Cowboy Up Podcast Episodes

In April 2022, Russell and Alan spoke with Scott O’Connor, Sandra Day O’Connor’s eldest son, about his mother, a woman who broke barriers, was a role model for many, and left giant footprints across our nation. Scott shared many stories about family life, including what he remembers when his mom stepped into the national spotlight. We wanted to share this wonderful conversation again as our country mourns and reveres one of its greatest leaders and influencers, The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor. [...]

Jolyn Young grew up in the “real” northern California—the forgotten area at the tip-top of the state with small towns, extreme poverty, and about 40 miles to the Oregonian mountains. In a childhood defined by a subdivision, she decided she wanted to be a cowboy, and two years out of college, she saw that dream through, taking a job at a Nevada ranch in the search f of horses, cattle, and the wide-open range. And that’s where she fell in love. But when a baby-to-be suddenly spun her wild romance into a very practical marriage, and one decrepit ranch trailer [...]

Anna Twinney never expected to make a career out of horse whispering, animal communicating, and energy healing. After all, she was a police officer in England specializing in trauma. But then as a way to deal with burnout, she found herself in California working with Monty Roberts and learning the art of horse training and horse whispering. Anna went on to create the Reach Out to Horses® Program, a hands-on approach to understanding the mind of the horse and building  a trust-based partnership. She now conducts clinics and workshops worldwide, from New Zealand to Mongolia, Europe to Canada and throughout the [...]

Debbe Dunning is a multi-talented actress, host, and lifestyle influencer. She rose to fame as Heidi Keppert the “Tool Time Girl” on the hit sitcom “Home Improvement,” where she won over audiences. She recently hosted her own TV show “Debbe Dunning’s Dude Ranch Round-Up” on RFDTV. In addition to her acting career, Debbe is also a DIY expert, exceptional golfer and a passionate advocate for healthy living and motherhood. She shares her love for home renovation, healthy cooking, and wellness tips with her fans on social media, inspiring others to lead a healthy and fulfilling life. In this episode, Debbe [...]

Dude ranch historian and expert Lynn Downey decided to set her first novel,” Dudes Rush In,” on a dude ranch. The second book in the series, “Dude or Die,” has just been published, and guess where it takes place? You bet, on a dude ranch! Not only does her story include cowboys and some cool trick riding, the novel also introduces a character who represents a story of the American West not often told—that of an American with Japanese heritage who endured forced internment during WWII. Lynn joins Russell and Alan to talk about her book, as well as her summer [...]

Gallup, New Mexico, located in the northwest corner of the state, abuts the Navajo Nation. During his more than four decades of living in the area, Bob Rosebrough befriended many Navajos. While he was mayor of Gallup, he was introduced to a group of Navajo Code Talkers. These men, recruited by the U.S. Marine Corps., used their traditional language to transmit secret messages to Allies fighting in the Pacific during World War II. The men who Rosebrough met were awarded Congressional Silver Medals. Rosebrough writes about his experience in his award-winning book “A Place of Thin Veil: Life and Death in Gallup, [...]

At first, Erika Bolstad knew only one thing about her great-Grandmother, Anna: she was a homesteader on the North Dakota prairies in the early 1900s before her husband committed her to an asylum under mysterious circumstances. As Erika’s mother was dying, she revealed more. Their family still owned the mineral rights to Anna’s land—and oil companies were interested in the black gold beneath the prairies. Their family, Erika learned, could get rich thanks to the legacy of a woman nearly lost to history. Thus, began Erika’s journey into the past. She joins Russell and Alan to share her discoveries, which she [...]

In the 1980’s, when Valer Clark moved from the East Coast to a cattle ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains, she fell in love with the area. But she was dismayed at how overgrazed the grasslands were. While observing running water during a forceful monsoon rain, she noticed soil accumulate behind a small rock dam. She began building rock dams, called trincheras, in eroded areas. Her efforts eventually caught the attention of Arizona State University researchers who began to collaborate with her. In 2018, Valer founded the nonprofit Cuenca Los Ojos (CLO), a 121,000-acre protected, restored, and rewilded area that is once [...]

 Every October 4th, we celebrate World Animal Day and the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. To honor the animals we love, we are re-running one of our favorite past episodes about pets. If you’re an Arizona cowboy, those animals include horses and dogs, as well as a bobcat named Bobby, a hawk named Sylvester, and two javelinas named Sandra and Ann.  [...]

In the summer of 2019, Will Grant became a traveling horseman. His plan was to ride the 2,000-mile Pony Express trail starting in St. Joseph, MO and ending in Sacramento, CA. Unlike the original riders who covered the distance in ten days, Grant planned to ride it in a little under five months. He packed his bags, saddled his two horses, Chicken Fry and Badger, and set out on the trail. What ensued was an encounter with the inhabitants of the West—ranchers, farmers, historians, businesspeople— and the thrilling and, at times, treacherous landscapes. Will writes about this journey of a [...]