The Wagon Wheel's Woman

Hello again friends! I apologize for not posting in a while, I have been working on some new interviews that I think you will all enjoy! Today we shall head down south (as us northerner's would call it) to the Wagon Wheel Ranch located in Lometa, Texas where Miss Kelsey Mosby works and trains horses. I first met Kelsey when I attended a team roping clinic when I was in junior high. Kelsey was one of the instructors at the clinic that I attended. That summer I traveled to some USTRC Roping's with Kelsey from Nebraska to Colorado to Montana (which was a long ways away from home for a little home schooled kid from Buffalo, SD). Kelsey is a kind hearted gal who I always admired as a kid. She could rope good and put a fancy handle on a horse - my kinda woman!

Kelsey grew up in California and now calls Rising Star, Texas home. Among many of her accolades is the 2013 Women's Ranch Rodeo Association World Championship where she and her ranch rodeo team, Push Hard Cattle Co., claimed the title in Dodge City, Kansas. Take note here boys, you could probably learn a thing or two about ranch work from this little lady!

I think while you’re riding, you’re always training – Kelsey Mosby

Kelsey & Gin Beam Merada

For more information on Kelsey, her horses and training, check out www.kelseymosby.com. And in the meantime, read this interview :)

1) Who do you credit your horsemanship/training styles to?

Kelsey: I can’t credit it to any one person, I am always trying to watch & pay attention to what other people are doing, especially people that I have admiration for and/or people that I think are a really good hand. I try to watch what they’re doing - some right ways, some not-so-right ways and I take note of all those ‘ways.’

2) Tell us about a typical day working on the famed Wagon Wheel ranch?

Kelsey: I have a string of Wagon Wheel horses that I’m riding, some to get them ready to start showing in RHAA and Ranching Heritage Challenge, while others I’m preparing for the annual Wagon Wheel Ranch sale on September 13, 2014. On days where we’re working mares, cattle or activities such as branding, I spend the day horseback. We start off in the morning after feeding the horses, we break for lunch around noon & finish up after lunch.

3) You have had a great deal of success in the Women's Ranch Rodeos, explain to the readers what a Women's Ranch Rodeo all entails.

Kelsey: It consists of four women on a team and there are five events: sorting, trailer loading, doctoring, branding & mugging. The team I’m on, Push Hard Cattle Co., we’ve never really practiced together but we all really think like-minded, so when it’s time to go compete we all pretty much just fall right into our spots & get our jobs done, while all riding pretty handy horses. In 2013 we won the WRRA World Championship for the year-end & also won the finals average at the WRRA World Finals Rodeo, in Dodge City, Kansas. My favorite event is… whichever one we win! Kidding aside, I really enjoy the sorting& the two roping events, mugging & doctoring… it’s hard to pick a favorite, I like them all!

 

Kelsey and her Women's Ranch Rodeo Team

 

4) What are the main traits you look for in starting young prospects?

Kelsey: I look at their papers – I like knowing how they’re bred. Of course, there are some cases one might not recognize anything on the horse’s papers & it turns out to be a good horse, but It’s always a good place to start. I look at conformation, a horse that’s put together well will hopefully move well which will transfer into a good riding horse. When I’m riding a horse, I want a horse that seems like he wants to get along with what I’m asking, instead of wanting to fight me.

5) How important are bloodlines to you?

Kelsey: Bloodlines are a great indicator of what the young horse could potentially be & what to expect from that horse. Bloodlines showing on papers are definitely helpful in resale. In breeding, it’s especially important, knowing which mare & stallion to pair up with one another to produce exactly what you’re wanting out of a foal. I think a good horse is still as valuable today as it ever was…

I’ve started a colt, I’m now training under saddle & my goal is to show it and win! It’ll be interesting to see if the experience I have with the colt is what it’s pedigree/bloodlines predict; for example, if the colt shows a high percentage of hybrid vigor, is the colt really [that] athletic…?

 



Kelsey roping at the USTRC National Finals in Oklahoma City



6) What's your favorite part of 'ranch life'?

Kelsey: Definitely it’s getting to work outside, getting to work with the horses… I joke with my friend that I don’t care to be known as a ‘cowgirl,’ but more so as a Horsewoman. Cows are good, but I wouldn’t enjoy working them, unless I was horseback - I don’t care to do it on foot! I enjoy being around animals & when people pay to get to do it on their weekend retreats, I get paid to do it daily and I LOVE IT!

7) I know you have traveled all over the country, but where is the coolest place you've ever visited?

Kelsey: I’m from the central coast of California, the weather and food are wonderful there, but I really love where I live now, in central Texas. When I travel, it always seems to be for horse-related events and there are so many close-by!

 

8) The handiest person you know is?

Kelsey: Several people come to mind that I look up to…

I compete in several different events like team roping & ranch horse shows. In each event, there are three or more people that I look up to & try to learn from… for example, in team roping – Lari Dee Guy, she’s really tough & extremely consistent & she wins a lot! Trip Townsend, he’s a really good hand, he rides well, he’s a tough competitor, consistent & he also wins a lot! I compete to win & I learn from all of those who win! While riding colts, I often ask my fiancé, Dylan Squires [a cowboy who day works], for advice on handling horses & working cattle – he’s a pretty good hand!

Kelsey & I - circa 2001? Maybe 2002?

 

Stay tuned ~ the next interview here at Wicked Women Of The West is on a National Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee originally from Jordan, Montana, any guesses?!