Garrison Allen

Full episode transcript, auto-generated from the audio and lightly formatted (verbatim, not edited).

Shang underne Yeah. The sticktick of the rodeo. The rodeo announcer. Actually, that's funny that we were uh the idea of like somebody stopping you and be like, "Hey, sing something for us."

Yeah. Uh, do the people just go like what do they say to you? Well, usually it's like airports a lot. I get it.

Or like if we're just hanging out or I know somebody and they like, "Hey, this is Garrison. He's a rodeo announcer and stuff." They're like, "Oh, let me hear your rodeo announcer voice." Like you're hearing it right now.

Like I mean it always sounds more projected. You know how it is when like when you're singing it's more projected on a microphone or whatever. Something's exciting. You're getting excited.

But like it's just like and I finally have gotten to the point where I tell people you got to pay for that. Like I don't do that for free. Like, and then they laugh and then they walk away and then you're like, "That's annoying." Like, I know Flint cuz you had him on and Flint always gets, "Hey clown, tell me a joke."

Hey clown. I know, right? Isn't that crazy? So, dance monkey.

Dance monkey. Yeah. You're like the little monkey with the symbols, right? Banging them together.

Yeah. That's hilarious. Yeah. Do you think the rodeo announcer voice has changed a little bit with like the newer generation?

Yeah. I think there's like waves that went in, right? So like when it first kind of started and I mean way before my time but like I think of like uh even Hadley Barrett was like that uh Phil Gardner um uh Sai Talon like there's like those old school guys that were really prim and proper on sounding on the mic you know and it was like it wasn't a lot of like emotion and like getting into it and stuff like that. Like the rodeo announcer just kind of was like straightforward this what you say every single time you know all that stuff.

And then came a guy from Winnamaka, Nevada with long hair, pants tucked into his boots, spurs on, whether he was a horseback or not. And it was Bob Tolman. And he was like changed everything. Like I mean, we were talking about Flint, like I think Flint changed the clowning industry.

Bob Tolman revolutionized it. And he got the like the pay to where it need, you know, like he's like, "This is the standard. This is what we're doing. Like we're getting paid for this."

About what year did Bob come on the scene? So, he's been doing it for 55 years now. I think he's had his PRCA card for 60 years. So, I mean, this would have been early 70s, I would say, is when he like first kind of came around and really started like going hard.

Do you do you know Bob pretty well? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, really?

So, here's a funny story, and I don't mind telling this on the podcast because it's way past the point, but Randy Kley, who used to announce the NFR for year, he's done it 24 times or 22 times, something like that, but Randy Kley um brought me up when I was 18 years old, 19 years old, brought me up on the in Deadwood, South Dakota on the announcer stand and said, "Hey, you're just going to read some sponsors. Like, I want to kind of get you introduced to the committee and to the fans and all this stuff." Yeah. And I'm like 19 years old.

I'm like, "Hey guys, how are you?" You know, like I didn't even hit puberty yet. I still haven't, but when I do, it'll be sweet. Um, they're dead wood.

But you have to have a PRCA card to announce during a rodeo. So, it's out on the Cowboy channel at that point and all this stuff. So, another announcer had called into the PRCA office, said, "Hey, this kid doesn't have his card." And so, Oh, yeah.

So, they were wanting to find me $2,500. And at that time, I didn't have $2,500 to my name. And they wanted to find Deadwood. I think it was like five grand or something like that.

Yeah. The rodeo. So anyways, the CEO, that's just cuz some other announcer Yeah. got salty about it.

So the CEO of the PRCA at that time calls Tolman and says, "Hey, do you know this kid, Garrison?" And he goes, "I wish I could do his voice, but I can't." He goes, "Know him? I was there at conception?

What do you mean know him?" I was like, "Oh my god." But yeah, so my dad and Bob have been friends literally since the early 70s and like best friends. And he was cheering him on.

Yeah, that's when I first picked up a microphone was with Bob Tolman. Actually, you because you had John Franen on Yeah. Powder River. Yeah.

Plains, Montana. I was 19 years old. I went to shadow Bob Tolman and watch what he did on the announce stand and he throws me a microphone says, "All right, go ahead and go." I just started talking.

I didn't work Powder River rodeo for a while. And then Lori and Hank and John and all them called me later. And yeah, I do work one for them. But yeah, which one?

I work Grace, Idaho, the Caribou County Fair and Rodeo. Yeah, man. It's actually really kind of a cool rodeo. It's not on the Cowboy channel.

It's a little small town and I think I like those almost better than like going to bigger cities or towns and stuff like how come? Cuz everybody's into it. like everybody knows everybody like and when there's local people up like you say Joe Smith from Grace Idaho they go nuts and it's just a great vibe like and I don't mean this is probably the rodeo announcer in me but like you want to talk about true America like go to a small town fair and go to their rodeo why do you say that's the rodeo announcer in you because like that's what we always say like this is what America's made of you know all this stuff you know but like go to a small town fair and rodeo and just go experience. Everybody comes to it.

Whether it's the 4H sale, whether it's their parade, whether it's the rodeo, whether it's the carnival, like dude, they just they you really see that community come together. And I think that's the coolest part. No question. Yeah.

Yeah. Like any rodeo you go to, they're going to pray. They're going to do the national anthem. Yeah, I at uh the forward stock show, I remember years ago there was like there was I feel like there was there was a little bit of drama that got stirred up because I want to say one year they either talked about it or they actually did it.

