The Cowboy Up Podcast

Tony Hillerman is a legendary western writer. His bestselling novels introduced readers to the Diné (Navajo) culture through characters Navajo Tribal Police detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Now, fans have a chance to meet the man behind the novels. New York Times bestselling author James McGrath Morris researched and wrote the definitive biography about Hillerman. He joins Russell and Alan to...

What do you get when you mix a 35,000-acre South Dakota ranch with an excess of unadoptable wild horses imprisoned in feedlots and one heck of a brilliant idea? Alan Day's answer: the first government-sponsored wild horse sanctuary. He knows because he started that sanctuary. Yep, 1500 wild mustangs came to live with him on his ranch and the whole bunch, including Alan and his cowboys, had more ad...

The history of the Buffalo Soldiers is not only fascinating but is firmly embedded in Arizona history. Charles Hancock, former president of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers, joins Russell and Alan to talk about the important role these soldiers played, share some of their heroic stories, and explore what's being done to honor and preserve their legacy.

Tom Tatum, who divides his time between Telluride and Taos, wears many hats, among them author, movie producer, director, rancher, land conservationist, solar energy company CEO. Tatum talks with Russell and Alan about his new face-paced western novel "Adobe Daze" and how his personal experiences informed the story.

Ring in the New Year with this enlightening episode featuring Steve Hebrock, one of five master hoof care specialists in the world. Your horse's feet will appreciate it! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and safe 2022.

In this delightful episode, Alan shares stories about Rastus, who arrived at the Lazy B as a nine-year-old orphan and where he worked as a cowboy for the remainder of his life. From the entire podcast crew, we wish you a delightful and very Merry Christmas.

We may not hear much about the Jicarilla Apache, but they were fierce warriors who raided wagon trains and fought the calvary. In fact, they soundly defeated the U.S. Army in the Battle of Cieneguilla. Award-winning author and historian, Doug Hocking, shares details from his new book "Terror on the Santa Fe Trail" with Russell and Alan and the role Kit Carson played during that tumultuous time.

A cowboy's gear is not complete without a rope. But ropes can break. Dick Schorr, a retired rancher and veterinarian, is an expert on riatas. New ones, old ones, and ones in need of repair. He chats with Russell and Alan about the art of rope making and the workshops he has given around the country.

Back in the late 1870s, the owner of the Santa Fe Railroad, William Barstow Strong, and the owner of the Rio Grande Railroad, General William Jackson Palmer, found themselves at war. Historian John Sedgwick, author of the new book "From the River to the Sea: The Untold Story of the Railroad War that Made the West," joins Russell and Alan to talk about what took place as these two powerhouses fough...

Most of us will never rob a train on horseback or purposefully fall from the saddle of a horse. As movie stunt men, Bobby Stevens and Rob Jensen have done both multiple times. They chat with Russell and Alan about the thrills that come with the work, as well as the occasional broken bone and bruised body.

The Southwest is filled with iconic images, from saguaro cacti to adobe homes to brilliant sunsets. Thousands of artists have captured these images. Mark Sublette, owner of Medicine Man Gallery  and host of the "Art Dealer Diaries Podcast," joins Russell and Alan to talk about southwestern art including paintings by the acclaimed Maynard Dixon, one of the most revered artists of the West.

Richard Collins knows cowboying. He also knows ranching and land conservation. The Arizona native and author of the books "Cowboy is a Verb" and "Riding Behind the Padre" talks with Russell and Alan about his experiences with the Canelo Hills Coalition, a group of ranchers and Forest Service and BLM employees that came up with innovative ways to manage grazing in a habitat occupied by endangered s...

Not many women bandits have roamed the West. Probably the most notorious and the one who made headlines around the country is Pearl Hart. Author and historian John Boessenecker saddles up to the ranch to chat with Russell and Alan about WILDCAT, his new book about Pearl's forays and adventures in the Arizona territory and beyond.

Need a Fall nature fix? Whether you want a scenic drive or a hiking trail, travel writer Roger Naylor can get you going in the right direction in the stunning Grand Canyon State. Roger joins Russell and Alan to offer ideas and paint some tantalizing word pictures of what to expect. And the cowboys, well, they chime in with adventures had in the natural wilds of the West.

Water is in short supply these days, especially in the West. But conservationists, experts, and others are addressing the issue with innovative ideas for capturing and containing water. Jeff Hampton is one of those concerned and creative folks. He joins Russell and Alan to talk about ways to manage our life-sustaining resource—water.

Jo Mora (1876-1947) was more than just multi-talented. A painter, sculptor, cartoonist and photographer, who settled in California, he also learned to speak Hopi and Navajo, wrote and illustrated children's books, and published charts and maps. Peter Hiller, an expert on the life and times of Jo Mora, talks with Russell and Alan about the accomplishments of this "renaissance man of the West."

Two members of Western Writers of America, Bill Markley and Kellen Cutsforth, roll up their sleeves and dig into the truth behind some western legends. Co-authors of the upcoming book "Stand Off at High Noon: Another Battle over the Truth in the Mythic Wild West," these two historians join Russell and Alan to dish about notorious figures and infamous events of the Old West.

From college professor to award-winning singer and songwriter, that's Carol Markstrom . Twice named Western Female Vocalist of the Year, Carol saddles up to the ranch, guitar in hand, to speak with Russell and Alan about her career path and many successes including her most recent album "Mile After Mile."  

It started six years ago in Willcox, AZ and has grown exponentially. Now screening over 60 films during the four-day weekend spectacular, the Wild Bunch Film Festival is a place for western film lovers to gather. Founder Rock Whitehead and childhood actress Dawn Lyn, who starred in the movie "Shootout" with Gregory Peck, join Russell and Alan to talk about this year's fest highlights.

Those eager to preserve the western way of life and cowboy culture come from all walks of life. This week, Russell and Alan speak with two Arizonans who make change through government channels. Kevin and Joe DeMenna saddle up to the ranch to talk about how they use their public relations and political consulting talents to get things done on the range and even the racetrack.  

Cowboy Jim Liles began his 20-year career as a bareback rider around the age of 13. More than fifty years later, he can still recount stories of the many times those broncs broke his bones, including some bones more than once. And yet, bareback riding has remained his life's passion, and the broncs have remained the horses he loves most. The founder of the Bareback Riding Hall of Fame and Museum,...

Why tell a tall tale when the truth is so crazy it's barely believable? In this episode, Russell and Alan confirm that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. When you're out on the range, on the back of  a horse, in the cockpit of an airplane, you're living adventures guaranteed to be told around the campfire for decades to come. So, grab a seat, roast some marshmallows, and give a listen as two c...

When author and historian Lynn Downey learned about Frederick Loring, she instantly became fascinated. Loring was an up-and-coming author from the East Coast when he ventured west in 1871 at the age of twenty-three. Downey joins Russell and Alan to share her adventures retracing parts of Loring's journey around the West and what she learned about the man and the beauty and brutality he encountered...

Kent Reeves packs a lot of interests and talent in his wheelhouse. Land conservation. Photography. Cowboy poetry. And he chats with Russell and Alan about it all from his home in California where he founded Rancher to Rancher (R2R), a network of ranchers and ecologists focused on environmentally sustainable land-management practices. What's good for the land is good for the earth!  

Shannon Baker lives on the edge of the Tucson desert with her "crazy Weimaraner and favorite human." She also has lived in Flagstaff for a few years and spent 20 years in the Nebraska Sandhills, where cattle outnumber people by more than 50:1. She joins Russell and Alan to talk about her mystery series, some set in the desert, some in the Sandhills, and how her experiences play out on the page—wit...