think she just needed a second chance and it worked out. And I think when it comes to ski drawing, it's something she loves to do because I've never had to kick that horse.
Speaker 3:Once we get on the track, it's we're just in the zone and she's like I know where I'm going to put my feet, I know how fast we're going. And I'll tell you this I don't travel around and ski drawing typically to be successful, like webers, I will say they travel around with uh, skiers, so they see you usually the same skiers at the same events and that's how you get better as a team, right? That's your practice. Echo and I went to five ski drawing events in the 2024 season.
Speaker 3:I didn't pull a single person twice and we were in the pay window for four out of five races wow and to say that about a horse and rider is really unheard of, because it really just comes down to consistency for her. I've had skiers tell me she is a consistent pull, she doesn't break her cadence, she doesn't break her stride anything. She's consistent through and through. But I do have to give myself some credit because I am riding her. But I do think if I weren't on her she would just take off without me. She loves ski touring and she's such a photogenic horse she's always, always in photo-ready mode. So I really appreciate her personality and her willingness, her try, her bravery and her big heart. I can't say enough good things about that horse, appreciate her, her personality and her willingness, her try, her bravery and her big heart. I just I can't say enough good things about that horse yeah, that's, you know.
Speaker 2:You touched on a couple things that I I think people don't really understand about ponies is that, uh, they have to trust you, they have to believe in you and they will, they will tell, throw temper tantrums to for sure to test you or tell you something that needs to be investigated something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. Um one of the sayings I'll never forget. A local cowboy, jim blankmeyer, used to tell me um a buck, uh, a running horse can't buck and. And so when you know, the ponies have been tied up or they've been in the pasture for a while, and then it's time for them to work. A lot of times we would gig them and make them run up or yeah, it's flat out sprint to get their attention and can you tell us a little bit about?
Speaker 2:I mean? We know why, but the listeners may not. Why do you spin a horse in a circle um?
Speaker 3:Well, I think if you're talking about untracking a horse before you get on it, I have one horse in particular that's a little younger he's seven. I wouldn't say he's super young, but when he was started was a little later in his life than most people tend to start colts. I have to consistently kind of untrack him, which means I have to make him one my body language on the ground, pay attention to me. He knows what I'm asking.
Speaker 3:And when you're untracking a horse, you're watching their back legs cross over one another and they're engaging their hindquarters to move away from you, and that really helps relax the muscles in their back.
Speaker 3:So typically, if you're talking about a horse that's been turned out for a while or horse you haven't ridden consistently, they get a little cold backed and when you just go and throw a saddle over some of them, they're not really okay with that because it's like asking you to go from couch to the turkey trot. Well, your back or your hamstrings are not going to feel all that great and if you don't use those muscles one, you'll lose them or something's going to happen to them. So, not that Nacho isn't ridden consistently, but he just needs to be a little more mindful when we start our work for the day, whether that's a long day or whether I have to go and check fence for 30, 45 minutes, but untracking a horse, kind of just getting him to move and follow my cues, and stuff like that, whether it's in a round pen, whether it's right next to the trailer before I need to swing a leg over them it's really kind of just a way for people to establish an agenda for what we're about to do, because riding horses isn't I ride, you and you submit. It's a partnership, it's an agreement, and you have to set them up for success, because you can't punish them for something for a mistake that you made, communicating with them and that's all.
Speaker 3:If you understand that you can. You can build on that for the rest of your life with horsemanship. But if you don't understand those principles, you're not going to go very far and I think a lot of people lack that when it comes to training horses or being around horses. It's not dominance, it's partnership.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and you definitely have to understand their language and they definitely communicate with you with that language. You read it, you know what's going on with that pony, which kind of leads into the next you do some apprenticing with a farrier and you do horse training correct, yes, yes, and do you do training and farrying for other people, or is this something you're learning and where are you at with this in your career?
Speaker 3:I've trained horses since I was a teenager, in high school, I mean, my family didn't really have an abundance of funds to pour into horses for me, have an abundance of funds to pour into horses for me. But I really appreciate that because I think built, not bought, is some of the best ways to accomplish your goals, whether you know that's personal growth or or horses. I think also just the aspect of storytelling is way more valuable when you build a horse from the ground up and you grow with them. Um, but yes, I do, I do some training for some people. Uh, it's a variety of things. I've put 90 days on colts before I've done tune-ups. I've helped season some ranch horses and just return horses in a better condition than they came to me. So whether that means a new skill that they've acquired or just becoming a little more of a comfortable mount for someone that's not as confident as I am riding horses, I've had a couple old ladies that have reached out to me and they're like I just want to feel more confident about my horse, so can you put some more miles on him? And I've done that. So it hasn't been something I've totally fully pursued. It's more of something I'm just passionate about and I love making an impact on horses because they've made such an impact on my life, which translates to the farrier apprenticeship.