They were like going to do some sort of uh I'm not even like saying this to be disrespectful, but like and I don't even know if I'm saying it right, but like some sort of like Muslim prayer or something like that. I thought they talked about doing something like that and then they didn't or whatever. And uh they ended up doing like just like a regular prayer and I remember walking around the outside of uh you know, I don't even know what you call it like in the forer or something like that. Yeah.

And like some of the people that worked there, you know, there was a bunch of people milling around and like right when the prayer started like everybody stopped. Yeah. It was almost like you just clicked the pause button, right? Everybody stopped and took their hats off and you and you like saw there were some people working there and you saw them like I kind of had my eyes open looking at them and they were looking around like because they work all sorts of events there and stuff and they were looking around like what is going on?

Yeah. And I talked to a couple of them they were like I've never seen anything like that in my life. It's so cool. Yeah.

That's the epitome of it. Yeah. I mean, you know, as a sing like it's just I don't know what the Muslim prayer had to do with that but Yeah. I don't know.

Yeah. But I thought I just put that out there. Just throwing it out there. But no, it I mean it's probably like one of the only sports still that prays before each performance and sings the national anthem.

I mean a lot of sports will sing the national anthem, but there isn't a single person that doesn't have their hat off for gentlemen and you know the ladies all stop and like everybody stops what they're doing. Even like I'm doing the watch party at the South Point right now and we just got on TV screens and people stand and take remove cover you know. Oh yeah. I mean that's cool too.

Totally. Like it's just awesome. But yeah. Yeah, man.

So, uh Bob, you talk to Bob like how much? Man, it depends on the time of year, but I probably talk to him once a day. Oh, that frequently. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. Y'all are homies. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, dude. That's crazy. Yeah. We get I've announced a few rodeos with him.

Um I do the watch party at the Reno Rodeo and him and Wayne Brooks announce it and so I get to go there for 10 days at the Reno Rodeo with him. And then we do Rodeo Billings, Billings, Montana. And then we do the Badland Circuit finals in May not North Dakota. And so uh yeah, I mean I talk to him all the time, man.

And it's not just rodeo stuff. Like that's the best part is we can talk about anything. And the guy has so many stories and the guy is so smart in how he treats people. So I think there is nobody I've ever met in my entire life that whether you are work the front desk at a hotel, whether you're security, a janitor, or you're you own the hotel, he will make you feel like you've known him forever and he will remember your name.

He can come back in three years and he'll remember your name and where you're from and all that stuff. No way. Yeah. At 78 years old.

Still? Yeah. Still to this day. Have you ever asked him about that?

Yeah. I've asked him. I said, "How do you do that?" And he's like, "I've always had that trait.

Like, I've just always been able to remember names and all this stuff." And Oh, he's autistic. Yeah. Pretty simple.

No kidding. Yeah. I'm just kidding. One thing that he does, and it's a trick that I never even thought of, like when he meets somebody and gets a phone number or whatever, he puts So, like he meets you, put Jared Morris in there, and then he'll put your wife's name at the bottom so he'll always remember.

Slick. Yeah. He'll always remember your wife's name. I mean, it would suck if you got divorced because he'll remember your ex-wife's name if you got remarried.

But yeah, you know, that's not always a terrible thing. No, keeping people, you know, keeping people honest. Huh. Bob's going to remember.

But like to his character, I'm 28 years old. Um, he has called my mother on Mother's Day for the last 28 years just to say happy Mother's Day. Like, and he didn't have to. Wow.

Like, just things like that. Like, and he does that for several different people. Like really that's how great of a person he is. I mean obviously he's a legend in rodeo announcing the rodeo world he's a living legend like all that stuff but like him as a person is incredible.

So you try to pick up on some of that? I mean yeah absolutely. I think one thing that like he's taught me more than anything is just being real with people being authentic like being you. But also like there's more to life than winning the awards, more to life than rodeo, more to life than music, more to life.

I mean, it's all about the relationships and the people that we get to meet. And um how you treat people is how they'll remember you. And so that's what I love about him the most. I love being around people and watching how they uh you know, I guess treat the least of those in the room, if that's what you want to call it, right?

like the person picking up the trash or whatever, you know, I like to watch and see how that interaction goes. Absolutely. That means a lot to me. I totally agree.

Like because you can tell when people either don't care about them or, you know, they're it's just caring about humans in general. Like people don't Yeah, I understand some people might have a little bit more status. Uh and uh yeah, may you know, maybe you give somebody a little bit more attention, but everybody's got a general certain level of value. Absolutely.

But that comes from a spiritual perspective. I mean, not everybody comes from that perspective, right? You know, it very much so is like what you have to offer the world is what makes you important. And it's like, no, you being alive, I find that to be pretty important.

We're all equal, you know? I mean, we really are. We all put our pants on one leg at a time. I mean, it's everybody says that, but in a practical sense, on a day-to-day practical sense, Yeah.

it's tough. Yeah. And the I think the other thing too is like you never know you never know what's going on in that person's life whether they're rude to you at the gas station when you go and get you know a cup of coffee or you know you go to McDonald's and they're having a bad like I've always tried to be like man you just never know what's going on in that person's life like whether they were rude or not like and don't get me wrong there's times I'm frustrated like I'm like man that lady hates her job you know or that guy hates his job or whatever but like you never know what's going on in people's lives so if you Matt Merritt has a great quote like if you see somebody be nice to them. Like Yeah.

It's that simple. Be kind. Just be kind. Yeah.

I've started to do the one you know how like you always see people in uh like Yeah. Yeah. in bathrooms cleaning up whether it's a freaking gas station or a casino. They're just over there cleaning all the stuff up.

