The Cowboy Up Podcast

Many guests at White Stallion Ranch get to know Russell and some are successful at teasing stories out of him from time to time. People frequently ask ... "Russell, is that a story or is it a True story?"  In true Russell style, he smiles and says, "Well that's for you to decide." In today's episode, Steven sits down with Russell and teases new stories about the world of dude and guest ranching to...

Benjamin Franklin has been the focus of many books and movies. Most recently, the esteemed man of many talents is the focus of the eponymous TV mini series, " Franklin ." Michael Douglas stars as the 70-year-old Franklin, who is sent over to France with his grandson, Temple Franklin. Franklin's assignment? Enlist the help of the French government in defeating the British. The series is written by...

Christa Lafayette, the innovative CEO of Etalon Equine Genetics, returns to the podcast, this time with the results of the genetic tests that her company ran on two of Russell True's horses. He's learning the results in real time, as are you. Christa shares her insights on how genetic information can enhance breeding programs, improve horse health, and even predict performance traits. Whether you'...

As a kid, Phil Spangenberger became enamored with guns, courtesy of Davy Crockett and television. Now a renowned firearms expert, historian, writer and True West Magazine editor, Phil joins the podcast to share captivating stories and insights from his extensive research and experiences in Western history, firearms and cowboy culture. In addition to doing some of his own shooting, including mounte...

Vacations, travels, bucket lists. Sometimes you just have to get away and explore, whether it's within your state, across the country or on the other side of an ocean. Who better to offer travel tips and suggestions than someone who has visited over 65 countries. Kim Wilkins joins us to talk about what life is like when the travel bug bites you at age six and you end up living in Europe after grad...

Twenty years ago, two individuals started a company focused on sustainable agricultural and the humane treatment of animals. Over two decades later, that company now employees upward of 100 people, has expanded its products from its original no-sugar-added bacon, and more than ever adheres to its original philosophy. When we learned about Pederson's Natural Farms , we were so impressed that we inv...

When the opportunity to purchase a western railroad company dropped in Al Harper's lap, he was a real estate executive living in Florida. But the opportunity intrigued him, and sooner than later, he became the CEO of American Heritage Railways. As a result of Harper's passion to preserve and celebrate America's railroading history, company operations now reach nearly 1,500,000 rail passengers annu...

Who better to explore the culinary legacy of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody than Steve Friesen, the Director of the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave for over 25 years? Friesen joins us to introduce his newest book, " Galloping Gourmet: Eating and Drinking with Buffalo Bill. " Buffalo Bill's culinary roots began on the American Plains with simple foods such as cornbread, fried "yellow-legged" chicken,...

What's it like to grow up on a dude ranch? Few people can answer that question. One of them is Russell True, who grew up on the White Stallion Ranch in Tucson and eventually became owner and manager.  Our newest podcast team member, Steven Clauson, interviews Russell about his experiences as and how dude ranching has evolved over the decades. By the way, Russell was inducted into the Dude Ranch Ha...

It's estimated that we consume a credit card of plastic every week. Alarming on one hand, too easy to ignore on the other hand. But we all share the problems of garbage, no matter how we vote or where we live. How pervasive are these problems and can we do anything about them? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist  Edward Humes says, you bet we can! The author of the new eye-opening book, "Total Garba...

It's a challenging life, cowboying and relying on the range for your living. And if you saddle up regularly in the rodeo circuit, you have one heck of a challenging  and busy life. Just ask the Wright family. That's exactly what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Branch did when he was assigned to write a story about them. Cowboys? Rodeos? Branch, who grew up in the West, was all in. In fact,...

It was 1864, and Northern Plains Indians were not pleased with settlers migrating from east to west along the Oregon, Bozeman and Overland Trails. Thus began a series of attacks and robberies on unsuspecting emigrants winding their way along the Platte River. Shots rang out and arrows whizzed as miners, doctors, farmers, families, and war widows rallied their covered wagons together. As historian...

How cool would it be to build your perfect horse down to their DNA? Can it even be done? Christa Lafayette has an answer to that question. The founder and CEO of  Etalon Equine Genetics , Christa knows that breeding horses is not only an art but a science -- one that lets breeders, as well as all horse lovers, see horses in a new way. Genetic testing can identify potential health risks and prevent...