Speaker 3:It's an extremely humbling occupation that is such hard work and, with the rising costs of everything in the world, I think it's important that horse owners get under their horse every once in a while and understand the kind of work that these people are doing, because their price does not fully reflect what they're worth, and a good farrier is worth. It is priceless to your horse, to your horse. So I have, you know, traveled around so much and been in different aspects of the horse world, where barrier practices in one region of the country might not be popular in another region. But I I am fortunate enough to learn from one of the best farriers, I arguably have to say, in the West, because she studied under one of the best in the West, and I think the female aspect is also super cool because it's a male dominated field. I think that it's it's manual labor, it's it's a blue collar job, but I think it's, uh, it's really rewarding, it's a respectable profession.
Speaker 3:And I've just been curious. I mean, the more you learn about the horse, the better horseman, horsewoman you're going to be. So getting under horses, uh it. It's helped improve my horsemanship, which can just never there's no ceiling on that but also helping the horse like it's a, it's an occupation that you can make an impact with people's lives and horses lives. I've seen Rebecca take horses that were lamininic and foundering and just crippled and within a couple cycles I'd say maybe a year or less sometimes it depends on the case she has completely transformed these horses' lives, which is amazing and I think it's just.
Speaker 3:I really admire her. She's a huge role model for me and I really respect her.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's amazing and that aspect of horse care is vital to their health. I mean, who has horse care? And spotting any potential joint issues or arthritis or things that may hinder that horse down the road, you can kind of get ahead of the curve and address it early. Is that what you found?
Speaker 3:Oh yes, and besides nutrition, I mean if you look at I mean look at how we build our house houses If you don't have a good foundation underneath everything, things fall apart, and that's so essential to horses and horse care I mean it also. It's really fun. I'm a nerd when it comes to science and math. It's so visually, aesthetically pleasing as well Farrier work and there's a lot of angles and involved with it. So it is a math, it's. It's really cool to see, but, like I said, it's just the foundation up is really important.
Speaker 3:So when I got into ski drawing and I wanted to understand how to improve my horse's performance with shooing, I got in contact with Rebecca and she has a performance horse background, she's a barrel racer and I really understood where the physics of horseshoeing comes in, because when you put something on their feet, it can change how they perform. It's like rocket science, essentially. So this is the rocket science of the horse world, if you ask me, and it gets deeper and deeper and I just keep getting more excited to learn more things and obviously become a more experienced horse person. It's also going to be really vital if I were to go somewhere where I don't have access to a good farrier or something and I can take over some of my own farrier work for my own horses, yeah, especially.
Speaker 2:you know it's it's kind of it's not an everyday occurrence, but it does happen that a horse will throw a shoe. Oh, yes, especially when you're out working, and that can end the day, oh for sure, especially if you don't know how to handle that. And that's so important. Which kind of moves into the other aspect you have in your quiver? And I got to admit, this is impressive as hell. Katie, you're a ranch hand, correct?
Speaker 2:Yes, katie, you're a ranch hand, correct, and we have a policy here that we don't mention the ranches that we work with, for a lot of good reasons. But tell us a little bit about what your duties are at the ranch and how you see that benefiting everything else that you do outside the ranch.
Speaker 3:Sure, I help out with the normal activities of an operation so that, you know, really goes anywhere from pasture management, fencing, irrigating, to the cattle side of the operation, which is weaning, shipping, doctoring, branding, moving cows. And it's a really rewarding thing to work in agriculture. I think agriculture is obviously an ancient practice but, like you mentioned earlier, preserving the West and preserving agriculture in general is something that we're going to have to make more of an effort to do, as our world has seen a trend of people leaving that field of work. I got a college degree in science and although my passion is in horses and stuff, it translates to agriculture because a lot of the low stress cattle work we do is on horseback and my horsemanship skills obviously translate to the ranch horses and thus working cows, because they're not that different from horses. I mean, they're less reactive, I'd say. But if you can read a horse, you can read a cow, vice versa. So it's my duties span from keeping the ranch horses legged up to irrigating, welding, some welding, mild welding I am not a welder, but ranch welding will. Ranch welding, we'll get the job done until somebody, until it breaks and you have to weld it again.
Speaker 3:You're like, oh, should have done that better, but uh, yeah, it keeps. There's not a day that's the same. Although you might have the same responsibilities, no day is the same and animals also don't take a day off, so that means somebody else has to come in and fill my roles and responsibilities. And it's a ranching goes beyond just an occupation. It is a community which I really love because in I think when I graduated college, I wasn't enthused to enter the nine to five workplace and get involved with corporate America because it just I knew something was wrong. I just didn't know what it was and I confused what I was good at for, what I should have been doing. And if it took me three years to get there and figure out that I'm the happiest I've ever been, then so be it which has come with a lot of experiences and a lot of life lessons and just awesome places and people that I've been and met.