I've started to do it where I just like say like, "Hey, thanks for cleaning this place up." Yeah. And they're like look at me like what? I'm like, just thanks for like cleaning up after all of us [expletive] Yeah.

You know, like this is your job. You're in the stall and you can see the cart going around. Yeah, dude. Hey, man.

Thanks for cleaning. Horrible job. Yeah. And like I had somebody, it was on the way out here, whatever at a gas station.

I said it and he was like like it like it like really he was like, "Thank you so much for like saying that to me, you know?" Yeah. Not that I'm like that was like probably my one good deed for the year or so. Not that I do it every day or all the time.

Like no. Yeah. Don't get carried away. Yeah.

But no, it's just I think that's what I've learned most from him. I mean, what he does, like back to Tommo, like what he does with a microphone, nobody can ever do it. Like it's just he's so quick. He understands every event so well.

So like another thing and um Justin McKe and I have talked about this like back in the day when he was going when in the 70s 80s maybe early 90s but like the announcers clowns bull fighters all that stuff they traveled with the contestants you know like Bob would I mean he's told me stories he'd jump in with couple bron riders and they'd go down the road to the next rodeo you know now like when we go to rodeos yeah we see contestants but we're not with it. Like they're there and then they're gone. They're either on a plane or I mean they're out before we're even done with the rodeo, you know? They're gone.

They don't sit and hang out. Like Bob knows the when he grew up in the rodeo world, like the lingo and all that, how the Bron riders talk, you know what they're talking about, you know, all that different things. Like he lived it with them. And that's one thing that's way different nowadays is I mean I don't ever hang out with and nothing against tie-down ropers but I don't hang out with tie-down ropers you know like I might see one or two that I know and be like hey man good to see you like all that stuff but seems like they kind of keep to themselves a little bit everybody.

Yeah but like I never hang out with them. Like every once in a while you get a Bron Rider, they'll hang out and you know afterwards drink a beer with you or whatever. But um do they do they if you try to hang out with all them do a lot of the announcers kind of get shunned a little bit or something? I don't think so.

Um I always get it because I look like I'm 13 years old, you know, and I'm announcing the rodeo or whatever and so people like who's that guy, you know, or whatever. But and I'm really early into the rodeo world, you know. I've only been doing this full-time for about three years now, but I've only had my card for five years. So, I would say I'm not known, you know, as much.

And so, like, like if Bob or Randy or Wayne or Anthony Lucia or Garrett Jurgen if they come along like yeah, people know who they are, you know, and they're going to be, "Hey, Garrett, man, good to see you." Like they'll sit down. me I could walk by and be like is that guy like oh is she with the rodeo you know but no I don't think they would shun us like they just don't know you and I don't but they don't really like hang out I think there's a few rodeos Cheyenne Pendleton Ellensburg where like you know they're multiple rounds or whatever and they have to stay there and you know they're hanging out but um I don't announce any of those rodeos so like Deadwood South Dakota I go with Randy Corley him and I announce it like they don't really stick around So, we don't really hang out with them. Every once in a while, you'll get a guy that'll come to the trailers and drink a beer with you and hang out and whatnot, but yeah, that's my favorite part of rodeo, by the way.

Drink a beer. Well, yeah. Yeah. But the hanging out with like everybody else, the bull fighters, the clowns, the music directors, like dude, hands down my favorite part.

Yeah. Who's some of the most fun to hang with? Bull fighters are pretty fun, man. I hate to boost his ego, but Nate Justice from Wyoming.

Yeah. Nate Justice. B Sheets. Like, we hang out a lot, especially Deadwood cuz it's We're there for a whole week.

How cool is Deadwood, dude? Deadwood's the best. I haven't been. All right.

You want a backtory on Deadwood? Yeah. Let her rip. So, my dad is Oh, yeah.

Booger. You I don't even know if she's ever done that before. Booger. Uh Booger, what are you doing?

She's literally never done that before. What are you doing? Hey, come here. B, come here, booger.

You freaking goofball. What are you doing? So, Deadwood, my dad was born and raised in Deadwood. She hates Deadwood.

Really? I bet. Yeah. Sorry if we're talking about Deadwood, Booger.

Yeah, dumb. But my dad was born and raised in Deadwood. And at that time, it was obviously just a gold mining town. Well, my grandmother was the mayor of Deadwood when gambling got legalized in Deadwood.

So yeah, it was a dying town until the obviously the casinos and it came like a western Minne Vegas. Your grandmother? My grandmother. Yeah.

What? But so that could have only been what? It would have been in the '9s. Somewhere in the 90s.

That's when gambling got legalized. Yeah. Maybe. Yeah.

I think it was early 90s. Mid to early 90s. He's looking it up right now. Yeah, he's got us.

He's got us. But I So yeah, it was um once the gold mine shut down and then um there just wasn't people moving there. Like there was nothing there's really nothing to do there, you know? I mean there's not like big industry.

I mean you're close to Rapid City. It's where people could go, but you're still 45 minutes away, 30 minutes away from Rapid City. So my grandmother had an well and some other people had an idea of getting gambling legalized there. And you would be surprised how many people fought it.

They're like, "No, we can't do this. We're not going to do this." All this stuff because you can't gamble in the state of South Dakota unless you're on like the reservations. And so, um, it turned it around.

I remember riding in the parade at the Days of 76 in the parade with my grandmother as a little kid. And now, like I Your grandmother was the mayor? Yeah, she was the mayor. That's actually pretty wild, too, in a town like that for a woman to be the mayor, right?

Yeah. She was the first female mayor of Deadwood. Oh, [expletive] Yeah. What' your grandpa do?