In this episode, historian and author John Langellier saddles up to the ranch to speak with Russell and Alan about the Buffalo Soldiers, the African American soldiers who served from 1866 into the 20th century.  From their origins in the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments to their invaluable contributions settling the frontier, John highlights their struggles, triumphs and enduring legacy. A few atten...

Believe it or not, polo was first played in Persia, perhaps as early as 6 B.C. or as late as 1 A.D. Originally a training game for the king's calvary, polo morphed into a game with four riders per side rather than 100 riders per side! The first polo game in the U.S. took place in 1876 in New York. The following year the Westchester Polo Club was formed. Now, polo is played around the country, incl...

At age 14, Kathy Zuckerman discovered the surfer culture in Malibu, CA. Soon, this wave-catching teen had earned the nickname "Gidget." The Hollywood versions of Gidget, played by such stars as Sandra Dee, Sally Field, and Karen Valentine, were loosely based on Zuckerman's life. But how did that happen? And what brought her to the White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona years later? The real Gidge...

  DRA stands for the Dude Ranch Association which not only preserves the great Dude Ranch and guest ranch businesses in this country, but also topreserve the Western tradition and the cowboy experience ... We sometimes say with a smile it may take the western way of life to preserve Western civilization! So today join the gentlemen Cowboys as they visit with Colleen Hudson as she tells us the stor...

  One of my friends has said that deep down almost everybody wants to be a bit of a cowboy. And there are people who are seeking what could be called an adventure, and an adventure is where you're going to do something new and you're not quite sure just what's going to happen to you. Well it is some of those brave hearts and brave souls who in the early days of the settlement of the west made it p...

Acclaimed New York Times award-winning author C.J. Box always delivers a mixture of suspense, the outdoors, and family relationships that are the heart of the Joe Pickett series. And so he does again in  THREE-INCH TEETH , the 24 th novel in the Joe Pickett series. In this newest page-turner, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett faces two different kinds of rampaging beasts—one animal, one human. C. J....

Historian and South Dakotan  Bill Markley may not live in the city of Deadwood, but he makes it a point to visit a several times a year. It's a town with a remarkable history. Now inhabited by just over 1,000 residents, Deadwood's population soared to upward of 25,000 during the height of the Black Hills Gold Rush era. Wyatt Earp, Calamity Jane, and Wild Bill Hickok are among some of the renown Ol...

When journalist  Mike Stark learned that giant short-faced bears stalked North America thousands of years ago, he decided to do a deep dive into this enigmatic creature. From the La Brea Tar Pits of Los Angeles to a cornfield in Iowa, the plains of Texas, and even to the far ends of the Artic, Stark retraced the tracks of this beast that on hind legs towered more than ten feet and eventually becam...

Ranches can be dangerous places. Unpredictable livestock. Complex machinery. Extreme weather. None of that deterred David McCumber from dedicating a year of his life as a ranch hand up in Montana, even though he had never worked on a ranch. Those twelve months ended up being filled with adventures, lessons and more, enough to fill a book and get it published. Now the managing editor of the  Arizon...

You probably don't think much about them, the roads that you take to the store or work. Or the freeway that you take on vacation across state lines or into national parks or onto a dude ranches. About 40 million miles of roads encircle the earth. We tend to take roads for granted. But is that case for all creatures? While roads certainly have benefits, they also cause problems especially for wildl...

Without a doubt, Greg Hager 's western music is getting noticed. In 2019, MFG Records in Nashville signed him. His rural western roots run deep and are wellspring for his lyrics. Hager writes and composes everything that he sings, and his style is heavily influenced by other great 12-string guitar pickers and storytellers like John Denver, Roger Whittaker, Gordon Lightfoot, Paul Overstreet, Clint...

When you think of film noir, you might think of "The Maltese Falcon," starring Humphrey Bogart as the hard-boiled private detective Sam Spade. Or maybe "Sunset Boulevard," starring Gloria Swanson as the aging, deranged silent-film star Norma Desmond. But there are also noir westerns. None is more celebrated than the 1948 "Blood on the Moon,"   starring Robert Mitchum. It's a classic Western immers...