#157 – The Texas Swing

Oct 23, 2025

We took the BTC bus deep into Texas and filled the tanks with stories. From Sulphur Springs to Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Wylie, and Springtown, Doug and Sam catch you up on a whirlwind week: wellness updates and futurity talk with Daylon Swearingen at Daylon’s Ranch, living-room rodeo museums and four gold buckles’ worth of grit with Glen Bird, eight-time champ perspective with Ronnie Williams, a street-built bull riding in a church parking lot with Chute 2 Productions, and a late-night history download with Wes Ward—nephew of IRA founder J.R. “Jail” Cravens and his best friend Lane Frost. Plus: Kelly and Charlene Clark open the doors to “The Buckhorn,” a wall-to-wall trove of saddles, posters, and stories that tie the IRA, IPRA, and modern rodeo together. These stories matter.

Presented by ParaSight Systems—helping vets help pets with fast, accurate diagnostics. Also supported by Simcox & Company Barbershop (Cedar Falls, IA), The Wandering Gypsy RV Life podcast, and music by Nikki McLeod (“Prepaid,” “Some Kind of Reckless”). Book corner: This Ain’t My Last Rodeo by Lecile Harris (out now). Coming Fall 2025: World’s Toughest Rodeo: How One Cowboy Blazed a Trail for Western Sports (W Brand Publishing).

#BeyondTheChutes #InOurRoots #TexasSwing #SulphurSprings #WeatherfordTX #MineralWells #WylieTX #SpringtownTX #DaylonSwearingen #GlenBird #RonnieWilliams #KellyClark #WesWard #LaneFrost #Shoot2Productions #IPRA #IRA #BullRiding #BarebackRiding #RodeoHistory #TheseStoriesMatter #ParaSightSystems #SimcoxAndCompany #NikkiMcLeod #WanderingGypsyRVLife

Subscribe

Join Our Rodeo Community

Join our Facebook Group where we discuss all things Rodeo, from upcoming events, to past history, and current stars.

Latest Episodes

#184 Kenny Phillips 1985 World Champion to ER Doctor – Truly Blessed

1985 IPRA World Champion Kenny Phillips shares his journey from rodeo glory to emergency room doctor… In the fall of 1986, Kenny Phillips broke his neck… and somehow, that was only part of the story. Recorded at Mike Swearingen’s Rodeo Reunion in Wyoming, New York,...

#182 Bruce Brannen – So Broke, I Couldn’t Pay Attention

Recorded live at the Kickback Ranch Rodeo Reunion in Ramer, Alabama, this episode of Beyond the Chutes features lifelong cowboy Bruce Brannen. Bruce takes us from his first rodeo as a 9-year-old at the Montgomery Coliseum, to years of calf roping, college rodeo at Sam...