He was so he worked for the telephone um company and it was AT&T bought it out and so actually when AT&T bought it he took an early retirement and got a huge pension. Like I think the benefits were unreal. Like I think he had 100% of their medical all paid for in this package and like all this stuff. When was it?

89. 89. Okay. I was close.

I was close. 1889. No. Yeah.

1789. 1789 when my grandmother was on the Mayflower. You do look good. Yeah, cuz she is old.

But so, and then I've announced the rodeo now for 5 years and it's just it's cool. Full circle. Like I still have my cousin still live in Deadwood and my uncle still lives in Deadwood and so yeah, it's I know. I got to you got to put a little uh You're going there though.

What do you mean? Or have you already been? Didn't you say you were going there? Uhuh.

I've never been. Okay, dude. Yeah, I got you. Put a little birdie in some people's ears, you know.

Well, my Well, Chansy plays up there. Buddy Chansy plays up there a bunch for a lot of that stuff. Chancy who? Never heard of him.

Yeah, I don't know. Chancy Williams. Yeah, I don't know anything about him. But anyways, gay country singer.

Oh, that's right. I forgot about that. Yeah, pretty uh you know, pretty niche crowd, especially Morcra, Wyoming. Especially Moroft, Wyoming.

But yeah, no, Deadwood's awesome. Such a cool town. I Yeah, I've never even actually been at all. Oh, really?

Yeah, man. You got to go. I look for I look at land up there all the time. Yeah.

There. And uh there's a little place in Oklahoma and then uh I got little pockets that I just I always look for land. Big difference between Deadwood in Oklahoma. I'm not gonna lie to you.

Well, uh yeah. And the biggest difference is it doesn't get freaking 40 below in the water. It's They get a lot of snow in Deadwood. Deadwood does stay cooler in the summer, doesn't it?

Than back east. Yeah. Gosh, dude. Yeah, cuz you Yeah.

You were talking about Miller, South Dakota when you played there. How My gosh. Yeah. I played this extreme Bulls event out there this summer.

And remember, it was like 105 or something. 110. It was so hot. And we and we did it uh you know, instead of playing in Texas, I went and played a lot of shows up north.

And I was just like, "What?" And it was humid, right? It was so hot. Side is very humid.

Like, yeah. And it gets so cold in the winter. Oh, yeah. And it gets that hot in the summer.

Granted, that was probably weird. It's probably not always that hot, right? Or is it pretty hot? It gets pretty hot in the summer.

I mean, I don't know. Like, so they b like worst of both worlds. Yeah, they get everything. Yeah.

Gosh. The worst part is I would say like we don't really have a fall. I feel like feel like we kind of end into the summer and then boom, it snows. So going up into December, it's not like that cold.

So I called my wife the other day and I've been in Vegas here for nine days. So I called my wife whatever five days ago and asked her was like, "What's like?" She It was 14 below the other day and started December. I'm like, "Oh, honey, it's 65 and sunny here."

Gosh. Yeah. So, but y'all are different, dude. You know, you get used to it.

Yeah. But it does suck. That transition period does really suck when you go come from the summertime and it's hot all the time and then you probably got like three weeks of fall maybe, you know, leaves change and then boom, it hits you and you know, dude, did you did you So Bob took you under his wing? Yeah.

Uh did you sense any weirdness maybe from like some other guys? Yeah, I would definitely say so. I think I got it a lot. I think no I notice it now kind of weaning out, you know, because um I got brought to the door in a in a complete non-traditional way.

You know, a lot of guys and I feel for a lot of guys, but like a lot of guys struggle. You know, they do amateur rodeos, high school, junior high, all that stuff. They announce that stuff. Then, you know, you kind of get into some um bigger amateur rodeos.

you might get some college rodeos. Um, down south the IP stuff like we don't have that. I grew up in Montana so like we had NRA which is our amateur association. I don't like the word use the word amateur but for people to understand and then you kind of work your way up.

You get your PRCA card and then you go to these smaller PRCA rodeos. You know that's how it's designed to be. I kind of got in a unique situation from my relationships with my dad is Bob Tolman and Randy Corley brought me to the door of some bigger stuff. I mean, I really did.

I'm not going to shy away from it. To me, though, it was more pressure to be there than, you know, struggling to do the small stuff first. I did a lot of small stuff, too. I didn't just go, "Yeah, hey, I want to announce and I'm at the PRCA rodeos."

You know, but for me it was more pressure because I had those names back in me and that was the reason I was there, you know. Tough Cooper always talks about like, do you know how much more pressure was on me to rope because my dad was Roy Cooper than people, you know? But yeah, there was a lot of there was a lot of guys probably that were um a little upset with it and um I understand it, but I've told people this before like what was I supposed to do? It's a lose-lose, bro.

Yeah. Like was I supposed to like Hey, they're like, "Hey, come to the Reno Rodeo, do the watch party." Yep. Be like, "No, I'm good."

I was talking to uh I got a I grew up in Decar. Yeah. So, um like NRS is there, you know? and uh the son of David Aisham that owns that whatever.

I grew up with him, played basketball with him and stuff like that. We were talking about it one time like uh and it's just like a bunch of people I talk especially like yeah like even like stock contractors and stuff where like a lot of that's just like family businesses and you take them over and people love to call out like I guess if you call it like nepotism but uh just because your family has something going on and you get opportunities like that's not inherently just nepotism that doesn't mean that you like don't work hard right? Yeah. you like had good fortune in a certain way, but it's a lose-lose because and this is what I was talking to Kate about was like if you ended up uh being super successful in the business that was like handed off to you and everybody says, "Oh, it was just handed to him, you know, you don't have to work for it."