Speaker 2:Yeah, You're so smart for that, Katie, because I think it takes a lot of people a lifetime to even recognize or figure that out. And you're a young go-getter and for you to figure that out so early in your life is impressive. It really is. And you've got so many things in your quiver that you do. How do you balance it all? I mean, you've got the rodeo, you've got ski touring, you've got ranching, you've got ferry or you've got horse training. You've got a lot going on. How do you balance it all? And where do you see yourself in five years? Is there a certain part of it that you would like to excel at and have it be the forefront of who you're known for? Or where do you see yourself?
Speaker 3:no-transcript and the world was like what do we do? How do we go back to being normal? And I think there was a choice in front of me that was like I can go down the path that society expects me to go towards with my upbringing, my education, everything or I can take a step back, go and visit my godparents in Colorado, read a newspaper article for a horse job with housing and the Telluride Daily Planet, and then, on a whim, decide to interview, accept the job, move to Telluride two weeks later, not knowing anyone really, and just that's the timeline and trajectory. I chose to put my life on and I wouldn't change a single thing. Um, like I said, I think that with the balance just comes being um, authentic about who you are, and I think that that's always remained true, especially after college. So I really focus on what I love to do and I figure it out.
Speaker 3:I think that my parents told me no at times, but one thing they also instilled in me was you have to believe in yourself. You have to like almost to the point of delusionally believe that you can do anything, and that is what I've done, which I know sounds so simple, but it is so revolutionary in your life If you really do just wake up every day and go. This is what I want to do. I'm going to do it and there might be powers that be that try and redirect me, but I, like I said, I think you can do it. You just have to set your mind to it and believe in yourself wholeheartedly. And in the next five years I I don't think I see myself as much as I feel myself just continuing to grow and trust myself even more to make the right decisions for my life and yeah, that's super important.
Speaker 2:You're never really done growing and I think that attitude that you have is what keeps us all young, you know, which then translates into the physical aspect of it. And yes, and I've got a daughter that's a junior in college back east and you know she's looking at that next step and I and I'm telling her and this is from experience that I made the mistake on is you know, don't waste time. You know, put yourself where you want to be and then figure it out from there. As you get older, it gets harder and harder and harder, and I commend you for having that vision ahead of time to be able to do that, because not a lot of people see that.
Speaker 2:And I think there's a fear of the unknown. You know they say that the two fears that people are born with are the fear of loss of support, being having a chair knocked out from on you and the fear of the unknown. And for you to tackle that at your age is super commendable. And you know, that kind of leads to my next question. You're in your A county, you're a county local and we are better as a county for having you. What do you love the most about being in Uray County. I mean, you mentioned Telluride at first and Telluride is super well-known and there's it's got a ranching background and one of the most prolific cowboys in Telluride's history, rowdy who used to ride his horse into the new Sheridan and pull up to the bar.
Speaker 2:I mean, this is rowdy from the 70s. And now you're over here in Ouray County and we all love it. But what parts of the county do you love about it, in reflection to what you do now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think I love the history of the land. It's so rich in history, whether you look at mining history, subtlety, or the native history that we have in Uray, specific to the Ute, the Ute tribe. So I'm I, if you, if you love where you live, you'll learn about where you live and you'll love. You'll learn to love it more. And having to ranch land and work in agriculture, you have a better understanding for the land because of your occupation. So I really love the landscape of this area. I mean, who you know who doesn't love the mountains? I think we're incredibly spoiled with the topography of the land and landscapes, uh, but I really love that we get so much sunshine. I know that sounds funny, but when I first moved to the area I learned how many annual days of sunshine that we get and I think it is the.
Speaker 3:I think we're really spoiled. It is a sweet spot of Colorado and the southwest because we get beautiful mountains that are so great and so big but we also get an annual snowfall that kind of just keeps us sustained with water and resources and stuff like that. But the sun and the heat are also good too. We have some dry spells that I'm really thankful for when I need to go to town and we don't have massive snow drifts in the roads. So I think we're incredibly spoiled with this little paradise that is Youray County, and the surrounding areas are beautiful as well. The surrounding areas are beautiful as well, but Ouray County, I think, feels the most like home for me because I have a background living in a farm community back in Tennessee. So, with that much emphasis on being a community that supports agriculture and really promotes the growth of agriculture, it's a perfect place to be for me, and I can only hope that more people will want to take care of it and preserve what we have, whether that be through land trusts or conservation efforts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right. And for the listeners out there that may not know this, southwest Colorado averages 300 days a year of sunshine and that's second only to Hawaii and we have more than than Florida, which I don't think a lot of people realize. And then you know, you get into some of the traditional ranching company country excuse me, up in Wyoming and Montana, and they'll see winter temps that dip down to 30 below zero and that's just unheard of for us here, and we do get a lot of the snow. We do get a lot of the snow. We're semi-arid in here, being so close to the desert, and it's really an amazing thing which leads to the water aspect that you were talking about, which is so important for the ranching community where I think, if I remember right, one head of cattle needs about 20 acres out here of grazing.
