Content provided by INSP.
In today’s world of social media, an app for this and an app for that, there are families across America who still hold true to the traditional cowboy way of life.
In INSP’s new original series, The Cowboy Way, premiering, August 10th at 8p.m. ET, viewers across the country get an insider’s look at family ranching in today’s world. Each episode of this poignant, fun-loving and sometimes emotional docuseries, follows real cowboys, Bubba Thompson, Cody Harris, and Booger Brown, three best buddies and ranchers who, like the cowboys of old, raise cattle and horses, and live according to the cowboy code—dedication to faith, family, hard work, and American values.
The Old West Meets the Deep South
From week to week, viewers share in Bubba’s, Cody’s and Booger’s stories—the work, family and life challenges, the highs and lows of ranch and rodeo life, the accomplishments, the joyful events, the unconditional support, and the fun as they give all they’ve got to build their business, Faith Cattle Company, in south Alabama.
Meet the Cowboys
Bubba Thompson—The Serious One
In addition to being a rancher, Bubba is a talented carpenter and skilled in all things mechanical. If the guys come across any kind of problem, Bubba’s analytical mind is already set in motion the minute he discovers the issue, figuring out what caused it, how to fix it in the most efficient way, and then jumping in to help get it done. Being around horses and cows is what drives him. He’s been riding since age five, but to him, ranching is not just a way to make a living.
“I would have to say it’s in my blood and definitely in my heart. I’ve been doing this all my life,” he says.
In 2012, his humility, charm and belief in traditional values landed him in the runner up spot on a popular southern-style dating show. Over the course of the show, he won the hearts of women across the southern US with his integrity, manners, and respect for women. In September, 2015, Bubba gave up his bachelor status and married his true love, Kaley.
Bubba may be an upstanding southern gentleman, and practical by nature, but that doesn’t mean he’s not above playing a good prank. One night, after roping practice, Cody, who is very afraid of the dark, went into his trailer to put up his saddle and other equipment. Bubba, seizing the opportunity, shut the door and locked him in. The door could only be opened from the outside.
“You should have heard him trying to get out of there,” Bubba says, “To this day he still thinks the wind shut it.”
Cody Harris—The Driven One
Cody has been around cattle and horses his entire life, and that’s just where he wants to stay.
“I can’t remember a point in my life where I didn’t have to wake up every morning and feed some form of livestock,” Cody says, “My favorite part of being a cowboy is the lifestyle, and the good and bad that comes with it. I’ve always worked for myself and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Just like any business, someone has to take a hard look at the numbers in order to succeed. That’s where Cody comes in. He studies the cost of production, profitability, margins, and cattle futures on the market. “I can ride and rope as good as anyone, but the business side of it is what builds the empire,” Cody says.
He also applies his business acumen to the world of rodeo. A longtime pro-rodeo, calf-roping champion in his own right, Cody is now retired from competition, and adapting to life outside of the arena as a rodeo producer, most notably, the annual “Bulls on the Beach” rodeo in Orange Beach, Alabama. While rodeo brought him many successes, one moment shines above all the rest.
Like Bubba, he sought love on the dating show, but found the woman of his dreams at a different competition—the rodeo. In 2014, Cody married Misty a champion barrel racer from Mississippi. “I’ve won a bunch of saddles and buckles…a bunch! But the greatest accomplishment I have is my salvation and family,” Cody says.
Booger—The Funny One
Chris “Booger” Brown grew up on the family farm. He’s been a rancher his entire life, and is a renowned horse trainer. While all cowboys ride, and many train horses, few possess the natural instinct to “think like a horse.” Booger has the ability to get inside a horse’s head, and understand what makes it tick. He’s taken, what one would consider, rogue horses, worked out the quirks, and turned them into safe riding or working horses.
Along with training horses, Booger is best known for his skills at gathering cattle and penning them, from horseback and with the aid of his well-trained herding dogs. It’s no surprise that he’s competed in and won several ranch rodeo events. Unlike the typical rodeo most people are familiar with, ranch rodeo includes events such as “wild cow milking,” “trailer loading,” “cow sorting,” and “team penning,” among others that reflect the types of tasks cowboys and cowgirls do in their daily work. Usually, in the team events, cowboys join together to represent their ranch and compete against teams from other ranches.
Booger hopes one day to run a ranch rodeo. In the meantime, he loves the training that goes into competition. “It’s tough and requires long hours,” he says. It’s not unlike the long, hard days he puts in as a rancher, but it’s a lifestyle he was born into, a lifestyle he loves, a lifestyle that showers him with the kind of riches that have nothing to do with a dollar amount on a paycheck.
What does Booger love about being a cowboy? “Waking up early. There’s a new adventure every day. Wide open freedom. The challenges…” And he loves his animals, his horses, dogs, and cattle.