If you end up being a freaking drug addict in the ditch, Yeah. then they're like, "Ah, he had everything. He had the world and he failed." It's like, "Wait, so if I succeed, you're gonna say I didn't work for it.

If I fail, you're going to say I'm a loser. Right. So, at some point, it's just like you just got to stay in your lane. Absolutely.

And I mean, just cuz you got brought to the door, you still have to walk through that door. So, I mean, you still And I mean, one thing that I'll toot my own horn a little bit like I every place that they brought me to, I at least went back for a second, third year to announce, you know? So, it wasn't like I was just getting there and then being like, "Oh, people are like, "Oh my gosh, that was terrible." like get out, you know?

And I'm not saying I'm good or anything, but like I still had to work my butt off for that rodeo and to keep that rodeo and to do all that right stuff. So, yeah, there was a lot of that. I mean, nobody ever said anything directly to me. They never will.

They never will. It's usually how shitalking is. 100%. But now, I think it's starting to kind of get away from that.

and I've made relationships with the other announcers and stuff and so it's starting to kind of get away from that. But everybody had somebody that helped them. I don't care who you are, what you are, whether they helped you a little bit, whether they helped you for everything. Like everybody had someone.

So mine just had happened to be Bob Tolman and Randy Kley, you know? I mean, like that's the thing. So, and I love them to death for it and I'll never take it for granted and I'll never like want to do it a different way. I those two are my heroes.

I mean, they're some of my best friends. Like, yeah, I can never thank them enough for what they've done. And I've told them both that and they just shake their head. Oh, whatever.

You're doing great yourself, you know? Yeah, whatever. But like I do seriously like I owe them everything for my announcing stuff and I'll never forget that. Yeah, man.

That's pretty cool. Uh where does your wife fit into all this? What she do? So my wife is uh she runs barrels.

She breakaway ropes. And then she also got her master's degree, which by the way, my wife has never had she's had one B in her life. All A's. She's super smart.

A badass. Yeah. I've had one B, but like to the southside with everything else. Like I that was it in school.

I went six years to college and never got a degree. So, um, she is a she got her master's degree in clinical mental health counseling. Oh, it's perfect for you. Yeah, I was her thesis statement and I just stuck around, man.

Like it was perfect. But so she works in where we live is right on right north of the border of Nebraska, Shatter, Nebraska. She works in Shatter, Nebraska as a counselor, uh, private practice counselor. Works with a few other ladies and stuff and sees a bunch of clients and, um, so she loves her job, man.

She's so good at it, too. And so, but she also she got the bug from her mom with the horses. Like my in-law side of the deal. Love horses.

Yeah. Who's her parent? My mother-in-law, my father-in-law is Grady Lockhart, who finished top in the world in the calf rope several times. My mother-in-law is Lisa Lockhart.

Yeah, the barrel racer. So, yeah. Yeah. Right to the very top.

Yeah. I don't I mean, you guys probably haven't heard of her. She runs barrels every once in a while. Like, she's okay.

No. Yeah. I've seen her bounce around at some jackpot. Yeah, she's a good jackpot.

Yeah. So, um yeah, the horse world is huge on my in-laws side of deal. And like I wasn't really brought up in the horse world. Like I was brought up in more the production side of things and rodeos and stuff like that.

So my dad put on rodeos and was involved in the sponsorships. You went like right to the top of the horses. Yeah. Dang, dude.

Yeah. So she It's interesting because I'm learning so much on the contestant side of things from them, but they're learning on the production side and the contract personnel side from me. Like they had no clue. Yo.

Yeah. Ain't that wild? It's so weird how separate everything is. It's fascinating.

So, yeah. It's cool though. Yeah. Uh, so does she still get to run barrels quite a bit?

My wife? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, she does.

She circuit rodeos in the Badland circuit and stuff. She'll go with her mom quite a bit. When her mom goes to like to the Northwest on that run and stuff, usually my wife stays home cuz she still works three days a week um in town and then online the rest of the time. So yeah, she doesn't get to go as much as she'd probably like to.

And I mean, I'm all for it, but whenever she wants to go, I was like, "Go do it. Go chase it if you want to." But um yeah, she gets to go with her mom quite a bit. And then my brother-in-law, Fain Lockart, he ropes calves.

And so um he lives he went to school in Weatherford, Weatherford College. And so yeah. Yeah, dude. What a family to marry into.

Oh yeah. It's wild. How long have y'all been married? We've been married a little over two years.

So September of 23 we got married. When was the last time Lisa won the So actually she's never won the world. How many go rounds she won? Oh my gosh.

A gazillion. Yeah. I don't even know. She's never won the world.

Three-time average winner. She's won the NFR three times. She's won the American three times, won Calgary a few times. She's qualified 19 years in a row to Las Vegas.

So since 2006, she has been here every single year. Man, that's crazy that she's never actually Yeah. finished second a couple times. Yeah.

Um but man, that shows you how hard it is, huh? It shows you how hard it is. I mean, one thing about her is would she like to win it? I'm sure she would, and I'm not going to speak for her, but like that's not like her end goal or anything.

Like she just loves horses so much. Like she just wants to keep making it and keep she loves to rodeo the process. Yeah. She loves that and ate up with that part of it.

And so, yeah, it's cool to be a part of it. And I think she's a class act through and through. Like, she just no drama. And she's very black and white.

Like, she'll tell you how it is. Trust me, I'm her son-in-law. Like, that's a pretty intimidating mother-in-law right there, dude. First time I met her.