Speaker 3:About.
Speaker 2:so yes, yeah, which is a lot different than if you go down to, like, guthrie, texas, where that one head of cattle may need 100 or 150 acres simply because they just don't have enough to eat. And it really is why I think Ouray County is so strong in ranches and we have more cows than we have people, and I think that's just a wonderful thing. You know, katie, you remind me. You know your Ray County has been founded by a lot of strong women and Marie Scott is one of them that I don't know if you're familiar with her and her story, but you know your Ray County has a long history of strong women in here and you're definitely adding to that history and we appreciate that of you. So what rodeos do you have coming up next for next season and I'm sure you're already planning for that and what are you going to be involved in this winter in ski during?
Speaker 3:yeah, I'm excited for everything that's to come, whether that's rodeo or ski during, which is I know people would laugh, but I call it my winter rodeo season. I'm a big fan of traveling within the state of Colorado. Kind of presents some challenges at times, but, uh, with the roads and such, but everybody works their hardest to keep our roads open and keep our roads safe. Uh, but I'll be going to Ridgeway, of course, uh, pagosa Springs, silverton and Leadville, uh, uh, leadville's an incredibly special one, yeah, because of the. I mean walk through the streets or the side streets or park anywhere the town shows up to support us and just witness the incredible sport of ski drawing. So I'm really excited to go back there and then for rodeo, which will coincide, uh, with ski drawing at times.
Speaker 3:I'm looking at going back to California, hopefully back to Cheyenne, and I will be going to a special New Year's Eve rodeo up in Watford City, north Dakota. So I have to go very far north for this rodeo, but it's a very special one. It's a. It's a women's ranch bronc riding, fully sanctioned event. I went last year and had a blast. There's some serious money and you know, of course I get to hang out with my girlfriends and ring in the new year.
Speaker 3:So next year I can only expect to do um the same events that I'm so, uh fond of, which would be days of 76 and Deadwood, south Dakota, cheyenne, frontier days and, uh, hopefully more to come. I mean, I I really look forward to going back to Steamboat Springs. Their pro rodeo series has us as a contracted event and I have such a blast every time I go to Steamboat Springs. That is, they have such a big crowd for such a small rodeo and it really feels like you're at home when you're at this rodeo. The crowd is phenomenal and they really want to engage with the rodeo contestants too. We've done some autograph signings for like little cowgirls and cowboys, and it's fun to interact with the community and hopefully inspire another generation that will come along and be competitors in rodeo and keep the sport alive, which really coincides with the Western way of life, and it also translates to keeping ranching and agriculture alive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely. And for the listeners out there that are going to be curious after listening to this, we will be at URA Magazine following Katie throughout winter and we'll have some of her ski-juring pictures to share with you and what she's going to be getting into next summer as well. And this podcast is going to become an article for the first issue of your A Magazine, due out in April, and you'll get to read a little bit more about Katie and what she's involved in, and we'll have her contact information as far as her social media goes on the Splash page so you can follow along Katie. Last time I think I looked, you had close to 7,000 followers and action-packed. You've run a great Instagram page and social media and really bring people engaging in what you do, and that's impressive.
Speaker 3:Thanks, yeah, anyone can get ahold of me. I frequently check my messages because, it's you know, the world is so big and wide, but thankfully we have these tiny little computers in our hands that can connect us with anywhere, any place in the world, at any time. So if anybody wanted to get a hold of me and start any kind of conversation about anything, I'm up for it, and just give me a shout.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exciting. Well, we've been chatting for about an hour, which is about where we like to make this, and so we're going to wrap this up up and and we can't thank you enough, katie, for sharing a little bit about what you do and who you are, so that that people can hopefully get inspired by what you do and come out and see you, um in in everything that you do at the, at the ski, during event this, this winter, which will be I just paid a put, I think it's the week january 11th and 12th yes, yes, yeah actually it's the 10th to the 12th, pardon me yeah, you're correct.
Speaker 3:Three days this year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's always such a great event in Ridgeway and we've got some information on the website about that upcoming and you'll be able to see Katie there. So we want to thank everybody for listening to the Uray County Lions podcast with your host, marcus Van Meter, and our special guest, katie Coker your host, marcus Van Meter and our special guest, katie Coker and it's been a great discussion and we look forward to doing some follow-ups on what Katie's getting into later in the year. So thanks for listening and we'll catch you next time on the Local Series podcast.
Speaker 1:You have been listening to the County Lines Local Series podcast, a show that focuses on the human condition within the Uray County Lines.