Yeah. Oh my gosh. First time I met her, I remember coming over, I drove I was living in Bosezeman, Montana. I drove all the way to Oric, South Dakota, 9 hours, and we were going to, my wife and I were going to go to this wedding and my wife was in it and she's like, "Yeah, come stay at the house."

And I walk in and my father-in-law's coolest dude ever, like just chill. But like I was so nervous and I have like some people have the thing where if you're nervous, you don't talk. I have the thing if I if I'm nervous, I just keep talking and say too much. And so rodeo announcer.

Yeah. Come on. Yeah. But um they're the greatest people in the world.

Like I we live a mile away from them. We put a house down on their place a mile away. And I mean I hang out with my father-in-law every day. I see my mother-in-law when she's home every day.

And yeah, it's cool. Dude, I'm I've had a lot of people on this podcast and like I honestly might I would get nervous with her. Really? Oh yeah, for sure.

Dude, she's got such a cool story though. I mean growing up from she's just a farm girl from Circle Montana and then went and taught school and just I mean she'll tell you she just was a horse crazy girl and then just loved it. Yeah. Just love ate up with horses and Yeah.

It's crazy how and then I mean when she first made the NFR I mean she was it was later in her life. It wasn't like she was making it like Charmaine James at 15 years old you know or 13 years old. Like I mean it was later in her life and I mean she already had kids at that point. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. That's why my wife just loves her to death and their kind of story and trajectory is like relatively similar. She's just always like loved her.

Yeah, dude. It's cool. It's She's She is a badass. Yeah, I will say she is a badass.

Like to be 90 I mean, she's such a small little lady, 90 lbs, and like she is bad to the bone. Yeah. Packs a punch. She does.

And when she's mad, look out. Like she's never gotten mad at me. buckets. Yeah.

Oh, dude. But I mean, she travels pretty much by herself um throughout the year. I mean, every once in a while, her sister will go with, which her sister is just Lockwood's mom, and so she'll go with every once in a while. And um my father-in-law will go every once in a while, too, but most of the time she's by herself.

She puts on 70,000 miles, 60,000 miles a year on a pickup. She'll drive the wheels off of anything. They make them different. Oh yeah.

And then she'll get home. She'll get home from traveling all that much. And like if I got home from doing all that, like I want to sit on the couch and do nothing for a day, you know? No.

She'll get home 2:00 in the morning, she'll go out there and do the dishes or she'll, you know, clean up stuff. She'll be down in the barn cleaning stuff. I'm like, she never rests, which is just wild to me. She's wired so much different.

Yeah. Whoop my ass. Oh, any day of the week. I think you're tough.

I couldn't take you, but she'll whoop you any day of the week. Well, shoot. I just had that John Franen in yesterday, so Yeah. I mean, holy cow.

You shake that. You shake that hand. Yeah. I got small hands, too.

Like, that's the worst part, dude. Also, I was going to bring that up. Yeah. Yeah.

Small feet. I got my mom's hands and feet. Okay. It really sucks being seven and a half feet.

I hope that's the only appendage that Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Oh, that was good. I walked into that one. You did, too. I'm a little guy, you know.

I'm a little guy. I'm a little guy. You're not that little. I have a big heart.

You do. I have a huge heart, you know. That big small brain, but big heart. You're not that small.

No. Aren't you like six foot tall? Uh, yeah. Six 5'11 right in there.

Yeah. Oh, you're one of those? Yeah, I'm 51. So, you're like 5'9?

Yeah. Yeah, I'm 5'8. This is a very small chair. Dude, do you feel like there's more people trying to get into rodeo announcing right now than It seems like there's a fair I'm meeting like a fair amount of like young cats that seem like they're trying to get into it.

I think it's getting cooler. Like I would definitely say like there's probably like a shortage of clowns trying to do it, you know, and get into that. But I would say so I would say the rodeo announcing world is healthy. Like it really is.

When we go to we have meetings every year and they tell us how many people are applying, you know, how many guys have their cards. I think there's like 130ome that have their cards. There's like 90 that work at least one pro rodeo and then there's I think there's like 33 or 35 that work to be NFR eligible you have to work eight rodeos and 20 performances and so there's probably like 33 of us that are NFR eligible. Okay.

So I would say it's healthy. Yeah, absolutely. And um I would say it's probably one of it's a hard industry. it really is to get into and stuff like I mean that's where I was everything in this industry is tough to get into.

It is. It really is. But um it's not always you don't always get hired based on skill, you know, like you know Shad Mayfield, Riley Webb are going to win rodeos because they're the best, you know, and you might not just get a rodeo cuz you're the baddest cat to pick up a microphone, you know. No, you're way more in my world.

It's subjective how you make people feel. It's all about your I mean a lot of it's about your personality, you know, who you know, how well you can handle that interactions. Um, you know, how you present yourself and all that stuff, too. I mean, that's I would say 70% of it.

And there's probably some people that listen to this and be like, "Oh, this guy doesn't know." But it really is because at the end of the day like some guy everybody has their own style of announcing but at the end of the day we can all do the same job you know really like we can do the same job but there's a select few that know how to market themselves and know how to do that kind of thing. Yeah. I mean, if it's just purely like having information and being able to say it, like, you know, really, if I was to hand you my day sheet with all the notes on it, I mean, you could get up there and read it.

I just start high and fast and end low and slow. That's how I But you could I mean, you could sit there and read it. Anybody can read names and do all that stuff, you know, but it's the different how you kind of create the stories from it. And that's probably the hardest part that I've had to like I'm and I'm still trying to grow into that is like create the story lines from it.

And um that was probably really difficult. It's really hard because you don't have I don't you try to write it out or I do a lot of the stuff. Yes. Um just because I don't have that Bob Tolman brain that can just whether it's true or not and I don't mind him.

I'll tell it to his face. Whether it's true or not, he's going to tell this story, you know. That's what makes him so good though is every single person that bought a seat that's sitting in that, you know, Dicky's Arena at Fort Worth, they'll eat it up. They're like, "Oh my gosh, really?"

You know, he could tell you he could sell ice to an Eskimo. I mean, he just he has that gift. And I don't feel like I have that gift if I don't know what I'm talking about. Like, I really struggle to kind of make it up, you know?

Man, but as a person, that's a great quality. Yeah. Absolutely. That's why my wife loves me, you know?

Yeah. Yeah. But uh yeah, it is it is tough to I do write down a lot of the things that I am going to say. I really do.

And kind of I mean I have day sheets I make and stuff and you write it all down and get it all squared away. The toughest is like go back. You practice the stories. I think I think it through in my mind when I'm sitting down writing it like hey kind of where do you want to go?

Like I don't write word for word what I'm going to say but like how are you going to present this? And you don't have a lot of time. I mean, sometimes it's maybe a minute, you know, a minute and a half, but a lot of times you only have 15 to 45 seconds to get it out there. And how are you going to present that and also queue it up with the music that's going on to impactful to make it impactful and be like, man, that was badass, you know?

And one of my favorite announcers, I think, to ever do it. Bob Tolman to me is the GOAT hands down. But the second in my book is Brandon Bates who used to announce all the PBRs. He did PBR World Finals for man 20ome years.

Brandon Bates could make you think like when I remember when he announced Jess Lockwood when he was going to win his first world title. He made everybody in that arena feel like they were back in Vulberg, Montana growing up with Jess Lockwood. Is that on video? Oh, I'm sure.

I'll have to go watch that. Yeah. So he's he was able to How long you think like the story was, man? It wasn't long when I think about it.

15 20 seconds. Probably 30 30 40 seconds somewhere in there. That's impressive to But dude, he was so good at getting to it, but also like living in it with the music. The music makes everything.

I mean, yeah, when those music directors are playing, whether it was JB Mooney, Bad to the Bone, man, when that thing would when it would when I remember going to PBRs cuz my dad was involved with PBRs. I remember going there and you'd sit there and the announcers would, you know, get that other bull rider out. Hey, congratulations Cooper Davis, you know, 83 points, whatever. And then it would go silent for a second and go and that crowd would go nuts.

And that's all like they wouldn't even have to say anything. And I remember talking to Bates about it and he would be like, "What are you supposed to say that's going to get them more hyped than that already?" You know, because they already know the song. They know who's coming.

They know the black hat. Tough to follow. Yeah. So, like just don't say anything.

And like, man, that was that's some of the coolest moments I remember. I was there in Billings, Montana when JB and I can't remember which bull it was. And sorry, I'm not a huge bull guy. Like, but he rode a bull for like 93 91.

Like, dude, it was nuts. I actually No, it was Bushwhacker. Oh gosh. Yeah, he rode Bushwhacker in uh Billings, Montana.

I'm pretty sure. Don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure. But dude, it was so cool just because that crowd went freaking for him. Yeah, cuz I grew up in Bill, Montana.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Some of the great like PBR and I'm a I'm PRCA guy.

I do a couple PBRs, but like the when they associated a song with a writer, I thought it was so cool. And then like I remember when they go the cold as ice. Wait, what do you when they associated a song with a rider? So like they would it Oh, rider.

I got you. It'd be like UFC when they're walking out to a walkout song, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

Totally. Totally. And I thought you meant like writer. No, no, no, no.

My bad. My bad. I'm an idiot. When they had Cold as Ice playing and it was Kaiki Pacheo.

Yeah, dude. Like Yeah. I love that song just because of that. Like I love the best.

Yeah. So, I need I need to get you to start uh you working a couple miles. I got you working a couple. I got you.

But that to me like makes the whole moment like when that crowd is so into it and they associate that and they're eating up what you're saying and they're going nuts for the least amount you have to say and they're still going nuts is so cool to me. Yeah, I love that. Now, uh, at least the country world, and I mean really the country in general is obviously really gravitating towards the cowboy stuff. Yeah.

And the rodeo world, uh, within music, which is super exciting. It's really cool. And I And it typically, and, you know, it always comes around. It's like in cycles, you know, we're in a little bit of the urban cowboy thing, but even more so than that, I do think like rodeo is probably in like some real because videography is so more so much more accessible, right?

Um than like in the 80s or 90s, you know, it was like the only thing that people could get was like an Urban Cowboy. Yeah. Now, you know, we're all you're able to shoot like really dope footage out like on an actual ranch and people are able to see like the real thing. They're able to like I mean see stuff like this and people like you talking.

So the depth with which people can go into it and it could last Oh yeah. for freaking forever. Forever. Uh because it's got so much depth and so much roots.

Yeah. Uh and country music had you know the last wave that they have of like super popular stuff was like the bro country thing. Yeah. Which like talk about no depth.

Yeah. I mean the depth of it was like I like to fish. I like my jacked up truck. Yeah.

And so it's like, you know, it lasted for a little bit and like Yeah, I like the fish, too. But I wonder, you know, I don't want to I don't want to write a song about it. Yeah. Yeah.

It's like all cowboys like to fish. Yeah. I don't know. That just seems like a There's a lot of people that like to fish.

Yeah. No, I agree with you. There's such depth to it seeing and I gave you flowers the other day on that on the stage, but uh dude, even like and I know you probably think it's corny, but I think it's so cool you doing your shoeing a horse and singing your songs. I think it's so cool cuz it's real.

It's you. Yeah. I mean, it is. So, why can't we all just be authentically us and show people um the what we do in our everyday life?

And I think people are searching for that, especially in the western culture. Like they just don't know what's going on. I saw a video of a lady driving and this is it's a popular video on the internet right now, but a calf runs across the road and that lady goes, "Look, look, there's a moose. There's a moose right there."

Dead serious. I'm like, "Oh my goodness." Like they just don't know. Yeah.

You know, and it's tough, too. Um, a lot of people were when they grow up in, you know, California, LA, like that stuff, there's nowhere to like really get that. And Yellowstone, I think, really introduced them to a lot of it, and it was cool. And now I think the Western industry is doing such a good job of piggybacking off of Yellowstone, but showing the real stuff, you know?

Yeah. I mean, Yellowstone was awesome, and I'm not knocking them at all, but I mean, there's that one scene where the calf gets up and it's already branded and it was just born, you know? Yeah. Okay.

Yeah. He pulls it out there with like bare hands. Yeah. Runs out there.

The cow's laying down on the ground and just yanks it out. Yeah. It's like And then it's like a four-weight or something when it gets up. Oh, yeah.

100%. Takes off. Yeah. Load it up on the truck and go take the sailbar now.

Yeah. But I think now like we're doing such a good job of like really showing our stories and regardless of where you come from in the country, I love the fact that we're all ranchers, farmers, whatever. But how we live is different. I mean, like Texas ranch is different than Montana.

No question. You know, and Montana ranch is different than people in Florida. One of my good buddies manages a ranch down in Florida and like he'll send me videos of them roping alligators. South Florida.

Oh, yeah. Like Okachobee down there. I don't know exactly where it's at, but I think so. Somewhere down there, bro.

Yeah. You talk. Yeah. Like they rope gators every once while.

Yeah. I'm like, this is wild. They got hogs running around down there. It's crazy.

But it's just cool to see everybody how they live and how they do it. And I mean, even like where we live and we have cows and horses and stuff, too. And we ranch different than our neighbors. Our neighbors ranch different than their neighbors, you know?

It's like everybody does it differently. But we're all in it together, man. Yeah. The douchebags kind of get weeded out.

I think the ones that are a little bit too like over the top with this is how we do it here. It's like no, come on. Not everybody not everybody cowboys every day, you know? Like there's some of those guys like, "Oh, I'm a horseback every day."

You're probably not. You're on social media saying you are like, but if you have other things going on, like chances are you're not. Yeah. There's some cats that really are.

Yeah. 100%. They're not on TikTok for the most part. Like for the most part, but if they are, cool.

Like, show it to people. It is dope. We're not all Derek Beay going out and catching wild cows in the middle of Arizona. Yeah.

Like, yeah, I got my NFR buckle. I got my NFR buckle. Dude, it made me feel better. Yours bigger, though.

No way. Are you looking at my buckle? Oh, sorry. Sorry.

I thought you had small hands. I thought you had small hands, dude. It just looks bigger because I'm a smaller guy. There you go.

Because my hands are smaller. I get it. Yeah. All right.

Well, we What were you using? For a horseshoe, you got smooth hands. Oh, well, I don't shoot that much anymore. I got I got uh I got little calluses, but yeah, I actually always did.

Um I like I never got like insanely rough hands. Really? Yeah. Which is kind of interesting.

I shot a lot of horses. I believe a lot. No, now when I go back cuz like I'll still shoe on like a Monday sometimes. I got like a handful of customers still and I'll go on like a Monday or whatever, but like and so like I probably shoot like three days a month or something like that, three or four.

And uh every time when I go back, dude, my hands are just bleeding from rasp cuts, dude. It's just the whole day I'm just like, "God, my father-in-law tried to teach me. I've never done it." Okay, I have no I have no do not mind at all telling people I've never done it.

So he's like he needed he was going to teach me one cuz I told him I was like I'd like to learn. I mean, it'd be interesting. I don't really want to do it, but you know, I'd like to learn. So, he told me this story, and him and this guy, one of his best friends, they were uh doing a bunch of them in a day, getting a bunch of And so, another guy was there and said, "Hey, just go take those shoes off that other horse over there."

So, they get done, completely done. Each of them do a horse. And here comes that guy. He goes, "I got it."

and he finally got one shoe off in the time it took them to do the whole all four feet. I was like, "That's hilarious." I was like, "That was me. That was me."

It is one of the most humbling Oh, jobs that there is. Yeah. And then you get like [expletive] on and stomped on. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's awesome.

A broodmare doesn't care that you just went and played a show to a bunch of people, you know. No, they could care less. Yeah. Absolutely care.

Absolutely. Well, dude, we got to get you to your show. All right, brother. Yeah.

Uh, thanks for doing this. We're going to stay in touch. Absolutely. Yeah.

Yeah. You're a cool cat for sure. No. No.

But I got to get you set up with a couple other people to come on this seal. Yeah. We'll get Lisa and Bob on. Yeah, dude.

You That would be crazy. Yeah, that would be so nuts. I'll call him as soon as we're done here. Lisa, I'd get really You would just see I'd be like I'd be so nervous.

She's No, you do fine. All right. Well, let's do it, dude. All right, man.

Thanks for having me on. Every time they're popping the gate. Oh lord, no score. That was just too damn ranking rocks.

Little buddy, better luck next season. Get a gold buckle and a couple good reasons. let you come back home. Oh, hell no.